Julen Lopetegui slammed over lack of class after what’s happened at West Ham United
Julen Lopetegui and West Ham have been slammed for a lack of class after the exit of David Moyes was confirmed this week.
The Hammers announced that Moyes will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season, with the expectation that Spaniard Lopetegui will replace him as head coach of the first team.
But writing in his column (The Mirror, page 63, 10 May), journalist Andy Dunn criticised the club for not being discreet in the process of planning for the future although he admitted they needed to take action once it became clear Moyes would be on his way out.
“West Ham United have been widely labelled as lacking in class for the manner in which they have handled the impending departure of David Moyes and the expected arrival of Julen Lopetegui,” he wrote.
“And it is hard to argue against that. Even though the West Ham board can hardly be blamed for making preparations for life after Moyes – and his contract expires shortly – it could have been handled a bit better.
“Discussions with Lopetegui might have perhaps been more discreet, but the scenario is not unusual.
“In Moyes’ case, the club and Lopetegui have not been classy, but they have not done anything wrong.
“And I suspect Moyes will see it that way if he speaks about the process of recruiting his successor. It is a guess, but Moyes will also probably realise that he was very good for West Ham – and West Ham were very good for him.”
Did West Ham United do anything wrong in David Moyes situation?
There has been a lot of talk about what the Hammers should or should not have done during this situation, but it’s hard to see what they have done wrong.
The club and Moyes both agreed that talks would be held at the end of the season to discuss his future, but it seemed quite clear that they were leaning towards going their separate ways.
That means the club simply had to begin planning for the future, and they can’t prevent leaks from other camps coming out. The Ruben Amorim situation was clearly something done on the manager’s side rather than West Ham’s for example.
But ultimately the club are going to be around for far longer than Moyes, and they have to be prepared for all potential outcomes. If they weren’t prepared, they would be criticised for that too.
With such a busy summer transfer window expected for incoming and outgoings, it was imperative that they were ready to move early. It wasn’t pretty, but they had to do what they had to do and Moyes will know that’s how football works.
In other West Ham news, the club want to sign this Belgium international midfielder with his current team “aiming for a jackpot”.
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