West Ham majority owner David Sullivan has been more than fair with Julen Lopetegui but now prominent figures are piling on the pressure.
West Ham’s owners would have sacked Julen Lopetegui after the defeat to Leicester had one of their candidates agreed to take over on a six-month contract.
With nobody willing to replace the Spaniard on those terms, West Ham’s key stakeholders David Sullivan and Daniel Kretinsky agreed to give the manager one more chance.
The Hammers somehow squeaked a 2-1 win over woeful Wolves.
It was thanks in no small part to Wolves’ poor finishing and three unbelievably bad VAR calls.
Since then Graham Potter has reportedly agreed to take the West Ham job on that initial six-month deal.
But West Ham rode their luck to ridiculous levels in draws with Bournemouth, Brighton and a win over Southampton.
Calls grow for Lopetegui axe after another West Ham shambles
That has kept Lopetegui in the job since with Potter lingering in the background at the next sign of trouble.
Many fans have said the owners have merely been kicking the can down the road keeping Lopetegui.
Liverpool arrived at the London Stadium on Sunday to prove them right.
A 5-0 win could have been double figures – with no exaggeration.
West Ham were insipid, passive and pathetic yet again as they barely put up a fight in the shocking defeat.
This is a club that has been competitive against most teams over the last four years.
It is a team that has had £155m spent on it and a new manager appointed to ensure they go to a another level.
West Ham have certainly managed to reach another level. But it is not what they hoped or expected as they face a wasted season of midtable mediocrity at best.
It’s not just Hammers fans who don’t think the manager is up to it.
Leading experts are adding their weight to that argument too.
Carragher and Winter leave Sullivan nowhere to hide over axe
Jamie Carragher and Henry Winter leave West Ham chief Sullivan nowhere to hide over sacking Lopetegui.
Sky Sports pundit Carragher was not on duty for the game.
But he was watching from home as a Liverpool fan and neatly summed up what he thought of the Hammers.
“Liverpool have been brilliant all season and West Ham have been shocking all season!” Carragher said as he surmised the game.
Leading journalist Winter went one further.
He says that while West Ham are awful they have the players to be so much better in a damning indictment on Lopetegui.
The reporter says West Ham’s recent unbeaten run masked the fact they’ve been far from convincing.
And Winter even suggests Lopetegui is proving he doesn’t deserve to be the manager of West Ham.
“Liverpool terrific, Salah unstoppable, but West Ham far too passive, barring Kudus and Bowen,” Winter said.
“Mavropanos always a risk, but they do have some good players.
“Recent four-game unbeaten run masks the fact they remain unconvincing under Lopetegui.
“He’s yet to show he deserves the job.”
This really leaves Sullivan with nowhere to hide over the manager.
Lopetegui left fans baffled with his tactics and team selection yet again.
The Spaniard got things so badly wrong once more that he was forced into a raft of half-time changes with West Ham 3-0 down.
Not for the first time this season either.
And not for the first time this season the London Stadium emptied long before the final whistle.
While owners should always listen to their own fans over outside voices, the fact prominent figures in the game are piling in on Lopetegui should be ringing alarm bells.
Carragher has already made it clear recently he thinks Lopetegui is the wrong man for West Ham.
As he continues to prove the pundit right, it begs the question what are Sullivan and co waiting for.
Especially with Potter supposedly waiting in the wings.
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