Simon Jordan defends West Ham boss David Moyes amid Brighton comparison

David Moyes, Manager of West Ham United, during his side's game at Brighton & Hove Albion

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan says David Moyes is getting undue criticism as West Ham are just two points behind the much-lauded Brighton.

The Hammers sit ninth in the Premier League table despite being thrashed 5-0 by Fulham at the weekend, whereas eight-placed Albion drew with lowly Burnley.

Seagulls fans are thrilled with how Roberto De Zerbi has got their team playing but despite manager Moyes leading West Ham to Europa Conference League success last season, a growing number of supporters seem to be disgruntled with their side's style of play.

However, Jordan, who was owner at Palace between 2000-10, thinks there is little to split Brighton and Moyes' side, but the east London outfit are not praised in the same way.

He said on talkSPORT: "We are looking at Brighton and we're saying, 'Oh, everything about Brighton is wonderful'. So what is it that Brighton are doing that West Ham are not?

"They are two points ahead of West Ham, they got beat by six goals [against Aston Villa] and they are doing precisely the same things as West Ham. So I think you have to get context about what David Moyes has and hasn't done. I find the narrative strange why David [Moyes] comes in for this criticism."

To Jordan's point, West Ham have qualified for European football for multiple seasons in a row now but were relegation candidates for much of last season.

Moreover, between 2018 and 2013, Brighton have a net spend of -£134 million whereas the Hammers' net spend in that period was £280m.

In this time frame, the Seagulls have gone from relegation contenders to qualifying for Europe for the first time in the club’s history, despite selling some of their best players and spending far less than their Premier League rivals.