Julen Lopetegui was always the wrong choice. West Ham were warned against appointing him last May, but they pressed ahead and have paid the price. They are seven points above the bottom three after spending more than £100m last summer, the football has been drab, supporters are disengaged and the only surprise is that it has taken this long for West Ham to part with the Spaniard.
So much for a fresh start. West Ham were ready to move on from David Moyes, whose reign ran out of steam last season, but they have made a spectacular hash of the succession plan. Lopetegui was not the coach to oversee a style revolution.
