I, like most West Ham fans, have new found respect for Julen Lopetegui as a man, but as a manager he’s just not the right fit.
The way Julen Lopetegui has put West Ham first before and since losing his father deserves special respect.
Football is secondary when it comes to family and health.
So for Lopetegui to put the Hammers above those things recently by leading the team when he could have been by his dying father’s side during his final days is beyond admirable.
To then come straight back from Jose Antonio Lopetegui’s funeral to take the team against Brighton will never be forgotten by me and many others.
Now, though, Lopetegui faces another must-win game to keep his job as Hammers boss.
The owners have made it clear West Ham must beat Southampton on Boxing Day.
The Saints are on course to be the worst team in Premier League history.
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But the whipping boys may have become a banana skin for West Ham after the impressive appointment of Ivan Juric.
Intense Croatian manager Juric was reportedly among the managers West Ham were considering if they had fired Lopetegui when supporters were calling for his head after defeat at Leicester.
Juric has made a West Ham threat that will see Lopetegui sacked if he backs it up.
Defeat at St Mary’s will undoubtedly spell the end for the Spaniard.
The owners have been very fair with the 58-year-old.
West Ham have won just five of their 17 Premier League games this season.
That is the kind of form that will just about keep you up.
So much was expected after an exciting summer window and the appointment of a new manager.
Even if most Hammers fans were underwhelmed by Lopetegui being the man to succeed David Moyes.
Julen Lopetegui, Manager of West Ham United looks on ahead of the Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at...
Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images
Admirable Lopetegui just not the right fit for West Ham
The former Spain boss was tasked with challenging for Europe.
But the Hammers are miles off with no identity to their play or signs of progress.
West Ham’s season is being criminally wasted.
This is officially the most wide open Premier League season for 12 years.
It means the points needed to qualify for Europe will be less than normal.
The Premier League is also on course to get at least one extra Champions League spot, pushing the Euro places further down the league – especially if teams in the top six win domestic cup competitions.
A number of top clubs are struggling this season too.
This was a golden opportunity.
But West Ham are squandering it by sticking with Lopetegui.
It’s not all the manager’s fault. Far from it.
Technical director Tim Steidten must take his share of the blame.
After a £155m summer spend, West Ham should not be languishing in 14th place in table, nine points off the European places.
Barring a miraculous run of winning games, West Ham are quickly becoming resigned to a season of midtable mediocrity at best.
So you have to ask yourself the question, what is the point of sticking with Lopetegui when there are no signs that things are heading in the right direction.
When people watch West Ham they are left baffled as to what the Hammers are.
There is no clear plan or strategy to the way the Hammers play.
What would be even more criminal would be to waste another half a season only to repeat the same cycle in the summer.
Graham Potter during a piece to camera pitch side inside King Power Stadium before the Premier League match between Leicester City and West Ham Uni...
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
All I want for Christmas is some Potter magic at West Ham
Graham Potter has agreed to take over West Ham on a six-month contract if Lopetegui is fired.
With a ridiculously difficult run of fixtures on the horizon after Southampton, that seems an inevitability rather than a possibility.
Some Hammers fans are divided about whether Potter, who has been out of work since leaving Chelsea in April 2023, is the right man for the job.
The real question is, can he really do any worse?
Potter has had his brilliant reputation tarnished by that spell at Chelsea. He isn’t the first and won’t be the last.
But it certainly shouldn’t define him.
The likes of Jamie Carragher have stated they believe Lopetegui was the wrong hire for what West Ham needed.
Supporters wanted a complete change of style and approach.
Someone who could bring through and integrate young players and play a more attractive brand of football.
That is Potter down to a tee.
The thing is, if West Ham just coast through to the end of the season with Lopetegui then Potter may be snapped up by someone else.
He certainly won’t wait forever, no matter how close he is with vice-chair Karren Brady and her husband.
West Ham simply can’t lose by making the change to Potter for the second half of the season.
On one hand it may spark the Hammers into life and give them something to fight for in the remainder of the campaign.
But if not it will at least give Potter an extended chance to show whether he is – or isn’t – the right man for the job long-term.
West Ham’s owners and fans will be able to judge him over a fair number of games and decide whether that is the direction they should take for next season.
David Moyes, Manager of West Ham United, and Graham Potter, Manager of Chelsea, talk prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and ...
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
West Ham must jump at chance to see what Potter can bring
The fact Potter has agreed to an initial short-term deal speaks volumes of his desire to become West Ham’s manager.
He has turned down several good job offers – including Ajax.
West Ham have become a hard watch.
We’re boring and the tactics and team selections continue to frustrate and baffle in equal measure.
We’re going nowhere fast and face a second half of the season with nothing to play for. That time should be used to give someone else a chance to see what they can do.
I didn’t want Lopetegui in the first place like most. We gave him a fair chance but the team is not showing us anything which remotely suggests we are building towards something or will be capable of competing for Europe.
Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and admit you got it wrong. The life is being sucked out of a bored fanbase.
It feels like we’re on a path to nowhere under Lopetegui. You can’t help but feel it is a waste of everyone’s time at this stage.
With the players Lopetegui has at his disposal, the Hammers should be a much better and more exciting team.
Fans have left games early in eight of Lopetegui’s 19 matches in charge. That says everything.
All I want for Christmas is some Potter magic to restore my faith in West Ham.
The Hammers have got nothing to lose.
Sometimes it’s ok to hold your hands up and admit you’ve made a mistake.
That mistake would be compounded if West Ham look a gift horse in the mouth by not giving Potter a chance to restore his reputation when he actually wants the job.
If West Ham continue down this path the London Stadium could be half empty most weeks with nothing to play for.
Having a bright young manager in place with six months to show what he can do would be the reinvigorating breath of fresh air we all need in east London.
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