Julen Lopetegui sack: Henry Winter shares surprising West Ham verdict
Henry Winter says it is surprising it has taken West Ham this long to sack Julen Lopetegui but thinks the Spaniard’s seemingly inevitable sacking has been handled the wrong way.
After a difficult season, David Sullivan has decided that things will not improve under Lopetegui at The London Stadium with Jacob Steinberg (8 January) reporting that the Spaniard will be dismissed from his role on Wednesday morning.
Furthermore, Steinberg claims that a deal with Graham Potter to take over at East London has been agreed and the 49-year-old is set to step straight into the role.
Winter feels that while the decision is correct, the current Hammers boss has been treated unfairly as he posted on X (7 January): “Julen Lopetegui is not a particularly good manager, and has always looked a strange fit for West Ham, but he hardly deserves the unedifying situation of the club talking to possible successors with him still in the building.
“But it’s no surprise he may soon be gone. The surprise was he’s lasted so long. In fairness to the West Ham board, they usually try to give managers a chance. They’re not trigger-happy. But they blundered in appointing Lopetegui. Safe hands as a goalkeeper but not as a manager.
“His exit would make sense as the football isn’t great, so hardly an improvement on David Moyes, results were poor (10 defeats in 22), fans had turned and his successor gets more of the transfer window.
“If it is Graham Potter, it’s worth remembering that he is a project manager, who wants to build a culture and build a team. Potter’s not a quick-fix coach.
“He’s good, and needs to get back into the game at a good club like West Ham, but he needs time and patience. It’s pointless appointing Potter until the rest of the season.
“He’s not a fireman. He’s a builder. He needs longer.”
West Ham to sack Julen Lopetegui and appoint Graham Potter
The pressure has been mounting on Lopetegui at West Ham for some time now and, as Winter says, it isn’t a surprise to see that the club are ready to part ways.
However, the timing of Sullivan’s decision is a hard one to understand given there has been pressure on the Spaniard for some time meaning a sacking could have been made before the January transfer window opened therefore giving his successor the maximum time to do their business.
There is no doubt that Potter will be an excellent replacement for Lopetegui and he will surely bring hope that he can improve results and performances in East London which is what fans wanted after the departure of David Moyes.
However, as Winter says, a short-term deal made little sense and after it was was reported [The Times, 7 January] that talks with Potter had stalled due to negotiations over the length of a contract, it’s likely that this has been resolved in order to strike a deal.
Sullivan has proved he is willing to back managers at The London Stadium and give them the time to make an impact so he should be willing to show Potter the same courtesy in order to get a deal over the line.
In other West Ham news, the arrival of Graham Potter could scupper one Hammers transfer in January.
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