West Ham new manager: ‘Ridiculous’ saga goes horribly wrong
West Ham United are paying the price after opting for the “cheap appointment” of Julen Lopetegui last summer, Dean Ashton has said.
Speaking on talkSPORT (7 January, 7:09am), the former Hammers striker hit out at the London Stadium board for not capitalising on the foundations left following David Moyes‘ exit at the end of last season.
Hiring Lopetegui has proven to be an abject failure with the Spaniard set to be sacked and replaced by Graham Potter [Sean Whetstone, 6 January], with Ashton arguing that those foundations are in ruins.
He said: “It’s just ridiculous – the writing’s been on the wall pretty much since he got appointed.
“The brilliant foundations that were laid by David Moyes, and the excitement about the recruitment in the summer – that’s all been ruined basically, by, let’s be honest, it was a cheap appointment.
“The CV’s there, but it was a cheap appointment, in terms of the finances of bringing Lopetegui in, and it’s gone horribly wrong.”
West Ham back at square one after Julen Lopetegui decision
With Potter set to replace Lopetegui in the London Stadium dugout at seemingly any time in the next few days, Hammers fans will be breathing a sigh of relief that their eight-month experiment is finally over.
Ashton is spot on that Lopetegui was an easy – and cheap – pick to replace Moyes last May, having been appointed while out of work compared to a more ambitious hire such as Ruben Amorim, for example.
Potter was also not in work at the time of Lopetegui’s arrival, and the Irons’ hierarchy will now feel they missed a trick in not approaching him having lost eight months’ worth of ground.
With roughly £130million being spent on a new-look squad for Lopetegui last summer, the Hammers still can be a competitive side, yet the Spaniard never looked like turning them into one.
Lopetegui’s sacking will be seen as long overdue by the vast majority in East London, and they’ll be hoping Potter can make up for lost time as the Irons board look to finally address their major misstep.
In other West Ham news, transfer speculation surrounding an out-of-form player was mocked by an Irons legend on social media.
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