West Ham pushed David Moyes out the door in the summer and replaced him with ex-Real Madrid, Spain and Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui – it hasn’t been a good swap at all thus far
Sometimes in football you should be careful what you wish for.
West Ham opted not to renew David Moyes’ contract at the end of last season because they had identified Julen Lopetegui as the manager to bring a more expansive style of football to the London Stadium. Just 11 games into the season and the word is that the Spaniard now has Monday night’s trip to Newcastle and the home game against Arsenal on Saturday to save his job.
We all know it’s utter madness for a new coach to be given just a quarter of the campaign to put his stamp on the club – even those making the big decisions for the Hammers. Can Lopetegui really be expected to deliver a new playing style as well as results when the new coat of paint on his office walls is probably still wet?
When Moyes took over as West Ham boss in November 2017, the London club were in the relegation zone. They finished the season in mid-table. Moyes’ reward was to be told that he didn’t quite have the profile that West Ham needed – until Manuel Pellegrini was sacked in December 2019 and the Scot was asked to save their skins again.
West Ham finished in the top seven twice during Moyes’ reign. Fans will never forget the night he delivered the Europa Conference League 18 months ago because it was the first time in 43 years they has seen a Hammers skipper lift a trophy.
West Ham like to be remembered as the club of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, an academy of Total Football before the phrase was even invented. But the reality is that without David Moyes they would have probably dropped out of the Premier League. At least they would have boasted the best stadium in the Championship.
David built a team capable of giving any side in the country a game on any given day.
Was it pretty? No, not really. But the bottom line is that for West Ham to improve on what he delivered they would have had to spend huge amounts in the transfer market over a significant period. And even that might not have been enough.
Lopetegui inherited a squad that had been coached relentlessly to play a certain way – and it was effective.
He is clearly an experienced and talented coach. But he was never going to be able to flick a switch that would transform the Hammers into top-four challengers.
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