The impending appointment of Julen Lopetegui at the London Stadium has completely split the West Ham United fans.
Julen Lopetegui is all set to replace David Moyes as the new West Ham manager, and he apparently has told the board that he intends to lead us on into the Champions League.
When Moyes officially leaves his post at the London Stadium, the 57-year-old Spaniard will be named as West Ham’s ‘head coach’ – the first time the man in charge has been given that title in our 129-year history.
Tim Steidten will oversee all incoming and outgoing transfers whilst Lopetegui will be solely responsible for coaching the team.
The former Wolves boss is desperate to get all of his transfer business done quickly this summer, and he has told Steidten that already.
Lopetegui is a master tactician, but there are some Hammers fans out there who don’t believe that he’s an adequate upgrade on Moyes.
West Ham fans unsure on Julen Lopetegui
I was in that camp at the start, but have slowly been won over by the Spaniard, after reading up on his playing style, driven personality and ambitious approach to the game in general.
The fact that he walked away from Wolves due to a lack of backing from the board is actually really promising for us.
It proves that he won’t stand for any funny business from David Sullivan. And despite all of the naysayers like Stan Collymore and Garth Crooks, there is genuine reason for optimism.
Guillem Balague is one man who has supported Lopetegui from the very start, and he has kind of served as his fellow countryman’s chief cheerleader after the news broke that he’d be named as the new Hammers boss.
This time though, Balague took his support of Lopetegui slightly too far if you ask me…
Julen Lopetegui cheerleader drops patronising X post
In a strange move over the weekend, Balague took to his X account to launch a strong defence of his compatriot.
The reason why it was so strange is because he actually talked down to those criticising Lopetegui, in a clear and obvious shot at the Hammers fans.
I’m really not sure that that was the smartest move Guillem! To patronise and insult around half of a fanbase is a strange play. Maybe the post wasn’t directed exclusively at the West Ham fans but the point still stands.
Is the Spaniard taking his defence of the incoming Hammers boss a little too far? Maybe.
At the end of the day though, the proof will be in the pudding. If Julen Lopetegui comes into West Ham and improves the quality of football, whilst bringing success to the London Stadium, he’ll be a hero amongst the fans.
On the flip-side though, if he struggles during his first season at the club, his stay in East London could well be a short-lived one.
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