Athletic journalist says West Ham have become Premier League’s circus again

Yet it’s somehow very easy to forget that memorable Hammers achievement was only last summer.

Just over 16 months ago to be precise.

West Ham have shelled out over a quarter of a billion pounds on some quality new players and have a new manager in place since.

But you would never know it if you took one look at the sorry shambles unfolding this season.

Yes West Ham lost Declan Rice, but with that level of investment in players of the quality of Mohammed Kudus, Edson Alvarez, Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Crysencio Summerville, Guido Rodriguez and Niclas Fullkrug it shouldn’t be this way.

When West Ham brought in Tim Steidten as technical director with overarching responsibility for recruitment, Hammers News suggested there was always going to be a potential issue with David Moyes. And so it proved.

Chaos returns to east London after progress and peace

But even the most cynical of West Ham fans could not have predicted the situation the Hammers find themselves in right now.

Before Steidten’s arrival the Hammers were often rudderless in the transfer market.

Lurching from one crisis to another with no coherent transfer plan or strategy.

Steidten looked set to change all that.

And when Moyes departed, West Ham fans felt he would have a big say in which manager would come in to work alongside him.

Despite the reservations of supporters and – if what we are now led to believe is true – some board members and Steidten himself, Julen Lopetegui got the gig.

Except unlike with Moyes, Steidten is now in full control of recruitment. With that comes more focus on his dealings – good and bad.

Athletic journalist says West Ham are Premier League’s circus

In the last week alone, since the dreadful drubbing at Spurs, Lopetegui’s future has been plunged into doubt and Steidten’s role is said to be under the spotlight within the club.

Then came the dreaded ‘vote of confidence’ for the manager from the board via Sean Whetstone.

That was followed by claims from a top German reporter – linked to Steidten – that his compatriot Edin Terzic has been put on standby to replace Lopetegui.

Fans are divided over the manager. Many didn’t want him in the first place but now find themselves wary of calling for the head of a man who has overseen a 21-player turnaround in the summer.

That’s almost a full Premier League squad.

Most sensible football people would suggest more time is needed before judgement is cast.

Lopetegui has pleaded with David Sullivan to give him until May to turn things around.

But West Ham want to be back in Europe and at the moment their form is more akin to a side that will be battling relegation.

The chaos all feels a bit too familiar for Hammers fans.

After a period of progress, peace and unity, the in-fighting and blame game appear to be back with a vengance.

Just to add to the sense of unwelcome nostalgia, fans are even unhappy with the owners again over ticket pricing and policy as protests dampen the mood even further.

Now an Athletic journalist says West Ham have become the Premier League’s circus again.

‘Hammers look like an irredeemable clown show’

In his hugely popular column ‘The Briefing’, Nick Miller says West Ham’s clownish behaviour is unrivalled in the top flight.

And he states it is easy to forget the ‘mess’ of a club won a trophy just last year.

“There is a temptation to think that West Ham are a lost cause, an irredeemable clown show who somehow manage to make the wrong decision at every turn, wasting money on a succession of ill-advised signings, a twitchy finger constantly hovering over the self-destruct button,” Miller said.

“They sometimes feel like the football equivalent of a man in a slapstick film, getting their collective foot stuck in a bucket and smacking someone in the face with a large plank of wood.

“But then you remember that they won a European trophy 16 months ago and you conclude that they can’t be a completely cursed institution.

“That day felt like a long time ago on Saturday, as they imploded with such gusto against Tottenham, losing their first-half lead in relatively quick time, letting in three more goals and then there was the incredibly unnecessary ruckus that resulted in Mohammed Kudus getting sent off for pushing a succession of opponents in the face…

“Frankly, they are a mess and Lopetegui will have to figure out how to fix them in pretty short order, otherwise, their season could go south very rapidly and his future will be in doubt.”

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