Julen Lopetegui in big trouble after West Ham United loss v Tottenham
Craig Burley has laced into Julen Lopetegui after West Ham United suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham on Saturday 19 October.
The Hammers brought in Lopetegui to replace David Moyes with high hopes, but find themselves sitting just five points above the relegation zone in the Premier League after eight games.
Assessing the Spaniard’s abysmal start as the Irons boss, Burley insisted that the manager has failed to implement his style of play so far and suggested that he is an early candidate to get the sack.
“West Ham have a problem,” he said on ESPN FC.
“If you want to get away from the David Moyes style of defensive football, if you’re going to have a bad time while that transition takes place, then you at least have got to be more effective going forward because if you’re as bad defensively and as dull as your football is not much better, then where are we?
“They’re defensively weaker than they were under David Moyes, going forward, they’re maybe a little better, not a lot, they’re still counter-attacking.
“So, at the moment, they are caught between a rock and a hard place, it’s like [Ange] Postecoglou when he went to Tottenham, it’s a complete change.
“Lopetegui, at the moment, what is it? Is it a defensive-block side? Is it counter-attacking? Is it possession? Nobody knows. He’s in early season big trouble.
“They beat Ipswich at home, that’s about the sum of it. They were battered by [Manchester] City, they were battered by Chelsea at the London Stadium and they were battered today [Saturday], particularly in the second half.”
What has gone wrong for Julen Lopetegui at West Ham United?
The defence has been a huge problem for West Ham this season, having conceded 15 goals in eight league games and another five in the EFL Cup loss to Liverpool in September.
This is despite the East London club making three major additions to their backline in the summer with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo.
As stated by Burley, they should be better going forward if they are going to be leaking goals during the transition period, but have not been.
Although the Hammers have scored in all but one of their 10 games across all competitions this season, they do not have a consistent goalscorer yet.
Summer signing Niclas Fullkrug’s unavailability due to fitness issues has not helped the cause, while Mohammed Kudus, their second-highest scorer last season, has been far from his fast.
There is mounting pressure on Lopetegui and West Ham will consider sacking him if things do not improve soon, with Gareth Southgate mooted as a potential replacement.
In other West Ham news, Mohammed Kudus could be in line for an extended FA ban after his meltdown against Tottenham.
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