West Ham legend Tony Cottee has spoken solely to The Debrief podcast about West Ham’s struggles within the 2024/25 marketing campaign.
Julen Lopetegui’s males have to this point struggled to construct on David Moyes’ top-half end final time period, with the east London-based outfit at present languishing in 14th with a recreation in hand.
Ruben Amorim is already FRUSTRATED with one Man United participant!
That’s regardless of the membership having invested vital funds in the course of the summer season switch window, with the likes of Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug becoming a member of on everlasting offers.
Unsurprisingly, this has seen the 58-year-old’s future on the London Stadium turn into more and more unsure, giving rise to recent hyperlinks with potential replacements like Premier League nice Jose Mourinho.
| Season | Factors | End underneath David Moyes |
| 2019/20 | 39 | sixteenth* |
| 2020/21 | 65 | sixth |
| 2021/22 | 56 | seventh |
| 2022/23 | 40 | 14th |
| 2023/24 | 52 | ninth |
* Got here in midway by way of the season
West Ham shouldn’t have sacked David Moyes
Cottee admitted Lopetegui was removed from being his first alternative of supervisor to switch Moyes who secured West Ham’s first main trophy in over 40 years with a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina within the Europa Convention League ultimate again in 2023. A primary European trophy since 1965, it’s value emphasising.
“It’s a tough one actually. I believe, normally (and I wouldn’t say I used to be one in all them), a number of the followers felt the membership had summer season by way of the switch exercise,” the previous Hammers striker instructed The Debrief.
“Fairly clearly there was some huge cash spent in the summertime, £120m, and I believe there have been 10 gamers we both signed completely or introduced in on mortgage.
“Yeah, there was expectation. It’s so laborious to pinpoint the place issues have gone unsuitable. There’s been a change of supervisor, everyone knows that, and it was a giant gamble by the membership. I mentioned that six months in the past, I’m not simply saying that now as a result of issues haven’t gone properly. I felt it was a giant gamble within the first place, it wasn’t my alternative of supervisor to take over the membership, however I’m not in cost! So you may respect their opinion and provides them the advantage of the doubt.”
The board is at fault: West Ham backed the unsuitable horse
There’s nonetheless, in fact, time for Lopetegui to show issues round within the English capital.
It’s likewise value noting that the Spaniard has to this point been disadvantaged of latest centre-forward signing Fullkrug who registered 16 objectives and 10 assists in 46 appearances for Borussia Dortmund in 2023/24. The absence has since seen the Hammers depend on ageing favorite Michail Antonio (34) with objectives considerably laborious to return by this time period. With the January switch window quick approaching, a potential new arrival to shore up the ahead line might very properly be due.
Cottee was requested whether or not West Ham would possibly discover themselves in a greater place had they as a substitute stored David Moyes and offered the identical backing: “After all it will. I believe with the sequence occasions that started with the membership successful the convention league in June 2023 the place you may argue the membership was at a peak – the best peak it’s been for 43 years since they received the FA Cup in 1980 – and then you definitely lose your captain (indicators for Arsenal) and the board, for no matter purpose, determine to not renew the supervisor’s contract and let it run down. That’s the place I’ve acquired an issue with what went on.
“You both give the supervisor the reward that I felt he deserved, in different phrases, a 4 or five-year contract, otherwise you perhaps look to vary issues there and say, ‘You’ve received us the cup and we wish to go in a special path’.
“However to simply let the contract run down, it put everybody on the membership in a tough place.
“There was £120m spent in the summertime – we didn’t have to spend it in the summertime. We would have liked to spend within the January window at first of this yr. Individuals overlook West Ham had been sixth and within the Europa League; they wanted cash spent to construct up the squad and assist the gamers get by way of what was a tough marketing campaign since you’re enjoying Sundays and Thursdays.
“That cash wasn’t spent in January. They as a substitute introduced in a single participant who was Kalvin Phillips (and everyone knows went on with that mortgage spell) and so they removed 4 gamers out of the squad.
“I can’t get my head round what occurred in January and then you definitely go and spend cash on a load of gamers in the summertime. However then it’s too late! By that point, it’s very simple for a rot to set in. It may well set in in a short time at a soccer membership and sadly with the selections made at board degree, and I’m not speaking concerning the supervisor, these choices led to the place the membership was. Finally they needed to half methods with David Moyes due to what they created.
“To say I’m an sad Hammers fan in the mean time is an understatement.”
Are West Ham prone to relegation?
It needs to be a real concern for decision-makers at West Ham given a loss to Newcastle on Monday night time would see the membership left with solely a three-point cushion forward of the relegation locations.
That’s fairly the autumn from grace for an outfit that lifted main silverware in 2023 and secured a top-10 end within the prior marketing campaign. Extra to the purpose, there’s now a critical threat of the aspect being compelled right into a relegation battle between now and Could.
Sacking Lopetegui and bringing in an skilled supervisor like Jose Mourinho would possibly enable the membership to be steered again into extra snug pastures. That mentioned, it hardly screams of a technique geared in the direction of long-term, sustainable success.
Maybe the Hammers may need been higher suggested to construct from a place of power with David Moyes.
Catch our full interview with Tony Cottee on The Debrief subsequent week. Cottee was talking on behalf of Eldorado, the place you may commerce FC25 cash.
