Relegation battle vs. Champions League
West Ham United and Newcastle United are very close in terms of squad value and transfer spending – the clubs are worlds apart when it comes to on-field performance. In the catch-up game Newcastle, who confirmed third place in the table, humiliated the “Hammers” in their stadium with 5:1 and coach David Moyes has to cling more and more to his chair in the relegation battle.
“You will be fired in the morning,” Newcastle fans chanted, and some home team supporters chimed in, writes the “telegraph“. Moyes said: “I have no doubt that those responsible have my back.” Despite investing €194m, the third-highest in the world this season, West Ham are fighting relegation after 29 games, while Newcastle, who have invested €185m in the hand took, dreams of the Champions League.
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“I really like my job here (…) and I’m hoping for a few big days in the not too distant future,” continued Moyes, who has coached West Ham since late 2019. While they are doing perfectly in the UEFA Europa Conference League with eight wins in a row, his side are far from the performances of previous years in the domestic league when they finished 6th and 7th.
‘Schoolboys defence’ at West Ham: far apart from claim and reality
The discrepancy between the team’s potential and current performance is huge. While the Hammers are the eighth-highest team in the league with a squad value of €452m, they only sit 15th – and things could quickly get worse as teams from 15th to 18th in the table are only moved up goal difference separated. West Ham’s most valuable player Declan Rice (24) described his team’s performance as a “schoolboy defence”.
The counterpart to the “Hammers” are currently the “Magpies”, who are up there with the seventh most valuable squad in the league. Anyone who attributes this success solely to the investments made by the owners from Saudi Arabia is doing coach Eddie Howe injustice. Since taking the helm, he has transformed Newcastle from a relegation contender into a serious contender for the ‘premium’, with a strong defensive focus. While the team conceded 1.63 goals per game in 2021/22, it is now 0.71 – by far the best value on the island.
The successes of the “Magpies” have also had an impact on the squad value since the start of the season. While this was still €364m on September 1st, well behind West Ham’s, Howe’s team is now at €494m.
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