Simon Jordan baffled by West Ham United board decision on Julen Lopetegui
Simon Jordan has questioned what the West Ham board were thinking when they hired Julen Lopetegui as their manager in the summer.
The Spaniard’s time at the London Stadium has gotten off to a rather rocky start with the Hammers currently siting 15th in the Premier League,
Writing for the Daily Mail (23 October) Jordan shared his verdict on the situation Lopetegui finds himself in at the London Stadium.
“West Ham have a special allure because of England World Cup winners Moore, Hurst and Peters but their own history and heritage is peripheral,” he wrote.
“While their fans may not be thrilled with being 15th, it’s hard to argue expectations should be higher than midtable. They are certainly not a top-six Premier League club.
“I don’t know what the West Ham board thought they were getting in new manager, Julen Lopetegui. If they felt he was an exponent of the free-flowing football West Ham apparently must have, they were on dodgy ground. The Spaniard has always been a pragmatist.
“His predecessor David Moyes will have a wry smile. He won a trophy but it felt like the relationship had run out of wind by the end. I imagine he’d had enough of West Ham, and vice-versa
“I’m sure Lopetegui interviewed well, stressing the balance between a solid base to preserve results and producing ambitious football when the opportunity presented itself.
“It’s an easy sales pitch to make, much harder to pull off. Some of the dissenting fans might now understand why Moyes went safety-first to ensure West Ham became established in the Premier League.”
Julen Lopetegui needs to turn things around at West Ham United
Lopetegui’s time at the London Stadium has left a lot to be desired, while fans were encouraged by their signings in the summer, things haven’t gone quite to plan.
There’s no denying that the Spaniard’s team is full of talent with players such as Max Kilman and Crysencio Summerville arriving to bolster ranks but nothing has gone right for the club this season.
Since the start of the term, questions have been asked about whether the Spaniard is the right man to take the Hammers forward and, at the moment, it doesn’t feel like he is.
Jarrod Bowen is one of the only players who has fulfilled expectations this term and, if his teammates could follow suit, they’d be in a far better place and the pressure upon Lopetegui’s shoulders would be eased tenfold.
The season is still young and things could still turn around but at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers may have found the perfect replacement for Julen Lopetegui.
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