West Ham legend rips into Julen Lopetegui ahead of his move to the London Stadium.
Toxicity has surrounded West Ham for months now. The Moyes in versus Moyes out debate has torn the fanbase in two and it has been absolutely draining for those with a more balanced perspective.
While the large majority of supporters will back him, the news of Julen Lopetegui being the Scotsman’s successor was met with discontent. Now it’s become all but confirmed, the rebellions have died down but there are still some being extremely vocal about how much ambition they find the appointment to lack. One such fan is club legend Frank McAvennie, who believes the Spaniard is the wrong option and that he lacks “morals”.
“There were big problems at Wolves, weren’t there? He’s come into the Premier League before but he’s not set the world on fire, has he? Managing abroad and managing in this country are two different things,” he explained to West Ham Zone.
“And then the Spain thing, when he went and spoke to Real Madrid. Well, I don’t blame him [for doing that] but you can’t just jump ship, no matter who you are. You’ve got a responsibility to Spain. This makes me think, if he was to get the West Ham job, if something bigger were to come up, he’d be off. I don’t think he’s got any morals. I don’t know the guy, but for him to leave the Spanish job to go to Real Madrid, that’s a big statement, isn’t it? It means he’s sought-after.”
The former striker then went on to explain the sort of manager he would have liked to have seen take over. “Listen, I’m old school but I’d have liked to have brought in maybe Michael Carrick or something. That would have done me if someone like that had come in. Somebody who knows the club and somebody who knows how to get the best out of players.”
Obviously his track record of leaving both Wolves and Spain aren’t a great look, but there is little doubt that he is absolutely set on coaching West Ham. He’s been pictured at the London Stadium as far back as November, he would have been preparing for this job for months and there is almost certainly a reason he’s carried on living in England since leaving the Midlands side. He’s clearly been waiting for a job in England but it seems to be a real possibility that he’s been waiting specifically for the West Ham job.
If that is the case, then he’s had plenty of time to plan his project and, hopefully, we’re the club he stays with and is successful with.