‘I failed’ – Manuel Pellegrini delivers honest verdict on his time at West Ham
Former West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini says he failed at the club because he didn’t lead them into Europe.
Pellegrini joined the club after the 2017/18 campaign, in which David Moyes had come in halfway through and steered us away from relegation.
He was backed heavily in the transfer market but ultimately managed only a 10t-placed finish in the table. Ironically, when he was relived of his duties, the owners turned to Moyes again, who in turn looks to be leading us towards Europe after being overlooked the first time around.
Speaking to The Athletic, Pellegrini claimed that he had a lot of control over transfers and ultimately failed.
He said: “We brought in new players to try and do things better, Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko, Jack Wilshere.
“They improved the quality of the squad, but we lost Lukasz Fabianski to a big injury. We lost confidence and had 19 points halfway through the season. That was not good.
“My challenge was to put West Ham in Europe, something I had done at all the other clubs I had been at, but I failed.
“I had a lot of control and authority. I spoke a lot with David Sullivan – In the two years I was there, he never brought a player I didn’t want. I had no problem with him in that sense.
“Maybe I understand why they wanted to change their manager, but I don’t agree with the way they did it. That doesn’t matter now.”
What a waste
Pellegrini’s appointment at the club was met with great excitement amongst the fans.
Finally, we had a top calibre manager who was being backed in the transfer market. He’d won the league with City, managed Real Madrid, and crucially had never finished outside the top six. It was the first time since the stadium move that things were looking optimistic at West Ham.
It’s a shame that it all went so terribly wrong for him. It’s no secret that he spent a lot of the owner’s money. Our four most expensive signings, Haller, Anderson, Fornals and Diop were all brought in by Pellegrini.
Looking back now, £45m on Haller and £40m on Anderson is criminal – they’re two of the worst signings in Premier League history.
There’s something beautiful about the fact that Moyes has come back for a second spell to clear up his mess and do what Pellegrini couldn’t. Gone are Haller, Wilshere, Sanchez, Anderson (on loan), and the hapless Roberto.
In have come Soucek, Coufal, Dawson, Bowen, Benrahma and Lingard. The squad has been completely transformed in 14 months. It’s easy to forget what a huge mess we were in when Pellegrini was sent packing. It’s a remarkable story and one we’re hoping can end in Europe.
In other West Ham news, Cresswell v Mahrez will be a critical clash at the Etihad.