David Moyes returns to West Ham this weekend with Everton and has aimed a not-so-subtle dig at David Sullivan and former technical director Tim Steidten.
West Ham vs Everton can now also be known as the David Moyes derby given the Scot has overseen two separate successful spells at both clubs.
The Hammers parted company with Moyes nearly two years ago after five memorable years which included a host of achievements, the crowning glory of which was the Europa Conference League triumph – West Ham’s only major trophy of what will be 47 years.
Moyes has been doing a superb job at Everton, giving more ammunition to those who warned West Ham chief David Sullivan that letting him leave was a big mistake.
Moyes criticises West Ham hierarchy for struggles
Sullivan withdrew a contract offer he had made to Moyes when the Scot took umbrage to two clauses in the deal.
One of those was ceding power of veto on all transfers to then technical director Tim Steidten and the other the removal of his son, David junior, from the scouting team.
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David Moyes, Manager of West Ham United, celebrates with their winners medal after the team's victory during the UEFA Europa Conference League 2022/23 final match between ACF Fiorentina and West Ham United FC at Eden Arena
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Like he did at West Ham, Moyes now has Everton in European contention, making them difficult and dangerous opponents for Nuno Espirito Santo this weekend.
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Moyes’ departure became unnecessarily messy when he fell out with Steidten, who had started very publicly courting candidates to replace him – presumably on the orders of Sullivan and the West Ham board.
Moyes banned Steidten from being anywhere near the Hammers first team.
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That summer the German was handed £155m to spend on rebuilding the West Ham squad along with Moyes’ replacement Julen Lopetegui.
The botched overhaul has seen West Ham circling the Premier League plughole ever since.
Steidten was sacked six months after Moyes left and Sullivan reprised his role as West Ham’s de facto director of football.
Moyes recently stated he loved it at ‘amazing’ West Ham.
West Ham recruitment, spending and stewardship slammed by Moyes
And he was full of praise for the club ahead of his return with Everton.
But Moyes has made it clear where he thinks West Ham have gone wrong, laying the blame squarely at the feet of Steidten, Sullivan and the board.
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Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall of Everton celebrates after scoring their side's second goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Burnley at Hill Dickinson Stadium on March 03, 2026 in Liverpool, England.
The Scot said West Ham are paying the price for poor recruitment, not spending enough and chopping and changing managers too often.
In the ultimate swipe at Sullivan and the now departed Karren Brady, Moyes also said the owners have not done well enough.
“They’re (West Ham) fighting for everything,” Moyes said in his Everton press conference.
“There was a great, great group of lads there which certainly I left and hugely enjoyed a really, really good football club which certainly shouldn’t be going into the Championship. That’s the way I look at it.
David Moyes celebrates by kissing the Europa Conference League trophy after West Ham beat Fiorentina 2-1 in 2023
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
“But you know, the Premier League’s unforgiving. And if you’re not quite at it, you don’t recruit right, or you don’t spend enough, you could find yourself in that position every year. So you’ve got to make sure that you’re doing all those things well at the football clubs.
“I don’t really believe in chopping and changing the managers three or four times a year is making a big help to teams or to the players who, who, who play for the club. But I think that, I think that the clubs need to look at themselves a little bit and see if they can, they can do a better job.”
Moyes also took the opportunity to remind some West Ham fans and the owners that they should have been careful what they wished for by listing his achievements.
He said he was starting to establish the Hammers as a club who were not involved in relegation battles, as they had been in the past before his arrival.
“When I took over, we were just avoiding relegation,” Moyes added.
“So, look, we have to accept that West Ham have been a side who have been relegated not too far ago, have been a side who have been close to it on two or three occasions.
“But I felt that probably the time I was there, we had probably started to look like a side that wasn’t going to be in that situation. We’d got ourselves sixth and seventh, I think, two years, maybe one year in ninth, maybe one year we were a bit more disappointing, 14th, maybe one year, I can’t remember exactly.
“But also in that, we had three European seasons where once was a quarter-final, one was a semi-final, and one was the winners of the final.
“So I think for a club in that situation, I would say I think that’s where West Ham need to be.
“But sometimes everybody wants a little bit more.”
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