2025/26 David Moyes

DualityNSNO said:
Also as far as this is checkable right now and after ~10 min of trying to find information, they were either 2nd or joint 1st with Villareal for the entirety of the tournament, and slight favourites for the final.

But as you say, no one expected it, massive underdog as Moyes always is, isn't it?
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There was only one brief period West Ham were favorites, and they were in the tier below for most of the tournament:

1. The Pre-Tournament Leader: Villarreal​

At the start of the competition (September 2022), Villarreal was the clear favorite.

  • The Odds: Most major bookmakers had Villarreal as the standalone favorite at 7/1, while West Ham trailed at 8/1.
  • The Reasoning: Villarreal were the 2021 Europa League winners and 2022 Champions League semi-finalists. They were viewed as a "tier above" the competition.

2. The Mid-Season Drop: The "Lazio Shift"​

When the teams dropped down from the Europa League in November 2022, West Ham’s standing hit its lowest point.

  • The Favorite: Lazio entered the competition and immediately became the new favorite for many analysts.
  • West Ham's Decline: While West Ham were perfect in the group stage, their disastrous Premier League form (they spent months in a relegation battle) caused their odds to drift. Many experts believed they would eventually prioritize domestic survival over Europe.

3. The Shock Round of 16​

West Ham only moved to the top of the betting market by default after the "Big Two" were eliminated in the same week:

  • Villarreal (the primary favorite) lost to Anderlecht.
  • Lazio (the secondary favorite) lost to AZ Alkmaar. Only at this point did West Ham become the "default" favorite, as they were the last high-budget team standing.

4. The Final: Fiorentina as the Definitive Favorite​

It is a common misconception that the Premier League side was favored in the final. On the day of the match in Prague, Fiorentina were the definitive favorites.

  • The Betting Market: Leading sportsbooks (such as Betfred and Bet365) priced Fiorentina at 13/8 to win in 90 minutes, compared to West Ham at 15/8.
  • The Statistical Model: Analytical models favored Fiorentina due to their tactical dominance—they were the tournament's highest scorers and led nearly every possession metric.
  • The Final Verdict: Going into kick-off, West Ham were viewed as the "underdogs" who relied on counter-attacks, while Fiorentina were the "favorites" expected to control and win the match.

It is true they were always seen as contenders, it’s just they were never seen as the top pick. Kind of like how Murray would be in the betting behind Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.
 
JobForTheMoyes said:
There was only one brief period West Ham were favorites, and they were in the tier below for most of the tournament:

1. The Pre-Tournament Leader: Villarreal​

At the start of the competition (September 2022), Villarreal was the clear favorite.

  • The Odds: Most major bookmakers had Villarreal as the standalone favorite at 7/1, while West Ham trailed at 8/1.
  • The Reasoning: Villarreal were the 2021 Europa League winners and 2022 Champions League semi-finalists. They were viewed as a "tier above" the competition.

2. The Mid-Season Drop: The "Lazio Shift"​

When the teams dropped down from the Europa League in November 2022, West Ham’s standing hit its lowest point.

  • The Favorite: Lazio entered the competition and immediately became the new favorite for many analysts.
  • West Ham's Decline: While West Ham were perfect in the group stage, their disastrous Premier League form (they spent months in a relegation battle) caused their odds to drift. Many experts believed they would eventually prioritize domestic survival over Europe.

3. The Shock Round of 16​

West Ham only moved to the top of the betting market by default after the "Big Two" were eliminated in the same week:

  • Villarreal (the primary favorite) lost to Anderlecht.
  • Lazio (the secondary favorite) lost to AZ Alkmaar. Only at this point did West Ham become the "default" favorite, as they were the last high-budget team standing.

4. The Final: Fiorentina as the Definitive Favorite​

It is a common misconception that the Premier League side was favored in the final. On the day of the match in Prague, Fiorentina were the definitive favorites.

  • The Betting Market: Leading sportsbooks (such as Betfred and Bet365) priced Fiorentina at 13/8 to win in 90 minutes, compared to West Ham at 15/8.
  • The Statistical Model: Analytical models favored Fiorentina due to their tactical dominance—they were the tournament's highest scorers and led nearly every possession metric.
  • The Final Verdict: Going into kick-off, West Ham were viewed as the "underdogs" who relied on counter-attacks, while Fiorentina were the "favorites" expected to control and win the match.

It is true they were always seen as contenders, it’s just they were never seen as the top pick. Kind of like how Murray would be in the betting behind Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.
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Yeah they were declining because of the relegation form and were still in the favourites, thanks.

Thanks for confirming that you know this via ChatGPT also.
 
Hinchcliffe's Corner said:
The highlight for me is the hypothetical scenarios of us finishing 14th instead of 5th. People really are gloomy bar stewards.
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Assuming this is aimed at me as I asked the question - didn't know questions are prohibited; both sides are hypothetical and it doesn't make me a doomer to ask a question, I've been on the Moyes side for the most part this entire time too.

I'd say it's the imaginary point scoring and these 'owns' that keep getting dished out to left and right instead of answering a question that are annoying and block any conversation, but thank you gaffer or whatever next.
"What would you say if what you're saying doesn't happen?"
- "SHUT UP YOU DOOMER", yeah, makes sense.
 
Bedfordblue said:
Someone says we had the 14th highest / lowest spent on the squad THIS SEASON - I pointed out we actually had the 7th highest investment net.

Someone says net spend doesn’t count because we didn’t spend any money for the previous 5 years and ‘Net spend is for boffins’ - I said why stop at 5 years, look at the last 10 when mosh that splashing the cash.

Someone says yeah but we lost 10 players,
- I posted we were far from an outlier on that.

Now you’re posting 5years net spend to make a moot point.

Ladies and gentlemen - THE MOYES INFALLIBLY ZONE

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I see you only want to consider net spend for last season and you want to ignore the four previous years of positive net spend when the squad wasn't being invested in.

Fair and balanced as always.

Infallibility is the word you're looking for.
 

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