Julen Lopetegui sends message as West Ham United ‘madness’ avoided
Dan Bardell believes Julen Lopetegui made the right decision to bench most of his new West Ham signings in the defeat against Aston Villa.
The new Hammers head coach only started two of his new signings dispute bringing in eight fresh faces during the transfer window.
This has been criticised by some sections of the fanbase at the London Stadium who wanted to see a new look after David Moyes’ departure.
Sky Sports and talkSPORT journalist Bardell thinks that the Spaniard made the right choice rather than just throwing all his new players in at the deep end.
Speaking exclusively to West Ham Zone, Bardell said: “I think Villa and West Ham were similar and stuck to what worked last season. I don’t mind that.
“It looks like a message from the new manager to say that everyone is going to get a chance there.
“Lopetegui introduced his new players slowly and brought them on and some of them posed a threat. I didn’t think it was a bad thing that he started with most of last season’s squad.
“He played Guido Rodriguez and Max Kilman so they got their debuts but they’ve made a lot of signings so it would have been madness to throw them all in, that’s not how football works.“
Julen Lopetegui makes West Ham XI decision v Aston Villa
The Hammers began the season in disappointing circumstances with a deserved defeat against the Villans.
Lopetegui set up in a very similar fashion to Moyes with only two of his new signings featuring Guido Rodriguez and Max Kilman.
Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug came off the bench in the second half and had a positive impact which could have been useful from the start.
Other than a controversial penalty, the Irons hardly laid a glove on Unai Emery’s side until the new pair were introduced.
Looking ahead to the away clash against Crystal Palace, Lopetegui must show more faith in these players to allow them to gel together better.
In other West Ham news, Sky Sports journalist rubbished Konstantinos Mavrapanos rumour.
For more West Ham news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.