David Moyes is doing a great job - hell, he's manager of the season so far

At the conclusion of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, West Ham finished a whopping 60 points behind first time winners Liverpool.

The Hammers ended up 16th and just about avoided relegation thanks to some much improved performances post-lockdown, as well as the goalscoring exploits of Michail Antonio.

That was in July 2020.

Fast forward six months and West Ham are unrecognisable from the team who were fighting for their Premier League lives.

At the time of writing, the Hammers are fourth in the Premier League, and have won ten, drawn five and lost five of the 20 games they've played during 2020/21. No longer are they a team who finished a distant 60 points behind Liverpool, they are a team who lead Liverpool by a point - occupying a Champions League qualification spot in the process.

Granted, the season still has a long way to go and Liverpool's supposed dip has owed much to the catastrophic number of defensive injuries Jurgen Klopp's men have had to endure. But that is quite some chasm to close and nothing should be taken away from the outstanding job West Ham manager David Moyes is doing at the London Stadium.

A convincing and thoroughly deserved win over Crystal Palace on Tuesday made it six wins in a row to start the calendar year, the first time that has ever been achieved in the club's history. It also stretched West Ham's unbeaten record to eight games and, looking even further back, ensured the club have sampled defeat just twice in their last 15 games. Those two losses were against Chelsea and Manchester United, incidentally.

What was striking about the performance, and it's been a characteristic of much of West Ham's play this season, was how free flowing and confident every player on the Selhurst Park pitch looked.

There is a confident swagger and complete understanding of what Moyes is asking of them, as well as a belief that going a goal behind is no longer a problem. The Hammers have a clear plan that plays into the strengths of their core players, and for the first time in a long time there is unity, team spirit and actual togetherness. This is a happy group of players in it for each other, not a set of self-serving nomadic individuals like we've seen in the past.

At times it's unfair to spotlight the praise on individuals when things are going so well, but in this case it's deserved. Without Moyes' level-headed leadership, West Ham simply wouldn't be where they are now. He's stabilised the club when things had spiralled out of control under Manuel Pellegrini, stripped things back to basics and has been consistent with everything he has said and done.

In the transfer market, for example, one of the first things Moyes spoke about was awarding opportunities to younger players, targeting Championship talent ready to step up and make an impact, and getting value for money when buying from abroad.

To date, he's kept his promise on all fronts, and handed a number of first-team debuts to promising academy graduates in the recent FA Cup tie with Doncaster. Jarrod Bowen has been one of West Ham's best players since arriving from then Championship outfit Hull last January, and he's almost certainly a player who wouldn't have arrived had Pellegrini still been in charge.

"I think with David, the interesting thing if you listen to his press conferences and talk to him, is when he mentions the time he spent at RB Leipzig in between jobs and he talked about the young players they've got there and the system they've put in place. Because if you do your due diligence on that model of play, it is perfect for West Ham. High speed, youth, exciting players, buying them at a young age. Getting them in, building a club."

- Joe Cole speaking to 90min in June 2020

Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal and Craig Dawson - three eyebrow raising signings who were either unknown or lacked the supposed quality that many West Ham fans felt the club should be targeting - have all excelled, particularly the two Czech players. They've been fantastic value for money acquisitions, and have helped put the disappointment of splurging £80m on Sebastien Haller and Felipe Anderson over the past couple of years to one side.

Then there's another star of the Championship, Said Benrahma, who although he hasn't yet scored a goal in West Ham colours, is starting to show that he's got all of the qualities required to be a handy Premier League player.

What all of this, and Joe Cole's interview with 90min back in June, tells us is that West Ham's success so far this season is no fluke. Moyes enjoyed great consistency at Everton for well over a decade, and clearly knows how to oversee, manage, motivate and strengthen a squad of players. He no longer has large swathes of critics weighing him down, and the fact he still feels the Hammers can be doing more shows just how important he is to the club's long-term future.

Moyes has connected with the supporters, understandably has their overwhelming support and crucially has brought the feel-good factor back for a fanbase who have been at loggerheads with the club's owners for the best part of a decade. He's only just getting started, but deserves to take all of the plaudits for the strides West Ham have made in the last 12 months and the work he's done so far.

Hell, he may even be the Premier League manager of the season so far.

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