West Ham United play host to Wolves on Monday in a game that has been dubbed ‘El Sackico’.
Julen Lopetegui and Gary O’Neil are both under intense pressure, and a win for either side will see one manager lose his job.
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A draw would most likely see both managers dismissed from West Ham and Wolves respectively.
The appalling decision not to sack Lopetegui may well stop us from getting one of our top managerial targets.
The Spaniard is clearly clueless regarding how to turn things around.
He has lost the dressing room it seems and the away fans turned on him during our defeat to Leicester City on Tuesday night.
I just don’t see any way back for him at the London Stadium, even if we beat Wolves.
And that may well be a lot harder to do than many people think.
‘El Sackico’ twist is great for Wolves but worrying for West Ham
Nothing less than a win will do for the Hammers on Monday.
I believe that Lopetegui should have been sacked a while ago, but here we are with him still in charge.
The Spaniard will have his work cut-out if he is to get a much-needed win against Wolves.
The Premier League have confirmed that John Brooks will referee the game, whilst Andy Madley will be the lead official on VAR.
That’s two bits of bad news for the Hammers to swallow as far as I’m concerned.
Brooks refereed our clash with Tottenham at the London Stadium back in April, and anyone who watched the game will remember what an awful performance he put in.
He gave 50/50 decisions Spurs’ way all game and never allowed the match to flow.
Brooks has proven on numerous occasions in the past that he is totally inept.
Back in February 2023, he was dropped from the rota for two Premier League games after he inexplicably drew an offside line in the wrong place to deny Brighton a goal against Crystal Palace.
It actually beggars belief that he is still entrusted to referee games at the very highest level of the English game.
Then we come to Andy Madley, who will be in charge of VAR.
Madley has history with the Hammers and played a part in one of the worst decisions I have ever seen given during a Premier League football match.
Madley was in charge of the match between West Ham and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge during the 2022/23 season, and after being sent to the pitch side monitor, he ruled out Maxwel Cornet’s equaliser late on in the match.
The decision was an absolutely farcical one. Sure he didn’t rule the goal out originally, but he still chose to disallow it after viewing the incident on the monitor.
El Sackico on Monday has the making of a highly pressurised, cagey affair, but after the Premier League’s announcement, Wolves may well have a big advantage over West Ham.
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