Julen Lopetegui has come out fighting amid calls for him to be sacked but he’s playing a risky blame game involving Tim Steidten.
Going into the game against Everton Julen Lopetegui wasn’t the only man under pressure at West Ham.
What’s been named the worst match of the Premier League season so far, was billed a must-win for Lopetegui.
Especially after six managers were linked with his job in the build-up and a two-week international break followed.
But technical director Tim Steidten also found himself in the spotlight.
It has been a strange week regarding the German ‘pearl diver’.
Steidten took full control of West Ham’s football operation when David Moyes departed.
And he described his ‘euphoria’ at that fact, stating he sees the Hammers as a five-year project.
It says much about the fickle nature of modern football that Steidten has gone from a West Ham hero to a divisive figure in the space of a few months.
The former Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen man was hailed as having ‘won the summer transfer window’ for the Hammers by making nine new signings to the tune of £155m.
Some of those signings have not worked out so far, though, and West Ham have struggled badly this season.
It was claimed ahead of Everton that West Ham’s owners aren’t impressed with two Steidten signings.
The technical director has also been criticised by fans and journalists.
Lopetegui dicing with danger as he turns blame on Steidten
Then came some surprising news.
West Ham said they’ve heard the Gunners want Steidten to replace their own departing sporting director Edu.
That has since been substantiated by The Telegraph, which claimed West Ham’s owners still very much want to keep Steidten at the club.
Whether the same can be said about Lopetegui in the coming days and weeks remains to be seen.
Those Hammers fans who had not left long before the final whistle of the bore draw with Everton, jeered Lopetegui’s side off the pitch.
There are increased calls for the Spaniard to be sacked with supporters completely underwhelmed by what he has produced so far.
Particularly given the high hopes around the club after the big summer rebuild.
West Ham have issued an ominous response about the situation in the wake of the Everton stalemate.
Now Lopetegui is dicing with danger as he turns the blame on Steidten for West Ham’s struggles.
In an interview published by The Times, Lopetegui has astonishingly said it not his “his style” he has West Ham playing.
Because he’s having to adapt to the players he’s been given.
It doesn’t take much reading between the lines to see it is a clear dig at Steidten.
Lopetegui suggests players West Ham signed don’t fit his style
That’s despite Lopetegui knowing Steidten would be the man signing the players when he joined West Ham.
And despite Steidten signing several players Lopetegui wanted such as Guido Rodriguez, Carlos Soler, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Max Kilman.
Lopetegui says the players he has don’t fit his style.
“The Premier League’s bottom four — Palace, Ipswich, Southampton and Wolves — all have coaches clinging to their ideals while Lopetegui, when asked about imposing his style, instead reframed the question,” The Times reports, before revealing the manager’s unbelievable claim.
“Not my style,” Lopetegui said.
“I am trying to adapt myself to the players and in the same way to change things.
“Every coach does this. It’s what we are trying to do. Sometimes we have been close, sometimes more far [away] but, step by step, we are going to achieve this, for sure.”
Wow.
A penny for the thoughts of Steidten and West Ham’s owners reading this.
After spending £155m – Lopetegui is saying there’s not much he can do to implement his style because he is having to adapt to what he’s got.
It sounds like a manager who has just taken over a team of average players staving off relegation.
This will go down like a lead balloon with the Hammers hierarchy and fans.
Other managers are getting far better football and results out of far inferior squads.
Steidten must take his share of the blame of course. And questions are rightly being asked over some of the transfers.
But other managers could and would be doing so much better with the resources he has at his disposal.
Steidten’s relationship with Moyes was in tatters by the end.
Could that be the case with Lopetegui already. We’ll likely find out very soon.
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