Steidten Out

[Massive Attack]

I want this costly clueless conniving cսnt gone. We have suffered persistent injuries to expensive key signings this season, as well as others who just don't cut it against Premier League opposition, or have suspect temperaments/injury records previously known and they're all his picks. He clearly doesn't do his due diligence well enough as one of the stories of the season has been us suffering injuries to key new signings..

Fullkrug £27M - Suspect Injury History 

Todibo £34M (if avoid relegation) - Suspect Injury History/Suspect attitude problems at Barcelona 

Mavropanos £19M - Just utter dogshit (and ironically probably now out injured as well due to concussion for 10 days like Fabianski)

Alvarez £35M - Nowhere near good enough for the money we spent on him looking lost and slow as arseholes against Premier League opposition 

Kudus is just about the only costly signing that's come off that's genuine quality, although even he now has suspect temperament issues when getting himself a 5 match ban for fighting an entire Spurs Team in front of everyone. So fuck knows what he's also like behind the scenes..

Just sick of the persistent injuries to key players that has derailed our season and continues to do so on tonights evidence with Fullcrock, as well as all the unsettling bollocks behind the scenes. There's no smoke without fire and I now make that not 1 but 2 Managers in quick succession that allegedly told him to stay away from the Training Ground. It makes me wonder whether he is our Club Mole all along who has persistently leaked things out to the Media from either within the Dressing Room/Snaps with managers behind another managers back that then coincidentally get leaked at just the right time? A manager who was humiliated in the media for taking at least 2 Training sessions and possibly a 3rd on the last day he eventually got sacked and the whole thing was handled terribly which again points to Steidten and his breakdown in his 2nd relationship with a manager. And he's supposed to work with them, not against them!

On the radio yesterday when discussing Steidten someone mentioned how odd they thought it was to see him down by the players tunnel/dressing room area as well as doing interviews with TNT during the Chelsea loss earlier in the season and they thought good Technical Directors aren't seen front and centre as much as this one always appears to be. He's certainly got an impressive holiday snap collection he leaks to the media as soon as he takes them. 

The longer this season has panned out the more and more I've thought something just doesn't sit right at the Club and I genuinely think he has been at the heart of a lot of our issues. I suppose that's why it's now been known his position is under review and they're already on to him, hence why Potter swerved the Steidten question possibly knowing something we don't about him. 

Or does anyone still believe he's the right man to guide our Club making such big decisions within it?

 

[Lee Trundle]

I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibly that Dan Ashworth might rock up as the Technical Director in the not too distant future.

Steidten was promoted into this role from Leverkusen, he was never the Technical Director there.  I doubt he was much of a Technical Director with us given his roles, regardless of his title.

The thing that annoyed me the most about him, was that it appeared he was a MASSIVE social media whore constantly leaking stuff to Fabrizio Romano.  So I do find it a bit funny people praising his for the way he conducted deals.

[Gank]

Good point, Sir Alf - that is indeed the closest we’ve had to this model and as you say, it was terrible!

[Sir Alf]

Also agree that a DOF not even a Tech Director is needed.  But will never happen while Sullivan owns us and/or is in charge of his faculties ( theres doubt he’s ever been the “full ticket” but as far as we know he’s not got dementia yet?).

We risk falling further behind but have to hope Potter and Macaulay can fend off Sullivan and his agents meddling.  We need the Potter/Macaulay recruitment model to be the opposite of the last attempt resembling that structure, the infamous spell under Pellegrin and Husilos which was a disaster.

[stubbo]

Hard to judge his personal responsibility given the murky lines that exist at the top of the club. Hard to argue he’s been a stunning success though, I’m probably more disappointed that we’re lurching away from the model than Steiden leaving. 

I’m struggling to think of one signing he’s been involved in which you could call a success? Kudus is maybe the strongest case but he’s showing this season why bigger clubs weren’t ever really interested. 

Some say his strength was ‘getting deals done’ but it’s easy to sign players when no one else wants them and you overpay. Which has resulted in us having a squad full of mediocre / poor players on way too much money and with little to no sell on value… not to different to before his time, all told. 

