“Unprecedented” | Steidten Playing a Dangerous Game

The revelation earlier today that West Ham director of football Tim Steidten is looking to distance himself from the appointment of Julen Lopetegui is astounding.

It must be noted that, at present, the story is unsubstantiated. However, if true, it could spark a chain of events that would end very badly for the German. The exclusive article on Hammers News states that “Tim Steidten is not putting his name to the appointment of Julen Lopetegui,” and it specifies that the DOF warned Irons chairman David Sullivan against the appointment.

To put it simply, if I’m interpreting the situation correctly, it seems we have a case of “It’s not my fault, guv; blame the chairman.” If this is accurate, Steidten could face some very tough questions the next time he speaks to Sullivan.

Playing a blame game of “I told you so” with one’s boss is always fraught with danger, and undermining David Sullivan could be a terminal move for Tim.

My personal suspicion is that Steidten wanted Ruben Amorim, but his buyout package was likely too expensive, leading Sullivan to hire Julen Lopetegui, who reportedly interviewed well and impressed with his project and plans for West Ham.

That said, Steidten was happy to be photographed alongside Lopetegui and, as recently as this weekend, expressed to TNT Sports how pleased he was with the appointment and that Lopetegui was the right man for the job.

While I expect the club—and possibly even Steidten himself—to separate from the story, if there is any grain of truth, it could sow seeds of mistrust within the club, setting us back to square one.