Julen Lopetegui is hanging by a thread at West Ham but he may be pushed over the edge if he listens to a revealing new podcast.
Make no mistake about it Julen Lopetegui is not out of the woods at West Ham after the win over Wolves.
Fans and owners are in agreement the performance, worse than the Hammers put in at Leicester, was nowhere near good enough.
Lopetegui is only still in the job because of some extremely good fortune.
Not only did Wolves spurn a couple of golden chances in West Ham’s 2-1 win, they were denied two clear penalties.
If that was not enough, West Ham’s winner should have been chalked off for a foul by Konstantinos Mavropanos just before Jarrod Bowen’s brilliant strike.
A win is a win. But at what cost on the long term?
Paul Merson says the Hammers beating Wolves was a bad result because it kept Lopetegui in the job.
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He believes the Spaniard won’t be for much longer, though.
Defeat at Bournemouth could see David Sullivan and co finally pull the trigger.
Well-informed journalists Jacob Steinberg, Sami Mokbel, Jack Rosser and Ben Jacobs have all claimed the same thing ahead of West Ham’s trip to the Vitality.
Hammers fans think it is somewhat ludicrous that a one-off win over such poor opposition as Wolves can keep Lopetegui in the job.
Manager Julen Lopetegui of West Ham United gestures during the Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Lo...
Photo by MB Media/Getty Images
West Ham purgatory after display that was worse than Leicester
Especially when performances show no sign of improvement.
And particularly given the expectations at the club following a big summer splurge on transfers.
A board summit last week saw Lopetegui given one more chance.
But his situation is being assessed game by game with improved performances fundamental to the 58-year-old remaining as Hammers boss.
However, Sullivan will sack Lopetegui if he listens to a revealing West Ham podcast suggests a Telegraph man.
Dan Silver is a former Mirror football journalist now at The Telegraph.
The Hammers supporter is a vocal critic of West Ham’s ownership.
Sullivan will sack Lopetegui if he listens to revealing podcast
Silver has been listening to a ‘excellent but depressing’ podcast by Analytics United.
The podcast is run by Hammers supporters Jack Elderton and Callum Goodall. The duo also have their own feature on West Ham’s official website before games.
The previews offer fellow fans in-depth but accessible analysis of their team and its players.
The club are very careful to make it clear “the views and opinions expressed in the articles are those of Analytics United and do not necessarily reflect the views opinions of West Ham United”.
It’s easy to see why too. The pair have been very vocal critics of Lopetegui on social media and their podcasts.
General view outside the stadium prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Ipswich Town FC. Inset, David Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky, Tim Steidten, and Julen Lopetegui.
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
Telegraph man suggests owners take note of ‘depressing’ analysis
Their latest podcast absolutely tears Lopetegui’s tactics in the Wolves game to ribbons in great detail.
It really leaves the Hammers boss nowhere to hide as the duo highlight how the display was actually much worse than against Leicester.
Most worrying of all, though, it’s claimed by Analytics United is how Lopetegui took all the bad things from the defeat to Leicester and decided to double down on them against Wolves.
The podcast suggests a similar level of performance against better teams – such as Bournemouth next – will be brutally exposed as it has been all season.
The sell for the latest Analytics United podcast says everything.
“The West Ham Breakdown #52,” it says.
“Return to transition defending disaster.
“The woeful form of Edson Álvarez in this context.
“We’re exhausted with all of this!”
Silver listened to the analysis and has suggested Sullivan should to if he want to understand why and how things have become so bad on the pitch.
“Excellent, if depressing, analysis once more,” Silver said of the podcast.
“Given David Sullivan’s aversion to spending money wisely, shall we do a whip-round to gift him a Patreon sub to Analytics United so he can hear in forensic detail just why everything is going to **** on the pitch at his football club?”
The duo really have taken Lopetegui to the cleaners in terms of his tactics and team selection.
It’s a tough listen as Silver says.
Even with the mention of some positives, the summation of the analysis is that change is needed in the dugout if West Ham are to have any hope of salvaging anything positive from their season.
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