'Left to rot': West Ham legend criticizes board over Julen Lopetegui appointment, treatment of David Moyes and transfer issues
Tony Cottee believes West Ham “chose the wrong manager” and criticized the board for causing the club's “decline”.
The Hammers have had a slow start to the season under new manager Julen Lopetegui and is currently 14th in the Premier League.
That's despite spending £132.5m on transfers, including buying Max Kilman from Wolves for £40m and the Leeds star for £25m. Crysencio Summerville.
When asked by talkSPORT's Ben Jacobs why West Ham had failed to live up to expectations after a productive transfer window, Hammers legend Cottee said: “I think a lot of fans felt the club had had a good summer in terms of transfer activity.
“A lot of money was spent in the summer and I think there were 10 players who were signed permanently or on loan. There was a huge expectation. It's very difficult to determine where things went wrong.
“There has been a change of coach, we all know it. It was a big bet by the club, and I said it six months ago. I'm not saying it now because things haven't gone well, but I felt it.” It was a big gamble in the first place.
“It was not my decision to choose the coach to take charge of the club, but I am not in charge.
“So you respect their opinion and give them the benefit of the doubt. But I think it's been a very, very difficult start to the season, a very slow start to the season.”
Despite West Ham's big outlay, former Hammers goalscorer Cottee believes the Hammers didn't fill every position enough, namely a striker.
He said: “In the Premier League, you have to defend properly and score goals. West Ham have certainly struggled defensively.
“When you have three of four of the back four being new players, it's probably to be expected a bit. And then you add the fact that they didn't sign a centre-forward.
“That's always going to be an issue and a problem for the club. It has been for a long time, I've lost count of how many times I seem to say it every year. “We need a center forward and they never sign a center forward.
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“Obviously, there's real talent behind whoever plays, you know, obviously it's been Antonio, (Niclas) Fullkrug has been injured, but there's real talent in (Jarrod) Bowen and (Mohammed) Kudus and (Lucas) Paqueta and Summerville and There are some of the best players.
“Those players haven't been in top form. So you add all that to the mix and you get to where West Ham are at the moment.
“The positive is that they are not in the bottom three. So that is a positive that I can take at the moment. They are not in a relegation battle.
“But when you look at the next two games, if they're not careful, I think they won't be too far from the bottom three.”
Long-term manager David Moyes – who led the club to win the Europa Conference League in 2023 – left the club at the end of last season.
He was replaced by former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Lopetegui in May, who joined on a two-year deal.
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Asked if history would have been different if Moyes had received the same financial backing, Cottee continued: “Of course it would. It's all in hindsight now.
“I think with the sequence of events starting when the club won the Conference League in June 2023, it can be argued that the club was at its peak, the highest peak in 43 years since they won the FA Cup in 1980. Everything was fantastic at the club.
“And then you lose your captain (Declan Rice), who signed for Arsenal. And the board, for whatever reason, decides not to renew (Moyes') contract. And, more importantly, let it run out , because that's where I am.” I have a problem with what happened.
“You know, either you give the coach the reward that I felt he deserved, in other words, a four or five-year contract, or maybe you look to change things and say, look, we want to go in a different direction.
“We all accepted it. But letting the contract expire put everyone at the club in a difficult position. They spent £130m in the summer. We didn't need to spend it in the summer.
“We needed to spend it in the January window at the beginning of this year. And people forget that West Ham were sixth. I'll say it again, they were sixth in the Premier League. They were in the Europa League and needed replacements.
“They needed to spend money on the team to strengthen it, to help the players get through what was a difficult campaign, because it is played on Sundays and Thursdays.
“That money was not spent in January. In fact, quite the opposite. They brought in one player, it was Kalvin Phillips, and we all know what happened with that particular loan period.
“And they got rid of four players from the team. I can't understand what happened in January. Then you go and spend a lot of money, bring a lot of players, in the summer.
“By then it was too late, it is very easy for a decay to occur, probably the wrong word, but a rot, whatever you want to say, a malaise.
“There are so many words you can use. It can develop very quickly in a football club. And unfortunately, with the decisions made at the board level – and I'm not talking about the coach, I'm talking at the board level – those decisions led to where the club was.
“And ultimately, they had to part ways with David Moyes because of what they created.
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“And to compound all that, you choose the wrong manager. So to say I'm a disgruntled Hammers fan at the moment is an understatement.”
West Ham finished ninth last season, with Hammers fans hoping to see the club return to the European places.
But just four months into the season, the Hammers have already been looking at potential replacements for Lopetegui.
Last week, talkSPORT reported on the former Borussia Dortmund boss. Edin Terzic has been polled as a possible option if the team's form continues under Lopetegui.
The Hammers are currently three points clear of the relegation zone and seven out of the top six.
They face Newcastle on Monday night. exclusively live on talkSPORTbefore hosting Arsenal next weekend.
“Of course they can get results against Newcastle and Arsenal,” Cottee said. “But if they don't, I think the board will be in a difficult position.”
