Plenty of speculation in the press about West Ham talking to potential new managers. The Guardian reports that the club has held successful talks with Julen Lopetegu, the former Wolves manager. The Spaniard has previously managed Real Madrid and Spain so might be able to cope with West Ham, though he's probably never had several thousand geezers from Essex calling him a muppet.
Another name mentioned is the Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim who has a buy-out clause in his contract of £13m. Yes, it might be good to have a manager who uses subs more proactively (though interestingly Pep Guardiola also likes to make late-ish subs) and goes for all out attack. But flash foreign managers don't always succeed, and we should remember Manuel Pellegrini arrived having won the title at Man City. A cheaper option might be WHU's former player Gary O'Neil who has performed really well at Bournemouth and Wolves, while Tomas Frank at Brentford has produced a quiet miracle and there is also Graham Potter to consider.
It's hard to know if the club really have decided to part with David Moyes. A strong finish in the final four matches might save him, and finishing eighth would still be a good season for West Ham in historical terms. Whether he stays or goes Moyes can know he's done a fine job overall and made real progress, keeping the club up twice, finishing sixth and seventh, winning the Europa Conference League and reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the Europa League. He certainly hasn't deserved some of the insults directed at him.
But whatever happens with the manager, a rebuilding job is now required. Cresswell and Ogbonna will be out of contract and leaving, Zouma's knees are creaking, Antonio is 34 and the squad is looking dangerously old, while the defence is far too leaky. It's going to be a very important summer for the club and Sullivan and Tim Steidten have to get their decisions right.
3 comments:
Yes it feels like the end of the Moyes era, I for one would thank him for taking us out of the cycle of near relegation every year he is the best manager since Lyall imo. When he is replaced fingers crossed we get something of a magician as the task is challenging, but maybe it is time for a new approach but as you have highlighted its going to take a pot of gold to refresh the club. As ever another season of excitement beckons hopefully for the right reasons! COYI
If we do fail to make it into Europe again next season, it will be interesting to see how the team can push on without the hinderence of the Thur/Sun turnarounds that the Europa gave us that still has us finishing 6th-8th. Top 4 is still unattainable imo so is 5th-8th going to become our norm?
Fewer games would certainly help the older players, Ryan. And agreed Jack, we're going to have to send some dosh this summer. Though Palace and Brighton have recruited relatively cheaply and hopefully Steidten still has some contacts in Germany.
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