The two Davids who own West Ham United – Sullivan and Gold – must be feeling like a right pair of plonkers right now having been forced to eat a massive slice of managerial humble pie.

When the club was in relegation trouble in 2017, they swiftly removed Slaven Bilic and turned to David Moyes to save their top-flight status. Which he did with room to spare, finishing a healthy 13th.

But instead of rewarding the Scot with a long-term deal and allowing him the opportunity to build a team, they decided to let him go when his contract expired because the ever so sexy Manuel Pellegrini was available.

The two Davids had a clear case of foreign boss syndrome: they were seduced by Pellegrini’s exotic name, quirky accent and the fact that he had won a title with Manchester City. (What they didn’t take into consideration is that you could have put a tin of sardines in charge of that City side and they would probably still have won the league.)

But anyway, Manuel got the job and had a relatively decent first season. But his limitations at working with less-than-world-class players began to show through over the last couple of months and the Hammers were sucked into another relegation battle.

So the Davids did what needed doing, relieved Pellegrini of his duties, and then, in a move that must have caused them much heartache and emotional trauma, reappointed David Moyes.

In some ways I admire them for being big enough to admit they had made a mistake and being capable of swallowing their pride for the good of the team. The fact that they chucked away a season-and-a-half heading in the wrong direction can’t have been an easy thing to own up to in such public fashion.

However, this whole episode does raise even more questions about why club owners consistently work on the basis that foreign is better than British, even when there is little evidence in front of them to suggest that is true.

I mean, why didn’t they have faith in Moyes the first time round? It can’t be that they saw something he was doing that they didn’t like or they wouldn’t have invited him back for a second bite at the cherry.

So it can only be that they thought Pellegrini was a considerably better manager. Which, I think we can all see now is absolutely not the case. And which, indisputably, the statistics have always shown is simply not true.

Sensibly, Moyes did not rub any of this in when he took up his new (old) position. He just said that when the Davids asked him to come back he jumped at the opportunity to return.

With an 18-month contract in his pocket he does have a bit more security than last time, and, in an admirable display of self-confidence, he said would make sure the club had no choice but to extend his deal when it comes to its end.

VAR sucks and it’s ruining football

And that confidence obviously filtered through to the players, who responded to his appointment by thrashing Bournemouth 4-0 in Moyes’ first game back, with a fantastic performance.

But despite all that, I still have this uneasy, nagging suspicion that Gold and Sullivan are using Moyes again. If a more appealing foreigner with a more dramatic CV becomes available in the summer, does anyone really think they will stick with Moyes?

They (wrongly) saw Pellegrini as a step up from Moyes 18 months ago and I have absolutely no doubt they still think the Scot doesn’t quite have the glamour they are looking for or which they believe their club deserves.

I hope I’m wrong for Moyes’ sake, but I think he has been brought in to do a job before the two Davids embark on another foreign fantasy.

It’s not football any more

Just in case you were wondering, I think I am in a position to confirm that there is a whole sub-section of the football gods dedicated to VAR.

As you know, I am one of the video assistant referee’s most passionate opponents. I hate it from top to bottom and don’t miss any opportunity to point out its failings and how it is actually making football worse.

Well, the football gods (VAR Section) have obviously been reading what I have been saying and, by way of punishment, made sure that Sheffield United suffer the most from VAR decisions.

There is now a league table outlining VAR decisions in favour and against for all top-flight teams.

According to this table, up to last weekend, the team which had benefitted most from VAR was Southampton with six decisions going in their favour and only one against. Which probably explains why the Saints fans were singing “VAR! VAR!” during their match with Tottenham Hotspur every time there was an even slightly contentious decision.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the table are, you guessed it, Sheffield United. My team has so far been on the end of eight VAR rulings, seven of which have gone against them.

I wouldn’t mind, of course, if they were proper decisions based on clear errors. But most of them have seen goals ruled out for the most marginal offside decisions imaginable, like an overgrown toenail or a stray pubic hair poking out of a player’s shorts.

It’s actually painful to think where United might be in terms of points if those goals hadn’t been ruled out. We might even have achieved mathematical safety by now.

I was tempted to write something positive about VAR just to see if the football gods (VAR Section) might be a bit more forgiving to the Blades over the second half of the season.

However, having thought it through, there are two reasons why I’m not going to bother.

Firstly because that would be betraying my principles, and secondly because I can’t think of anything positive to say anyway.

VAR sucks and it’s ruining football. If that means another seven decisions will go against us, then so be it.

e-mail: james@findit.com.mt
Twitter: @maltablade