Jamie Carragher slams ‘Really Poor’ West Ham, shares alarm bells he noticed
Jamie Carragher has slammed Julen Lopetegui and his impact on West Ham United since his arrival, branding his tenure so far “really poor”.
Lopetegui has won just three of his opening 11 top-flight games with the big-spending Hammers, who return from the international break to face Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Monday.
Carragher, speaking live on Sky Sports [25 November, 18:35], was less than complimentary and revealed when he first began to notice “alarm bells” from Lopetegui’s side.
“The expectations were to almost keep West Ham where they were under David Moyes, I’m not sure West Ham can do much more than that in terms of where they finish in the table.
“But it hasn’t quite happened and I’m not sure Lopetegui is the [head coach] for that system. This is no doubt a really good manager, look at what he did at Wolves he did really well in the Premier League; what he sort of did at Real Madrid; he’s managed Spain; he’s won European competitions himself.
“But is he a manager who’s going to change the style drastically? Not a lot, I think it’s been really poor, I don’t think it could have got much worse if I’m being totally honest. The first time I thought there were alarm bells was when they played Chelsea, which was the fifth game of the Premier League this season and he went in with a back three in this game. The problem with this West Ham team, there’s a severe lack of pace in this team.”
West Ham lose at Newcastle and Julen Lopetegui could face chop
The difficulty for West Ham is not any real fear of relegation or long-term regression, but one of stagnation.
There is a feeling around East London that all the effort the club went to with a different direction after David Moyes and all the investment in the squad has become totally obsolete.
There have been rare highlights this season – far too intermittent for the standards of a Hammers fanbase who idolised what Moyes brought them during his tenure – but the side are struggling in 14th.
Most quarters are predicting a Newcastle win over the Irons on Monday – some are a little more optimistic – but a Magpies success would elevate Eddie Howe’s side into the Premier League’s top six, but could also spell the end for Lopetegui.
It may be a bit hasty from the board, but a man with such experience and prior success as the CV of the 58-year-old knows the ruthless nature of the game.
In other West Ham news, doubt already arises over the long-term future of Niclas Fullkrug at the club.
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