Totally agree we need the model more than the individual. Now, if by some miracle in the Summer, Sullivan went and brought in Ashworth and handed him the keys, that would be a masterstroke....a guy who actually knows how to run a football operation.

Sadly I'm fairly confident we'll just lurch on with the Chairman-Manager-Head Of Recruitment hierarchy which has delivered such resounding medicority for us time and again.

I won't miss Steidten, but I'll miss what West Ham having a Technical Director represented in terms of direction of travel.

[Manuel]

I recall when and not long after he come the question was asked how do we judge him, that question never really got answered. Did he do a good job? No idea. I will say that I'm not convinced when I see it said he was good at closing deals, way too vague and baseless with what info is at hand to a clubs fan base. But I doubt he will be much of a miss and where he ends up next might give us an idea of his 'reputation' within the game, although I suspect many have already just blamed Sullivan anyways.

[moorethanjustananon]

Hard to judge his personal responsibility given the murky lines that exist at the top of the club. Hard to argue he’s been a stunning success though, I’m probably more disappointed that we’re lurching away from the model than Steiden leaving. 

I’m struggling to think of one signing he’s been involved in which you could call a success? Kudus is maybe the strongest case but he’s showing this season why bigger clubs weren’t ever really interested. 

Some say his strength was ‘getting deals done’ but it’s easy to sign players when no one else wants them and you overpay. Which has resulted in us having a squad full of mediocre / poor players on way too much money and with little to no sell on value… not to different to before his time, all told. 

[fraser]

The most west ham thing ever will be for all his signings to be a long term success, and then  kick ourselves for letting him go. I think this is more about Potter insisting on his own team. I liked him and the plane thing was a bit of a laugh. 

Isn't Potter's bloke just a scout though, a good one apparently.. But then who closes the deals? 

Cause Steidten was good at that. 

Seemed like a nice bloke too. 

[honky cat]

The most west ham thing ever will be for all his signings to be a long term success, and then  kick ourselves for letting him go. I think this is more about Potter insisting on his own team. I liked him and the plane thing was a bit of a laugh. 

[El Scorchio]

Yeah the falling out with two managers/banned from the training ground is a real red herring if you just look a bit deeper. Obviously he'd fall out with Moyes who would have been threatened with anyone coming in in that role which he was adament he was against before TS even rocked up, and as mentioned Lop fell out with everyone in his short time. Obviously he'd be at odds with a man who had a totally different philosophy about the direction of the playing staff, hired against his wishes. Seen as Sullivan asked him to find Lop's replacement it's no wonder they fell out.

Sullivan lumbered Moyes with a TD he was obviously going to make life difficult for, then as soon as Moyes went, Sullivan lumbered the TD with a new manager who was never going to be on the same page. It's like he was almost trying to purposely sow disharmony and create rifts in his own club not once but twice.
 

[southbankbornnbred]

In all seriousness, I really don't think the club will miss him one iota.

Fell out with two managers, and the chairman at times, too. Regardless of what anybody thinks of Moyes, Lopetegui and Sullivan - they're all more important to the club (in terms of the roles they occupied) than Steidten.

As Trundle has said many times, he was not the pearl diver some made him out to be - more misses than hits in the transfer market, I'm afraid. Some good choices, if we're to be fair to him. But too many poor and unsuitable choices/moves, too.

Flying Mavrapanos into London on a private jet will look a bit OTT in the cold light of day - the guy is better suited to the 25 bus to Romford.

Steidten appeared to love the limelight a little too much, for my liking. In that role, you're better off just getting your head down and working closely with the manager to deliver the players the main coach (manager) wants to improve his team. The disconnect between Steidten and two managers (both of whom were also not great) was an obvious and problematic chasm at the club.

And with Sullivan overseeing his element of it all - pulling in a third direction - it means we have wasted a shitload of money on some bang-average players eating up a big chunk of our FSR etc.

