Where do you stand on Lopetegui and his future as West Ham manager?
Meirion Williams: This could be another Pellegrini moment where Sullivan blames the fans for our predicament. With Pellegrini, Sullivan said he gave the fans what they wanted and opened his wallet so it was all our fault. I can’t see Sullivan paying Lopetegui off and there are also at least three teams far worse than us. So no I can’t see him going during the season but in May who knows.
David Meagher: It’s proving a difficult transition but we must be patient. Our board is pretty good at staying calm and in all fairness, it takes time to embed a new system. I think J-Lo is guaranteed a full season but we simply have to sort out our defence – and midfield – or he will walk in the summer.
Dawud Marsh: I wanted Moyes to leave after our victory in the Conference League Final in Prague. It would have been a fitting end to his tenure. I would not have chosen Lopetegui to replace him, but I feel he is struggling to get his ideas across to the team. We seem to be playing without real purpose at the moment and the players don’t seem to be buying into Lopetegui’s style – if there is one. As things stand, I cannot see a significant improvement. Something has to change and very soon, otherwise we will be sitting in the relegation zone during the Christmas. And we know what tends to happen to teams who are there at the start of a New Year.
Geoff Hillyer: I’m as patient as the next person, and perfectly prepared to give Lopetegui his chance. What’s the plan, though? We have a team lacking in confidence, and a manager who doesn’t know who his best eleven is, let alone what style we should be playing in. He’s not going any time soon, but things need to change.
Where has it gone wrong for him and us so far this season?
MW: I’m not sure if he was ever the right choice but I guess he was a cheap option. I think there are too many changes. Each and every game seems to be a lottery on who will play. I also believe that there are players that have not been given a chance. Soler and Somerville come to mind.
DM: I think our midfield is where the big problem is. Too porous and lacking in penetration. Paqueta looks unfit or distracted which isn’t helping but we also seem lacking in discipline. We could do with a fit Fullkrug to provide a point of focus for our movement out of defence. Also, Wan-Bissaka has been a bright light but we are leaving our right sided CB exposed by playing him too far forward all the time leaving a big gap in behind him. That said, if we can click into gear before the New Year it’s still all to play for.
DM: I think ignoring the young players is a mistake. We lack pace and desire, something that Earthy and Marshall could add to the team. Discipline is clearly an issue but as a club, we have failed to resolve our lack of an out-and-out striker. Fullkrug seems to be another mistake made and questions need to be asked about the process of scouting and recruiting players. Lopetegui has set up his teams in a way that exposes us to pressure and defensively we have struggled, especially with no set back line that play together regularly and build up an understanding together. The gaffer still doesn’t know his best team. And that’s a huge worry.
GH: The easier question is, ‘where has it gone right?’. And of course the answer is, ‘nowhere really’. You can look at anything highlighted above by the others, but to be honest I’m not so worried about what’s gone wrong, I’m more bothered about if the bloke in charge can fix it. I’m not too sure he can.
If Lopetegui does get the chop, who would you like to see replace him?
MW: It seems that Edin Terzic could be the man for the job and he is available. I guess the question is; Would he come to us having just given up his position at Borussia Dortmund for personal reasons? Outside of him it’s possible Graham Potter might be tempted but after that I’m struggling.
DM: I think Paolo Di Canio deserves another chance at management – kidding. He won’t get the chop so Paolo needn’t start looking at property in London.
DM: Potter? This could be a good fit for us, and he will be able to get the best out of some of our key players. Sullivan has a strict idea of who he wants as manager and this is why we ended up with Lopetegui. For the most important post in the club, you have to pay – especially compensation – which Sully refuses to do. That has to change otherwise we will never progress as a club, no matter which players we buy.
GH: Well, Potter is the name that springs to mind, but as Dawud says, the chairman isn’t going to be handing over the big bucks. That is why we are where we are, and most likely the reason why we’ll still have Lopetegui in charge at the end of the season, for better or for worse.
Which defeat was worse, Spurs or Forest?
MW: For me, it has to be Forest. We looked good for the first 15 minutes but after that it just fell apart dramatically. To see the away end half empty with 10 minutes to go was embarrassing.
DM: Spurs, always. Even though we took the lead, we conceded 10 corners in the first half – we’ve supposedly got ball holding midfielders which makes that totally unacceptable. That said, conceding the first goal at Forest to Chris Wood was very disappointing as he is a one trick pony and our centre backs knew their job was primarily to stifle him. Alvarez’s sending off was frighteningly naive stuff for a man on a yellow card.
DM: Spurs because it’s Spurs but in the manner of the defeats were both equally bad and in both, we had a player sent off. We need a leader on and off the pitch and Bowen, despite being a great player, is not the leader we need right now. We just collapsed in both games and we could have ended up with double figures scored against us. The midfield is exposed in how they are set up as there is no pace and they get over run. We were toothless in attack and in both games, it really felt as if the players had literally just walked onto the pitch without any preparation. They were not fired up for the Spurs game and lacked desire against Forest who seemed to have an extra man on the pitch even before Alvarez sending off.
GH: They were both equally as bad. I never want to lose, but accept that we will, probably more than we win. But the manner in which the wheels came off in both matches was unbelievable. That’s what makes supporting West Ham so hard at the moment; we know we are going to concede, and when we do, chances are we’ll fold like a house of cards.
How many points do you think we might pick up between now and the end of the year?
MW: I’m going to say nine, almost doubling our total from the last four months. Wolverhampton and Leicester are all winnable games but I can’t see us getting much out of Newcastle, Liverpool, Arsenal and Brighton. As for Bournemouth and Southampton, well that’s anybody’s guess, but I see nothing to make me think we will be on no more than 20 points before Big Ben chimes.
DM: It’s hard to feel confident about any game just now as we seem so defensively frail but home to Wolves is winnable, draws with Brighton (home) and away at Leicester and Bournemouth would give us six points. The Arsenal and Newcastle games will be tough to get anything from. We need that many to avoid the pressure really building which makes for a different survival-focused campaign. Then again, we are West Ham so we beat Arsenal and Newcastle but mess up in the rest only picking up three points and get nine points!
DM: Nine points if the team turns up against Leicester, Wolves and Southampton. I really cannot see us getting anything from the other games. At the moment we are relying on other teams being worse than us. But who knows? Arsenal are faltering a bit and we may be able to draw with Bournemouth and Brighton. But still I’d put my money on nine points at most.
GH: Look at it this way. There are six matches between now and Christmas. We won’t beat Arsenal, really struggle against Newcastle, and Bournemouth are a really good side. We are so frail. I reckon seven from the other three – I will be very pleasantly surprised if we get more!
Be the first to comment