Henry Winter delivers Julen Lopetegui sack verdict as West Ham United ‘concerns’ rise
West Ham need to give Julen Lopetegui more time but “something’s not right” at the London Stadium, according to Henry Winter.
Writing in his Goal Posts column (4 November), Winter questioned what Lopetegui has brought to the club since replacing David Moyes in the summer, following a 3-0 thumping at Nottingham Forest.
The Irons’ comprehensive defeat was their sixth of the season already, and Edson Alvarez’s red card, his second in all competitions, has also seen the discipline of Lopetegui’s side called into question.
Winter said: “What exactly does Julen Lopetegui bring? You always want new managers to do well, to be given time and patience, but the concerns of West Ham fans are understandable.
“Something’s not right. Where was the urgency, the pressing, the determination – where was the legitimate fight rather than frustration spilling over?
“It’s too early to make a call on Lopetegui but a penny – or Euro – for David Moyes’ thoughts.”
Julen Lopetegui creating new problems for himself at West Ham
As if being comprehensively beaten by a side predicted to finish miles below the Hammers in the table wasn’t bad enough, Alvarez’s red card in their 3-0 loss at Forest means he’ll miss the next game.
Lopetegui is already without star winger Mohammed Kudus due to suspension, following a similarly brainless moment which saw the Ghanaian receive a straight red card in a 4-1 battering by Tottenham.
Losing players to moments of needless indiscipline is starting to become a hallmark of the Lopetegui ‘era’ at the London Stadium, and points towards a squad frustrated with their lack of results.
While it was always going to take time for the Spaniard’s plethora of new signings – at a cost of over £120million – to gel, but few fans or pundits would have expected a start as clunky as this.
Moyes’ side undoubtedly lost their way at times towards the back end of his tenure, but had he been backed to the extent Lopetegui was this summer, who knows where the Hammers might be now?
In other West Ham news, Jamie O’Hara has given a prediction over when he thinks the Hammers will pull the plug on Lopetegui.
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