He'll have his explanations, I'm sure. As will Moyes/Lope and Sullivan. But the Steidten era will go down as a disjointed period in which his own fanfare often resonated louder than any successes he delivered.

I like the idea of Potter and Macaulay working how they did at Brighton. It "should" be more collegiate and better co-ordinated, once we can offload some the mistakes of the late-Moyes, J-Lo, Steidten period.

[stubbo]

He fell out with the 2 previous managers.

That might have something to do with him leaving.

I just can't see that. He fell out with Moyes by virtue of their juxtaposition. They simply couldn't happily coexist.

Lopetegui though seemed to fall out with everyone. Noble was apparently calling for him to be got rid in November. And then Steidten was charged with looking for someone to replace him as early as early December. They from that point again had differing objectives.

It's a lazy narrative really. Steidten had to go...he was a bit of an egotist which Sullivan would hate, he wasn't given the authority or tools to make his job work. If he was we wouldn't have Potter and we'd never have had Lopetegui. 

The reality is West Ham (Sullivan) just isn't ready to adopt a model where the Chairman is non-football focussed, and someone else runs the whole football operation.

One day maybe...but not yet.  

[Iron Duke]

I liked the way he got his business done. There was no messing about. This window we were back to low balling, phantom bids and the scattergun approach without any logic.

The problem was firstly his strategic wasn’t aligned with dithering Dave Moyes and then we hired the wrong manager who fell out with half the team. And also our lovely chairman couldn’t keep his nose out.

[Mex Martillo]

Disappointed. I liked some Steidten signs and agreed with the stats thing. Oh well the show goes on.

[threesixty]

He fell out with the 2 previous managers.

That might have something to do with him leaving.

 

 

I do think it’s more a personality clash thing rather than poor signings. 
Interesting for the club to say Potter has brought in his own head of recruitment, indicating that Tim was never a DOF and the previous managers did not report to Tim, more like the other way around if anything. 

perception….

[southbankbornnbred]

Mavrapanos arriving into London on a private jet is like being presented with some broken Hula Hoops wrapped in a Tiffany's box.

[Lee Trundle]

He fell out with the 2 previous managers.

That might have something to do with him leaving.

[North Bank]

Lee good post that, the excitement on the faces of Kudus and his agent always amused me.

Steidten was a victim of the shambolic way that Sullivan runs West Ham, he made mistakes but that's to be expected in that role as not every purchase is going to work out. 

Sullivan obviously missed playing his real life game of football manager, so Tim had to go

[Sir Alf]

Fitted up by Sullivan to deflect blame.  He was not without fault but the root of the bad summer business was the appointment of Lopeyegui by Sullivan and overuling Steidten and Noble and other directors. That shaped our transfer business with Lop wanting Kilman at 40 million, Rodruiguez and Soler. The spread of transfer picks also meant Steidten was more a scout than DOF.  

Steidten has been framed by Sullivan

[Jean-Luc Paul Goddard]

I bet it's no coincidence that his departure gets announced the day after deadline day. Makes it look as if he's the one to blame for our dismal lack of effort in the transfer window as well as everything before that. 
 

[Lee Trundle]

Some of the highlights of his time with us:

[Manuel]

[Lee Trundle]

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

[Fauxstralian]

The scarf has left the building

[El Scorchio]

No one with intelligence and the courage of their convictions ( independent thinker ) can be successful under a narcissistic, egomaniac like Sullivan.

I want Potter to be here a while, build something that can be sustained but realistically see it as impossible while Sullivan controls everything.  

Yup. Sooner or later there’s going to be a difference of opinion or conflict. And there is only going to be one winner from that. I genuinely think Sullivan would rather cut his nose off to spite his face and sabotage a reasonably successful manager and his club than have them make him look bad publicly or expose his meddling in football matters etc. 

[nychammer]

No one with intelligence and the courage of their convictions ( independent thinker ) can be successful under a narcissistic, egomaniac like Sullivan.

I want Potter to be here a while, build something that can be sustained but realistically see it as impossible while Sullivan controls everything.  

Sullivan is at the root of all our problems and until he goes we are doomed to underwhelm.