Shrewsbury Town v West Ham: Mixed memories for David Moyes
David Moyes has mixed memories of Shrewsbury as he prepares to take West Ham to his former club in the FA Cup tomorrow.
Moyes spent three years of his playing career with Town, making more than 100 appearances for the then-Championship side.
But they also dealt Moyes one of his biggest blows in management in 2003 when his Everton side were on the wrong end of an FA Cup third-round upset.
Shrews, then managed by former Toffees captain Kevin Ratcliffe, beat Moyes’ men – including Wayne Rooney, David Unsworth, Tomasz Radzinski and Thomas Gravesen – 2-1 thanks to two goals from Nigel Jemson.
“I have to say it was certainly one of my darkest nights,” Moyes said.
“When I talk about my disappointments in football one of the biggest was when I lost at Shrewsbury with Everton.
“But I was there as a player and there were a lot of Scottish boys there at the time.
“When I first joined we were in the Championship and doing OK. I have great memories of there.”
Shrewsbury will present a tough hurdle for Moyes to overcome again, with Paul Hurst’s side flying high in League One.
The tie will also be a homecoming for Joe Hart, who began his career at Gay Meadow.
The England goalkeeper would not have been expecting to play in such a match when he joined West Ham on loan from Manchester City, but having lost his place to Adrian he currently finds himself relying on the cups for game time.
“I’m sure he’s not overly happy with it,” added Moyes.
“But Joe’s a top professional. He’s had an understudy to him for 90 per cent of his career, and he is acting in a really good manner, very professional.
“There is no doubt Joe will play games between now and the end of the season.”
