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Moyes Confident He Will Make West Ham Beg Him to Stay
David Moyes said he would perform so well in his second spell as West Ham manager that the owners would have no option but to renew his contract when it comes to an end.
The 56-year-old Scotsman, whose reputation took a battering during a deeply unsuccessful spell as Manchester United boss in 2013-14, signed an 18-month contract with the Premier League strugglers on Sunday.
Moyes was let go by co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan after the 2017-18 season despite leading the club to survival and a 13th-place finish.
He was replaced by Manuel Pellegrini, whose tenure came to an end on Saturday following the 2-1 home defeat by high-flying Leicester City which left the Hammers fourth from the bottom just a point above Aston Villa.
Moyes, who established his reputation with Everton before the demoralising spell at United, said he was not bitter about being let go in 2018.
“No, because things were done correctly — I wasn’t taken on and I was told that,” he said on Monday at a press conference ahead of Wednesday’s home game with fellow strugglers Bournemouth.
“I was disappointed, I’ve said that, but I’ve got another chance to go again.
“I think it says a lot about the owners, they thought the job I did was good enough to give me another opportunity.
“This time I’m going to make it so there’s no choice but to renew.
“There’s a clause in there and I’m going to make it impossible to ignore that, that’s my plan.”
– No hesitation –
Moyes, who also had unsuccessful spells at Spanish side Real Sociedad and Sunderland, said he had not hesitated when he received a phone call from the owners.
“It was very simple when they called me,” he said.
“They asked me do I want to come back and I said ‘I can’t wait’.
“We didn’t talk about the past, we were just talking about the team now, what we have to do and the position we’re in.”
Moyes return has not been universally welcomed by West Ham fans but he said he was the right fit for the job.
“What anybody’s getting is a very experienced Premier League manager, I think there’s arguably only two or three more experienced around, and I win,” he said.
“There’s a lot of new modern things in football but recently I think you’ve seen signs of things going back a bit.
“We do want to keep possession but perhaps possession is not now seen, even maybe by yourselves (in the media), as the key to winning games.
“The fans want to see more attacking football, action and excitement.
“The biggest thing I want to see from my team is for the supporters to be excited — I would love that to be the case.”
(AFP)
The Super Eagles of Nigeria defeated Egypt 4-2 on penalties to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 third-place playoff on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali proved the hero of the night with two crucial saves during the shootout, including one from Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.
Ademola Lookman then calmly converted the decisive penalty to secure the bronze medal —Nigeria’s ninth third-place finish in AFCON history.
With neither side able to break the deadlock in a cagey second half, the game ended 0-0, sending the contest directly to penalties.
Despite Fisayo Dele-Bashiru missing Nigeria’s first kick, Nwabali’s immediate saved from Egypt’s first two attempts shifted the momentum.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of the son of a former Jigawa State governor, challenging the decision of the trial court, which convicted him for failing to declare $40,000 at Kano airport.
In a unanimous decision, the apex court panel dismissed the appeal of Aminu Sule Lamido, the son of former governor Sule Lamido, for lack of merit.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Aminu on December 11, 2012, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while preparing to travel to Cairo, Egypt.
The prosecution said Aminu declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), but was found with an additional $40,000, which was not disclosed on his currency declaration form.
The EFCC charged him before the Federal High Court in Kano on a one-count offence of false declaration of foreign currency, contrary to provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
On July 12, 2015, the court convicted Aminu and ordered him to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared sum to the Federal government.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Aminu approached the Court of Appeal in Kaduna to overturn the conviction and set aside the forfeiture order.
In a judgment delivered on December 7, 2015, however, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered that the trial of former governor Lamido, his two sons, and others, over alleged N1.35billion fraud, should continue before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
A five-member panel of the apex court issued the directive in two unanimous judgments, in the two appeals filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the trial court, which dismissed the no-case submission filed by the Lamidos and held that the defendants had a case to answer.
Both appeals were against the July 25, 2023, judgments of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which upheld the no-case submission made by Lamido and others and struck out the 37-count charge on which they were being prosecuted, on the grounds that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
In the lead judgments of the Supreme Court, Justice Abubakar Umar set aside the July 25, 2023 judgments of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the earlier decision by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which overruled the no-case submissions by Lamido and others and ordered them to enter their defence.
The EFCC, in the 37-count charge, among others, accused Lamido of abusing his position as a governor between 2007 and 2015, allegedly laundering sums of money received as kickbacks from companies that were awarded contracts by the Jigawa State Government under his leadership.
The other defendants charged alongside Lamido are his two sons – Aminu and Mustapha; Aminu Wada Abubakar and their companies – Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
