The news that manager Julen Lopetegui has been shown the door at West Ham wasn’t really a shock – let’s be honest, most of us saw it coming. But the way it unfolded? Pure farce. A manager deemed surplus to requirements forced to take training while the club apparently publicly haggled over terms with his replacement – embarrassing.
I know that players and managers are paid handsomely, but even so, that’s pretty rough on them, with little certainty as to what is actually happening. It’s a shambolic backdrop to a crucial FA Cup clash against Aston Villa.
For the new man coming in, West Ham – as a football club – are in a worse position than when Julen took up the post in the summer. The stats speak for themselves: 20 matches, just 24 goals have been scored, and 39 conceded.
For context, Wolves – hardly an attacking juggernaut – have bagged 31, while Leicester and Ipswich are right there with us. To put it bluntly: every time our team takes to the pitch, we’re effectively starting 2-1 down.
The one thing that you can point to is that Lopetegui tends to win the matches that he needs a result in, normally against their lower-half rivals. Wolves were dispatched, Ipswich were thumped, Manchester United (yes, they count) were beaten – albeit somewhat fortuitously.
Six wins from 20 isn’t utterly crippling, with Brighton – considered to be safely occupying mid-table – mustering the same amount. But, and there’s a big but coming: we can’t score goals, especially with Bowen and Antonio’s enforced absences.
Our defence has been porous, leaking goals almost on autopilot; and some of the scorelines have been horrific. The bottom line? Every month this season, without fail, we’ve suffered at least one defensive horror show, shipping three or more goals.
That’s eight times in 20 matches – 40% of the campaign. For a squad with this much talent, it’s a disgrace.What’s worse is the complete lack of tactical direction. Lopetegui’s ‘master plan’ seemed to be to throw subs on at will when things won’t going well – which they weren’t, most of the time – and changing the lineup regularly, hoping something would fix things.
Spoiler alert: they didn’t. And honestly, what was plan A? The net result of all of this, of course, has been apathy. Apathy amongst the players – it’s clear that whilst they’ve played for the manager, they haven’t bought into, or don’t understand the system, and some (Kudus, I’m looking at you) seem to be playing for a move; and there’s apathy amongst the fans too.
Before recent matches against Liverpool and Manchester City, the chatter in the Blowing Bubbles WhatsApp group wasn’t about excitement or the chance of giving the opposition a proper game. It was about how heavily we’d lose. And we did, of course. That sums up where we’ve got to – hope is a foreign concept.
Lopetegui’s departure is the right thing or the club, for the fans, and for Lopetegui himself, who cannot have found the last few months massively enjoyable, and of course he has had to deal with tragedy of his own recently, with the loss of his father.
I know as a human being, the last few weeks will have been very difficult for him, and he has every sympathy. Lopetegui seems like a decent guy who genuinely cared, and there’s no joy in seeing things unravel like this.
However, as I’ve consistently said, I did not think it was the right fit when he was appointed, he hasn’t moved the club forward and nor does it look like he would be able to, and ultimately, it’s right that he makes way for someone else who can.
I wish Julen Lopetegui the very best for the future – he’s had a tough run, both on and off the pitch. But now, it’s time for a new era. Let’s hope Potter is the right appointment, and we can finally turn the corner toward a brighter future.
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