When Sean Whetstone, Claret and Hugh’s associate editor, ran the article last week entitled ‘West Ham’s Game Against Everton Is A Must-win game for Lopetegui’ the words came from our high-ranking source at the club and left little room for interpretation or argument: Lopetegui’s future was on the line and the Everton game, was, exactly that, a must win game.
Waiting all week for the signs of that stance shifting, I’ve been watching the stories of more than half a dozen managers being lined up or shortlisted to take over from Lopetegui with a little voice of doubt in my own mind- would Chairman Sullivan actually pull the plug on Lopetegui’s job if we didn’t win?
The huge compensation payout – over £6 million – which Lopetegui would be due would always make the decision to sack him a very last resort by the board, in my opinion. And so it seems, from news coming out of the club today. For it is clear the position of ‘must win’ taken up last week has been abandoned.
Sean again approached our highly-placed source at the club and was told this morning, the day after the Everton 0-0 game that:” We were a fraction unlucky at the end. BUT accept that results are not good enough and they need to improve”.
So ‘must-win‘ has become ‘need to improve’. So the ‘shortlisted six’ prospective Lopetegui replacements can go and put their passports back in the bedside cabinet – they’ll not be getting a call any time soon. And we, the spectators, won’t be getting any relief from that turgid display any time ourselves. I’d say ‘buckle up’ Hammers fans but more like ‘doss down on a piece of cardboard’, Hammers fans, its going to be a long and uncomfortable winter’s viewing.
How many fans need to stay away to equal Lopetegui’s pay off, and over how many games?
exactly! made that point on another article. add more protest initiatives (petitions, high-profile fan statements, boycott the store, international petition, etc.) no pitch invasions and violence! hit him where he’ll really hate it. save some cash from not having to have the sour taste of an expensive rotten pie in your mouth and your kid all sad.
I feel that there is actually more scope for deterioration than improvement that performance was so gutless. It seems highly improbable that Lopetegui will get through to the new year the way things are going so the sensible thing seems to me to be to move him on asap.
We cannot look at the teams at the foot of the table and assume that they will not improve will let us off the hook, Ipswich won 2-1 at Tottenham today more than betters our 4-1 capitulation.
Are there really 3 teams worse than us?!
The table can lie at this stage and based on current performances we look one of the worst!
Wolves will be above us soon as they had the toughest start out of any club. Ipswich looked impressive and threatened Spurs keeper and got 3 points.
Everton and Leicester could easily secure more points than us from the next 6/7 games.
sullivan never learns, this seems very much like the avram grant season where if he had the bottle to sack grant in november.december that might have saved us from relegation, when we get relegated he agrees he made a mistake not sacking grant then, this joker incharge now is like grant mk2
Been saying exactly the same!
🤡 owner and 🤡 manager!
JLo is Avram Grant 2.0 – think we will be in the bottom 3 after the Boxing Day game if JLo is left in charge.
Going to cost a whole lot more if they get it wrong.
It’s already gone wrong!
We were supposed to be getting a better brand of football, not let in record amount of goals like we did under Moyes, and we are meant to be trying to get in to Europe.
If it goes wrong. Don’t you mean if it goes from dire to absolute disaster?!
How did the club put themselves in a position to pay 6 mil’ compensation to this incompetent clown ?
Cheese Roll and a packet of Quavers would be more appropriate !
On your bike, Sully, we need a complete takeover by someone who knows how to run a Premier League football club.
Things are going to get pretty ugly, me thinks !
I would keep the Quavers and JLo only gets the cheese roll as I’m dairy intolerant.
In fact, I’m putting the Quavers in the roll and all he is getting is the 🧀
Remember when Noble said this club isn’t ran like a circus. How wrong could you be. After sitting through 90mins plus of absolute dross the only person who can’t see there is a problem is the clown running the club. Lack of ambition, penny pinching ways. This club is a joke. There’s an underlying frustration from the fan base the longer this situation goes and it’s only a matter of time before the demonstrations return outside and inside the ground. Sullivan is a dead weight holding this club back.
Frustration is reaching boiling point with JLo and we all know he was Sully’s choice!
I fully expect the crowd to turn toxic and make it known both to the owners and everyone watching on TV what a joke West Ham are!
TV pundits in the be careful what you wish for camp actually get paid to watch West Ham. To be honest I’d swerve free tickets and free travel than waste my time watching this team under this 🤡
Inaction by the board will fuel supporters fury and Sully will have no option but to finally admit he is as useless as our manager at taking West Ham in the right direction!
Don’t you think it’s time us fans started to show our discontent by not turning up at the games.
Surely Sullivan will take notice then as it would be hitting him where it hurts his pocket.
Really don’t understand why he’s not acting now by putting Lopetegui out of his misery and sacking him now,it’s inevitable isn’t it,why wait till after we’ve been annihilated by Newcastle and Arsenal just sack him now whilst there’s an International break for the new Manager to work with.
Honestly if Sullivan doesn’t act now the cost of relegation is far greater than what it would be in paying Lopeteguis contract up.
It’s so clear to see that the fans are going to turn soon and the atmosphere is going to become toxic unless this Manager is removed.
Fast losing my love for football now…
He really doesn’t like paying compensation or paying up contracts. Maybe there is a clause that allows him to sack without having to pay out or instead at a very reduced rate if were in the bottom three.
If relegation doesn’t become a real threat there’s no way he’ll sack him.
Fans don’t like paying to be completely bored. If we stay up this season I fully expect the LS to be considerably under capacity.
Sully won’t be able to fake the attendance figures as he does now when season ticket sales plummet.
And that’s on top of kids and pensioners being priced out.
Fans will still go though, too loyal for our own good. Attendance didn’t really drop even when we got relegated. It’s a shame the owner only pretends to be a fan.
Exactly – pensioners & kids!
Attendances didn’t drop last time we got relegated as we were at Upton Park. IMO that was our heart & soul and the main reason why fans still rocked up!
If we drop now, the London Stadium souless bowl and its lack of atmosphere will see a big drop off.
JLo should never have got the job in the first place!
Nobody apart from Sully wanted him, AC Milan included! JLo throwing shade at Tim illustrates just how spineless he really is!
Spain sacked him before the World Cup for basically being untrustworthy and acting without honour!
Honouring a contract he should never have got is ridiculous! Get rid of this 🤡 before this joker takes us even further in to the abyss!
The Times isn’t known for propaganda or spewing narratives of those trying to save face (Sully & JLo). JLo saying he has to “adapt his style” is just pure desperation and an attempt to deflect from his own complete and utter failure.
The quicker he returns to La Liga or the Portuguese leagues the better. Trust me there wasn’t a queue for him before Sully got mugged off.
JLo knows all his credibility has dropped to an all time low. West Ham need to act before he drags our club down with him.
I’d be more optimistic as a Wolves, Ipswich or Everton fan rather than us under this clueless imposter of a coach!
David Sullivan is a joke , he also has no clue £6 million is nothing compared to relegation . H-lo should be sacked now . I
Please Sullivan f@@ off
If sullivan needed any proof of how bad a choice he made just look at the spurs and forest matches today two teams that walloped west ham beaten at home by 2 teams that have no better players than us but have managers with a plan and players that listen to them .
100% 👍…headless chickens 🐔 is our tactics
Martin Treasure said yesterday or the day before there are 3 teams worse than us and we won’t go down.
Ipswich/ / Wolves and Southampton
I’d actually say all 3 play better football than us and only Southampton look like not being able to get themselves out of it.
With JLo, Ipswich and Wolves have a great chance of going above us.
I can seriously see us and Palace joining Southampton in kissing goodbye to Premier League football thanks to Sully