Now the handbrake can come off. West Ham United’s January transfer window can really gather ‘massive’ momentum.
I was asking myself at the weekend, “who, in their right mind, would actually sign for West Ham in January?” with all of the uncertainty, reported player bust-ups, dressing room divisions.
Now that the news has broken, the decision has been made and Julen Lopetegui heads off into the distance – certainly along with my good wishes, (whatever we think of his coaching ability, the man acted with dignity and deserves a good break and a chance to enjoy his reported £3 million severance)- there is more good news for Hammers fans:
Suddenly West Ham are an attractive option again for new players to consider.
With the formal announcement of Graham Potter’s appointment due last night, ( I got bored with waiting when I typed this piece for the morning) West Ham’s recruitment will be revitalised, whether player acquisition is under the control of Steidten or Sullivan (more of that later) – the Hammers should find it far easier to recruit in January.
Which is very welcome news since the club are desperate for a striker and midfield creativity – plus another centre back, all on a very limited transfer budget.
‘Potter’s pulling power’ is likely to help get the phone ringing at London Stadium far more frequently this month. It can’t do our chances of recruiting Evan Ferguson in January any harm at all!
Exciting times ahead.
I m really sorry that over payed premadonas are ruining the Westham legacy of passion for our club they demand their wage then play like your local park players. Letting there team mates down. Bown has come from grass roots football and shown these pro’s what passion is. The board has to stand up to these and make Westham great again give Potts the help he needs to sort the players a good kick up the arsenal and play as a team not individuals.
I just hope that Potter can manage the egos & self- entitlement some players appear to exhibit, that was the one major failure at Chelsea.
I wish Loppy & Potter all the best in their future endeavours— COYI
Don’t get ahead of yourselves fcs, remember that last transfer window headlines west ham sign 9 top players and look what happened half we’re either flops or not suited to the Premier league or just came for the money, wait and see who go’s out who comes in and how potter deals with tactics, and the playing staff hopefully he will play a decent system with the players being used in their best positions.
You got me excited. I thought the huge bonus was Sully packing his bags the continual useless, clueless, egotistical waste of space. Hilarious him trying to spin the blame on Tim – literally no one believes those lies. SULLY OUT never stops!!!!!!!
Sullivan picked Lopetegui ( a defensive coach who lied and said he would coach possession based football ) against the wishes of Steidten . Steidten signed players capable of possession based football . Sullivan blocked Steidten’s Duran signing and demanded cheap ( Fulkrug ) . The problem here is Sullivan . He has no idea how to manifest a successful football club . All this drama is a consequence of Sullivan trying to hide his mistake .
The West Ham United Board of Directors have form when it comes to the poor treatment of people. They do not learn their lessons, and they don’t seem to realise the damage that has been done to the West Ham United brand and the reputation of the club. And the information leaked to media outlets is intolerable.
Parking the blame for ‘not meeting expectations’ at Lopetegui’s doorstep is laughable. The club had failed to properly, professionally and routinely deal with succession planning, either through the academy or by recruitment. They fell over the line at the end of the last campaign as the oldest team in the league. They had several players in and around their twilight years who would all need replacing around the same time. They had not effectively replaced Declan Rice. They had failed miserably in their attempts to sign a centre forward who would deliver a regular supply of goals. For all of Lopetegui’s apparent shortcomings, he’d have had to be a very special manager to pull it all together in time to make a strong start in this campaign. And I can’t imagine many clubs would give him the two game ultimatum when those two games were red hot Liverpool and the champions on their own turf (despite their poor recent form).
This has been a disgraceful few weeks and we are very fortunate that any football man would want to come in and take the wheel after what has transpired. I wish bot Lopetegui and Potter the very best of luck.
Excellent post Lance and couldn’t agree more. Let’s hope the board and those who leak information to the media are held to account. I despair when I consantly see references to “our top source” which just feed this constant negative narrative around our club.
I wish both managers the best of luck and very much hope Potter can help bring the stability and positive approach which we all want to see.
Not sure why we don’t want to shake the tree on Lopetegui’s tenure, as it nearly rotted us to the core. Team sheet disbelief, changing room scuffles, player disconnect, shit result after shit result, relegation on the horizon. Avram Grantesque ! Cancer removed, new ideas in place, new coaches in position. We have a small squad, so everything has to be just right to succeed. In Potter we trust !
Coz some people have empathy and some don’t. Some people see a decent man who was trying his best under difficult circumstances under extreme pressure with no striker and other players missing, dealing with the loss of his father. Some see the human side and some haven’t got an ounce of it in them. That’s life I suppose.
If we get Ferguson in, the same old problems persist
Bang average, injury prone player on over inflated prices.
Even supporters lack ambition.
From a rock to a hard if its true another waste of space
Does anyone know the full story about a number of players approaching Noble raising issues about Lopetegui ? It seems this may have been contributory to the timing of his departure. It also implies that player discontent was greater than we may have thought.
No we dont know anything about that. Sounds like it’s been made up by somebody.
No need to spread fake news. The Lopetegui era is over. Let’s let the man go with a bit of dignity.
I’d really rather not dwell on this anymore as it’s been awful for all of us watching our club’s reputation just get dragged through every paper and football site over the last few months. Endless reports and rumours which we have all seen and wondered what on earth is going on. The BBC have over 1200 comments on the sacking today, many of them from our own fans criticising the board’s handling and many others questioning the original decision on Moyes’ leaving.
I just hope that the “sources” of these stories within the club and the board reflect on how much damage has already been caused.
That probably says more about the players. They have been awful and for some of them, not just this season.
It’s easier to find a scapegoat when you are playing poorly.