Sport
When Julen Lopetegui became the latest Premier League manager to be sacked on Wednesday, nobody was surprised. But it did leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
It had been a long, drawn out saga, and a very public one at that. Lopetegui has never found his feet in East London like; the Hammers have lacked discipline and tactical identity all season, while losing the work ethic and edge they had under David Moyes. Despite overseeing their most successful modern period, Moyes was not perfect. His football was limited, and fans became increasingly unhappy. He took them into Europe and won them a trophy, but there was a ceiling in place under his stewardship. It wasn’t the wrong decision to replace him, but they needed to find the right man and they simply didn’t do that.
Lopetegui has an impressive CV. He’s managed the likes of Real Madrid, Spain and Sevilla, and had done a good job at Wolves under tight budget constraints which made him resign just before the start of last season. From a certain perspective, he was a sensible choice; he’d be backed with the money he didn’t get at Molineux and build the team he wanted.
He did that, signing big names like Crysensio Summerville from Leeds, defender Jean-Clair Todibo from Rennes and Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund. Many people backed them to have a great season because they’d spent so much, but it never got going consistently enough and with their outlay, there was no waiting for results. It has been clear for some time that the direction of travel under Lopetegui was wrong and change was needed.
There is quite a bit of irony about the current situation at West Ham. In 2018, the first time they decided to sack Moyes, they brought in Manuel Pellegrini, a highly regarded coach and former Premier League title winner with Manchester City; he was backed by a number of big signings but struggled to put his stamp on the club; they finished 10th in his first season, which was respectable but underwhelming to the ownership before being sacked the following December with the club hovering just above the relegation zone. Moyes stabilised the club and built something similar to what he had at Everton; battling underdog status to achieve more than anyone.
Although relegation doesn’t feel like a huge threat this time, their big gamble and attempt to pull away from Moyes has failed. West Ham are desperate to be seen as a big club, who sets the tone. Graham Potter, the man who is expected to take over at the London Stadium, has a reputation as a club builder, having done a great job on a budget at Brighton, before being cast aside after difficult months at Chelsea. He is looking for a project to rebuild his career around; it may be that West Ham is the right fit, given his principles for playing attractive football, but he’ll need a long-term vision and understanding to mould things to the way he wants them.
Potter will be similar to Moyes in that his pedigree with less money is what has caught the eye, but the style will be better. At least that is the hope.
It makes sense, but Potter will need to hit the ground running. The public way in which Lopetegui’s exit played out, from the fact it has been coming for weeks to the cancellation of his pre-FA Cup press conference on the day he took training only to be fired hours later. While this was happening, Potter had already been sounded out and talks were underway.
Lopetegui needed to go. West Ham have drifted this season, but they did the last time they tried to establish themselves. Potter feels like a good fit, but on the evidence of how his impending arrival has been handled, West Ham have a long way to go to achieve their ambitions.
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