West Ham’s owners are once again facing calls from fans for Julen Lopetegui to be sacked after the 4-1 defeat to Man City.
The Hammers shipped more than three goals for the ninth time since Julen Lopetegui took over.
Realistically West Ham went to Man City needing to win to keep any glimmer of hope of qualifying for Europe alive.
The reality is the Hammers are so far off being a competitive side, let alone one capable of qualifying for Europe, it is untrue.
Another capitulation at the first sign of any adversity saw a Man City side who are clearly out of sorts record a comfortable win.
It is now just six wins from 20 Premier League games under Lopetegui.
The Spaniard has been labelled Flopetegui given the expectations and hype around his arrival.
Not to mention the fact he had £155m spent on nine new players – many of whom were of his choosing.
West Ham dither over Lopetegui as fans call for sacking again
Lopetegui has survived three times already when his job has been on the line.
Trips to Man City and Villa in the FA Cup were said to be his latest and last chance following the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Fans are keen to test those claims as they chanted ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ at the manager for the second time this season.
After the first occasion, during the 3-1 defeat away at Leicester, West Ham came close to pulling the trigger.
But Lopetegui begged for his job in tears and West Ham’s hierarchy elected to give him a reprieve.
In the background the owners were reportedly lining up candidates to replace the Spaniard.
One in particular excited the Hammers faithful.
As West Ham dither over Lopetegui, a charismatic boss who wanted the job has become an instant hero in his new role.
Charismatic boss who wanted Hammers job becomes instant hero
Portuguese manager Sergio Conceicao was high on West Ham’s shortlist to replace Lopetegui in the November international break and again after the defeat at Leicester.
Out of work since leaving Porto following a stunning and trophy-laden spell in charge, Conceicao would have been available with no compensation.
It was claimed by several top sources that Conceicao was very much open to joining West Ham.
Hammers News stated after the 4-1 defeat at Spurs that West Ham should sack Lopetegui and replace him with Conceicao.
We then warned the owners to act fast last week if West Ham were serious about getting a manager of Conceicao’s calibre.
That was after AC Milan sacked former Hammers target Paulo Fonseca and were allegedly keen on Conceicao themselves.
Lopetegui remained after the defeat to Liverpool, though, and sure enough Milan quickly appointed Conceicao.
While Lopetegui criminally continues to waste the most wide open Premier League season for 12 years, Conceicao is showing West Ham what might have been.
The 50-year-old showed the kind of passion, tactical nous and winning mentality he would have brought to West Ham by leading Milan to a famous 2-1 comeback victory against rivals Juventus which put the San Siro giants into the Supercoppa Italiana final.
West Ham have passed up chance of a lifetime with Conceicao
Milan fell behind after 21 minutes but scored two goals in as many minutes in the latter stages to advance to the final.
After the win, which set up a final clash against their oldest rivals Inter Milan, Conceicao declared he read the riot act to his team to inspire the comeback win.
He also showed his ruthless attitude after knocking his son Francisco – a winger for Juve – out of the competition.
“We will have one less day of rest than Inter,” Conceicao said.
“After 45 minutes I got angry in the locker room; because the team wasn’t doing what we had prepared.
“We need a bit of nastiness to get to something more, but we will do it with time. The players need a few good words and a few hits. I’m not very nice: I don’t like giving kisses and hugs. I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win.
“The group has accepted a coach like me who doesn’t smile much. My son Francisco? He was sad and I was happy after the match.”
That is the kind of elite mentality, charisma and aura West Ham sorely needed.
The fact they could have had it makes the whole situation even more galling for fans.
That one press conference alone is more revealing and interesting than all of Lopetegui’s combined thus far.
West Ham have truly passed up the chance of a lifetime.
To rub salt into a gaping wound, Milan are the reason Lopetegui is at West Ham in the first place.
Lopetegui was set to be their new manager in the summer.
But a massive fan protest saw the Italians withdraw the contract offer, leaving Lopetegui in shock.
That pushed him into West Ham’s arms and the rest, as they say, is history.
