Julen Lopetegui clashes with Guido Rodriguez at West Ham United after new incident
Tony Cascarino believes there was “clearly an incident” between Julen Lopetegui and Guido Rodriguez during the West Ham United defeat against Chelsea.
The midfielder was taken off the pitch in the 38th minute and while many expected the Argentine to be injured, there seems to be no signs of that just yet.
The Hammers lost 3-0 in the end on 21 September, with Rodriguez slated for his role in the opening two goals from Nicolas Jackson.
Speaking live on talkSPORT (22 September) Cascarino shared what he spotted as it happened.
“Rodriguez by the way, got substituted after 38 minutes and there was clearly an incident with him and Lopetegui during that game,” Cascarino said.
“That’s why he came off after 38 minutes, he didn’t even get to halftime.
“I don’t know if there was an injury but there were gestures made by him and Lopetegui but to be fair, it looked like he was running with a parachute on his back”.
Julen Lopetegui needs to get West Ham United back on track
West Ham have arguably had one of the poorest seasons of any Premier League side.
They have played so badly that the future of Lopetegui is already being discussed [GiveMeSport, 22 September] despite the season only being five games in.
Granted, luck hasn’t sometimes been on their side when looking back at some of their results but they should still be playing at a far higher standard than what they have been recently.
While Lopetegui seems safe for now [Fabrizio Romano, 22 September], the fact that names such as David Moyes are being linked with a return, should have fans worried.
Many forget that just last season, when Moyes coached the team, they ended up with the fourth-worst defensive record in the league with just the three relegated sides finishing below them in terms of goals conceded.
Reinforcements were brought in over the summer and now feels like an ideal chance for the Spaniard to take a gamble and try them out in his starting XI, especially if he wants to keep his job.
In other West Ham news, Sam Matterface has slammed the Hammers after an “atrocious” Julen Lopetegui claim was made.
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