Tim Steidten’s spell with West Ham United will certainly not be remembered fondly.
West Ham parted ways with Tim Steidten after new head coach Graham Potter arrived at the London Stadium.
Tim Steidten made some really poor signings for West Ham during his tenure as director of football.
He really upset the applecart as well, and had strained relationships with both David Moyes and Julen Lopetegui.
The majority of Hammers fans were delighted when the 45-year-old was sent packing.
However, Steidten has defended his record at West Ham by insisting that players like Luis Guilherme will come good.
And now he has come out with an even more baffling claim.
Tim Steidten shares bad news that’ll fill West Ham fans with dread
It seems like the German is trying to save face after a disastrous spell with the Hammers.
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He has to try to keep his reputation intact after all!
Steidten made somewhat of a frightening claim regarding the huge rebuild that awaits Potter at West Ham, when speaking to The Athletic:
“I believe it takes eight to 10 transfer windows to change a squad,” Steidten said. “I told the owner that clearly. This has been a long-term project. At least, that was what I gave to the club. My task was to build something in the long term, which also needs young players.“
So Steidten is suggesting that it takes around 4-5 years to rebuild a squad, but I’m just not having that one little bit.
Three or four transfer windows should be more than enough time to reshape a squad of players.
The problem that Steidten, Julen Lopetegui and David Moyes had was that their recruitment was all wrong.
Look at how clubs like Brighton and Brentford operate. They sign elite young players with huge potential BEFORE they become stars.
Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Steidten was messing around with players like Niclas Fullkrug, Guido Rodriguez and Wes Foderingham.
Signing players like those mentioned above is not conducive with building a squad for the future.
What Steidten said may well fill the Hammers fans with dread.
But the good news is that his comments don’t ring true. There is no substance at all to his theory of 8-10 transfer windows being needed in order to facilitate a squad rebuild.
He’s simply saying that to save face, in my opinion at least.
Also, if the German was so intent on building a ‘long-term’ project, why was he in such a rush to get so many signings through the door last summer?
None of what he said makes any sense.
And I’m convinced Graham Potter and Kyle Macaulay will prove Tim Steidten wrong with their business at West Ham over the next couple of years.