Former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui is out of a job again, after he was sacked by West Ham United on Wednesday.
The Spaniard was relieved of his duties by the Hammers, after taking 23 points from 20 games.
West Ham are actually only five points away from the top half, but Lopetegui’s appointment had been questioned for some time, with the style of football something that regularly came under the spotlight.
In the end, Hammers officials decided to act, and Graham Potter – who rejected Wolves – has now become their new manager.
He is tasked with fixing the mess that Lopetegui has made – and details are starting to emerge about just how poor things were under the manager.
And the parallels between Lopetegui’s exit from West Ham and Wolves are very similar.
Why West Ham have sacked former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui
Lopetegui was never a particularly popular appointment at West Ham.
He was hired in the hope that he’d bring a different style to Moyes, who’d been criticised for playing dull football.
Lopetegui was hired, but many Wolves fans knew immediately that this was an appointment that likely wouldn’t work due to what he had done at Wolves.
Yes, Lopetegui kept Wolves in the Premier League. But the football was very dull, and few really connected with the former Spain and Real Madrid manager.
According to The Guardian, Lopetegui was sacked by West Ham for several reasons, including overseeing ill-discipline, clashing with players and higher-ups, and not getting the team to play with an identity, with there being ‘no clear patterns of play’.
It’s also claimed there was ‘too much dysfunction’, with Lopetegui in disagreement with technical director Tim Steidten over the signings of Carlos Soler and Guido Rodríguez.
The Athletic added that Lopetegui’s squad found it hard to understand what he was trying to achieve, and that there were complaints about long hours at the training ground.
Wolves fans won’t be surprised
The reasons for Lopetegui’s exit from West Ham won’t come as too much of a surprise to Wolves fans.
Lopetegui left Wolves in a similar nature, with things turning a little sour after he felt the goalposts had been moved regarding transfers and recruitment.
His relationship with chairman Jeff Shi was said to have really deteriorated towards the end, just as it sounds like it did with Steidten at West Ham, with the technical director reportedly even staying away from the training ground from mid-December according to The Athletic.
| Julen Lopetegui’s PL record (Wolves and West Ham combined) |
| Games managed – 43 |
| Wins – 15 |
| Draws – 9 |
| Losses – 19 |
| Goals scored – 47 |
| Goals conceded – 73 |
But The Athletic reported at the time of his sacking that Lopetegui was an ‘unapproachable, prickly figure’ at times, and that he could be ‘blunt and forthright’.
It seems he still had those traits during his time as West Ham manager, and that there were frictions as a result.
Lopetegui’s time in England has not been particular good, despite the fact he did keep Wolves up, and it would be a major surprise if another Premier League club showed interest in him following his last two jobs.