Former West Ham assistant coach Stuart Pearce has delivered a new take on his old club and it will come as something of a surprise.
Stuart Pearce was immensely popular as a player and then coach at West Ham.
But he hasn’t had too much good to say about the Hammers since the decision to part company with David Moyes.
There was an element of surprise when Pearce announced he was leaving West Ham in May 2022.
At the time Pearce told the club’s official website he had decided “now is the right time to step away and pursue other opportunities and challenges”.
When it became clear Moyes was leaving West Ham in the summer and Julen Lopetegui would replace him, Pearce infuriated Hammers fans.
He jumped on the bandwagon by warning West Ham to ‘be careful what you wish for’.
Not only that, Pearce also mocked the ‘West Ham way’ as a fallacy.
As a former captain of the club, many expected better from Pearce.
The fact he made the comments in the company of a gleeful ex West Ham boss Sam Allardyce just rubbed salt in the wound.
West Ham and Steidten won’t believe what Pearce has said
Pearce was back on talkSPORT yesterday when the subject of West Ham came up.
Hammers fans might have expected an ‘I told you so’ from their former coach.
Especially after the inauspicious start to life for Lopetegui in east London.
Now West Ham and Tim Steidten won’t believe what Pearce has said about them after Moyes’ departure.
It’s been a pretty underwhelming start to life at the Hammers helm for Lopetegui.
The Spaniard has only overseen two Premier League wins from seven – against Palace and Ipswich.
There have been some hidings including another 5-1 drubbing at Liverpool in the League Cup.
It is meant the first couple of months were something of a damp squib after the excitement of an impressive – on paper at least – summer window.
Lopetegui has been drip-feeding new signings into the team.
And he had a much-publicised bust-up with star player Mohammed Kudus after a disappointing 1-1 draw against an injury-ravaged Brentford.
So one might expect Pearce to be telling the Hammers they made a mistake letting Moyes go.
West Ham spent £155m on nine new players in the summer. They also shipped out 12.
The recruitment was led by technical director Steidten, who Moyes famously banned from being around the first team towards the end of last season.
Former Hammers assistant’s shockingly positive new take
Given the friendship between Moyes and Pearce, West Ham fans may also expect the club’s transfer window to be criticised too.
In reality, Pearce’s take was quite the opposite.
In fact the former Hammer of the Year has made an exciting and bold claim about his old club.
Pearce says he believes Steidten has put together arguably the strongest squad in West Ham’s history.
And he is feeling upbeat about what the future may hold for the Hammers.
“I am quite buoyed up by where they are at the moment (as a club),” Pearce said on talkSPORT.
“You could honestly turn around and say this might be the strongest group of players on paper that the club have ever had in their history potentially.”
Pearce is essentially saying West Ham’s recruitment and squad have dramatically improved post Moyes.
It would have been easy for Pearce to question some of the signings out of loyalty to Moyes given what went on towards the end of his tenure between the Scot and Stediten.
So it’s quite some claim from Pearce in more ways than one.
Steidten business praised by Pearce
It echoes what many fans, pundits and journalists were saying about Steidten and Lopetegui’s business in the summer.
West Ham were deemed to have ‘won the transfer window’.
There have been signs that is starting to show on the pitch with the likes of Jean-Clair Todibo now coming to the fore.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Max Kilman and Crysencio Summerville also look like being excellent captures.
The jury remains out on striker Niclas Fullkrug given his frustrating injury problems. But getting such an elite finisher in the building was impressive.
One thing is for certain, if Lopetegui can follow up the thumping win over Ipswich with victory at bitter rivals Spurs, West Ham really will be cooking with gas.
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