Farewell, Julen Lopetegui. You leave West Ham as you arrived: unwanted by fans, and even by technical director Tim Steidten, it seems. Yet perhaps even the most ardent anti-Lopetegui voices would admit to feeling a degree of sympathy for the Spaniard.
The manager’s dismissal by West Ham was an open secret days before it was made public, as were negotiations with his successor Graham Potter, yet still Lopetegui turned up to take training. Why wouldn’t he have? He was still employed. It is not a kind way to conduct business, though many successful figures would tell you that business is rarely kind. And Lopetegui’s exit is just business.
