West Ham have been in a self-inflicted purgatory for several months over manager Julen Lopetegui and now it all seems to be coming to a head.
Julen Lopetegui looks set to be sacked by West Ham.
But in true West Ham style, it’s all getting a bit messy.
The Hammers somehow conspired to make the end of the tenure of David Moyes – the club’s most successful manager of recent times – uncomfortable and awkward.
Now, after somewhat nobly giving Lopetegui too many reprieves, West Ham are waiting for another manager to agree to take over before handing the Spaniard his P45.
All the while every spit and cough is being played out in the press.
It is easy to be myopic in these situations and believe only the Hammers could court such drama and be deemed as unprofessional in their handling of the matter.
The fact is this kind of thing plays out at most clubs if and when a manager is going to be sacked.
West Ham are no different and have actually only had 18 managers in their entire 130-year history.
That is about to become 19 soon, though.
Carragher and Keys lay into West Ham over managerial situation
And Graham Potter is the leading contender to come in as Lopetegui’s replacement.
West Ham are waiting until they have Potter’s full agreement before axing Lopetegui.
The fact the news was leaked on Monday means it is all becoming a bit of a saga.
Now two prominent pundits have made their views clear.
Jamie Carragher and Richard Keys have laid into West Ham over the managerial situation.
Outspoken pundit Keys, who is close friends with David Moyes, has slammed West Ham technical director Tim Steidten and labelled the club ‘classless’.
“You’ve got a manager – but you’re caught negotiating with another one,” Keys said of Steidten being pictured meeting with Potter.
“The guy doing the talking is the same man David Moyes couldn’t work with and who appointed his replacement – who he now wants to sack.
“What a shambles. Classless.”
When West Ham won 2-0 at Newcastle, Sky Sports pundit Carragher went against the grain.
While fans and other pundits were tripping over themselves to praise Lopetegui, Carragher told West Ham not to be fooled by a one-off spike in running stats.
He went on to state he still felt Lopetegui was the wrong man for West Ham and what the fans want and expect.
Now Carragher has doubled down on that, saying he can’t believe Lopetegui is still in the job and should have been sacked a month ago.
“When you think of that scoreline at the weekend (4-1 to Man City), that was the sixth time in the Premier League this season that they’ve lost a game by three or more goals,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.
“And also in the Carabao Cup, they lost to Liverpool 5-1.
“When teams get beaten and get beaten badly, I always think there’s something wrong within the dressing room.
“You can lose games but sometimes it’s how you lose.
“And that for me (says a lot). If the change is to be made – and you don’t like to see any manager lose his job – but I was actually expecting this maybe three or four weeks ago.”
It is interesting to hear Carragher state he thinks there is a problem in the dressing room.
It’s been widely reported that Lopetegui has had bust-ups with several star players including Mohammed Kudus and Jean-Clair Todibo.
The 58-year-old has also allegedly had run-ins with Niclas Fullkrug, Guido Rodriguez and Edson Alvarez.
Lopetegui’s biggest fallout has been with Steidten, though.
Hammers News has exclusively revealed the truth behind the bust-up between the manager and Steidten.
And it all started when senior Hammers players went to Steidten to complain about Lopetegui.
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