What an eventful month January was. It seems like ages ago that following a defeat against Manchester City, we saw a few days of will he go, won’t he go play out before a decision was finally made.
The Lopetegui Departure Drama
Lopetegui should have been sacked straight after that Manchester City defeat in my opinion but we just dragged it out for days as we talked to Potter and tried to finalise his deal. Originally the length of contract was set to be six months but due to interest in him from Everton and other clubs, Potter was able to negotiate a two and a half year deal. These negotiations, however, prolonged his appointment and led to the ridiculous scenario of Lopetegui and his staff still taking training even though the whole world and his dog knew he was a dead man walking.
Power Struggles and the Steidten Exit
As part of the negotiations, Potter wanted to replace Tim Steidten with his own man in Kyle Macauley. Ironically Potter had been photographed meeting Steidten behind the manager’s back and this and other actions had led to Lopetegui being the second manager to ban Steidten from the training ground and dressing room. This situation led to David Sullivan seeming to take a role in transfers and then all business coming down to the last day.
Evaluating the Evan Ferguson Loan
This isn’t a situation unfamiliar to West Ham but one that hopefully means our lack of spending will transfer over to a large recruitment drive in the summer when Potter and his team have had a chance to properly evaluate the squad. We did get Evan Ferguson in and that is a significant move for us because he is an out-and-out forward and someone who Potter gave his debut to. Disappointingly there was no option or obligation to buy so should he do really well for us, it could be hard to buy in the summer, but I guess we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it.
The Return of James Ward-Prowse
The other significant moment was the return of James Ward-Prowse from a disappointing loan spell at Nottingham Forest. We reached a mutual agreement to terminate his season long loan because of a lack of game time. We obviously agreed to pick up his weekly wage as well as not taking all the loan fee too. I am pleased to see him back and don’t think he should have been allowed to go on loan. Whilst I’m not convinced I would start him, if we’re chasing a game, having his ability to deliver exceptional set pieces into the box will be a massive bonus.
Planning for a Summer Recruitment Drive
As mentioned earlier though, I think we need a serious recruitment drive. We need a new goalkeeper, at least one centre back, probably two central midfielders and another two forwards. I hope we will also see a change in strategy and look to recruit domestic based young talent but time will tell if that is the new strategy.
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