The dust is settling on the dreadful autumn endured at West Ham. The club is considered now to be in a ‘happy place’ after the turmoil which the creation of the Lopetegui/Steidten axis of awfulness inflicted upon the club and its supporters.
Lopetegui has remained silent over his fractious relationship with Tim Steidten, who has himself now given an interview to the athletic.com in which he doubles down on all sorts of decisions made during last summer’s transfer window, justifying decisions which have looked anything other than sound when put into even just half a seasons‘ footballing context.
Roshane Thomas’ article in nytimes.com/athletic today bizarrely entitled:
Most Read on West Ham News
“Tim Steidten denies being banned from West Ham training ground by David Moyes”
Offers further head-scratching claims from former technical director Steidten- not least over his transfer decisions at the club:
“I have a lot of weaknesses and I think that I made a lot of mistakes during that time. But I would have chosen the same players over and over again. I’m firmly convinced that Luis Guilherme will be an incredibly great player.” In denial then. The ‘pearl’ who cannot get a start and one that the club are planning to offload in the summer quite possibly without his ever making a full debut.
Steidten again:“I knew Nicklas [Fukllkrug] would fit into the league and into our team. We were also looking for someone who could also lead the dressing room. I’ve known him since I was at Werder Bremen. I would do this transfer again because I’m simply convinced of his quality.”
Steidten in denial again: At thirty one and with an injury record that would make Maxwell Cornet blush, Fullkrug again has been an abject failure at West Ham and reportedly ‘couldn’t settle’ at the club.
Something of a red flag for any prospective employer, I’d say, all of which suggests that Tim Steidten may be an ace negotiator but don’t leave him unattended to make all of the decisions on his own; He clearly hasn’t learned from his mistakes nor does he even admit to them when confronted with the reality some months later.