Sullivan’s Steidten gamble

West Ham chairman David Sullivan will be taking a massive risk if he decides against taking the advice of Tim Steidten.

According to another report from The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg, West Ham have held “productive” talks with Lopetegui over replacing Moyes, and it’s added that co-chairman Sullivan is personally “likely” to hire him if he ignores other board members advising him against the move.

It’s a fascinating insight into the workings behind the scenes at West Ham. It’s difficult to know who the other board members are whom Hammers fan Steinberg is referring to, but it’s safe to assume Director of Football Tim Steidten would not be too pleased.

To put it bluntly, Steidten knows what he’s doing and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Europe’s top coaches. Furthermore, he’s been there and done it before as part of the Bayer Leverkusen team that hired Xabi Alonso.

Sullivan’s Steidten gamble? West Ham could risk losing Tim Steiden by ignoring his advice

It would be extremely foolhardy not to listen to the advice of an expert on the West Ham payroll. It would be akin to hiring Gordon Ramsay as head chef then asking him to make a nice cup of tea while I cracked on with the gourmet stuff.

This also runs the risk of isolating the man who was clearly recruited to oversee a new dawn for West Ham. I’d imagine Steidten was incredibly frustrated to see his attempts to sign Ibrahim Osman undermined while David Moyes succeeded in recruiting Kalvin Phillips for mega money.

Steidten has clearly waited patiently in the wings for Moyes to depart the club so that he can implement his vision. While I wouldn’t be so crass as to label Lopetegui as a Spanish version of David Moyes, he’s clearly not the man to hire if the desired team is an attacking one populated with academy players.