As the dust settled on West Ham’s shock 2-0 win over Newcastle there was a big warning from a top pundit which resonated with fans.
The Hammers produced a top performance out of nowhere to stun fans and pundits.
Jamie Carragher had predicted West Ham were going to be ‘rolled over’ at Newcastle.
He wasn’t alone in that thinking either.
The Hammers were vastly improved from the performances seen under Julen Lopetegui so far.
As a result the imminent threat of the sack has dissipated at the London Stadium. For now at least.
Carragher stated before the game he thinks West Ham have appointed the wrong manager in Lopetegui.
Afterwards Carragher warned West Ham’s owners and fans not to get carried away, suggesting it could be a false dawn.
While West Ham were undeniably much better, Newcastle could and should have scored at least three goals.
That has been a common theme about Lopetegui’s side all season – they give up chances far too easily.
Three of the four wins prior to Newcastle were extremely fortunate.
Lopetegui must prove West Ham win wasn’t a false dawn
Palace, Bournemouth in the cup and Man United could and perhaps should have been out of sight by the time West Ham won those matches.
West Ham actually deserved their win at Newcastle. But there’s no doubt they rode their luck in keeping a clean sheet.
It has been claimed David Sullivan will now give Lopetegui more time to get West Ham back competing for the European spots.
That’s after a plethora of managers were linked as potential replacements for the 58-year-old over the international break.
Had West Ham lost at Newcastle, all the talk was the clash with Arsenal – should it result in another defeat – would be his last game.
Should the Hammers suffer a heavy loss to their London rivals this weekend, the pressure will mount again on Lopetegui.
There is then a run of games West Ham – like their fans – will be fully expecting to win.
So if the Newcastle victory does prove to be a false dawn, then Lopetegui will soon find himself back under immense pressure.
In the background over the break, it was reported West Ham drew up a shortlist of replacements who were felt out by the hierarchy.
Now a Euro expert claims Max Allegri is on standby for the West Ham job after London sighting.
Former Juventus and AC Milan boss Allegri has an astonishing 14 major trophies to his name with those two clubs.
He has also twice been a losing Champions League finalist as a manager.
Italian tactician Allergri was actually linked with the Hammers earlier this month.
And not for the first time.
Euro expert claims Allegri is on standby for West Ham job
Back in 2014, The Daily Express claimed Allegri was ‘intrigued’ and open to the West Ham job after leaving Milan.
Alfredo Pedulla of Italian TV sports channel RAI Sport at the time, confirmed there were secret discussions between West Ham’s board and Allegri about replacing Sam Allardyce.
But Allardyce saw out the season and was replaced by Slaven Bilic while Allegri went to Juve.
The elite level coach was spotted in London last night.
And it was revealed he has been in the capital for around 10 days taking an English course as he looks to land a Premier League job.
As a result, leading Sky Sports European football expert Dougie Critchley believes he is on standby for West Ham.
What Critchley doesn’t know about European football probably isn’t worth knowing.
Sky Sports man’s intriguing claim after Allegri seen in London
Allegri was seen watching the Tottenham vs Roma match in north London.
Critchley believes West Ham could be his next destination as it remains to be seen whether Lopetegui has indeed turned a corner.
“Max Allegri learning English you say,” Critchley said on X.
“Looking to get a job in the Premier League in 2024? Potentially, which Premier League club would employ Max Allegri in 2024?
“West Ham.”
Some responses suggested Newcastle could be another destination.
But Critchley disagreed that the Magpies will be getting rid of Eddie Howe anytime soon.
Whereas the Hammers were reportedly within one or two games of sacking Lopetegui just a few days ago.
Another club put forward as a potential destination was Everton.
Interestingly, the prospective new owners at Everton have already backed West Ham co-owner Sullivan into a corner this week.
If Sullivan does have one eye on Allegri then that could become a factor too.
Especially if Lopetegui doesn’t prove Newcastle was not a one-off.
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