Julen Lopetegui not fitting in well at West Ham United amid ‘predictable’ verdict
Michael Ball believes Julen Lopetegui isn’t “fitting in well” at West Ham United after they have struggled to get into a decent run of form.
The Hammers currently sit 14th in the Premier League and could move as high as 12th if they beat Everton on 9 November and as long as other results go their way.
Writing for the Liverpool ECHO (5 November), Ball shared his verdict on the Spaniard’s tenure as West Ham’s boss so far.
“West Ham United is now a huge game for Everton because of the previous two matches. They’ve got some top quality players who can hurt you, but they’ve been struggling and their new manager doesn’t seem to be fitting in well,” he wrote.
“Sean Dyche needs to be less obvious with his substitutions. We could probably write out what they’re going to be now before the game kicks off, we know what’s going to happen.
“It’s all too predictable. Make it harder for Julen Lopetegui, he’s going through a difficult time”.
West Ham United need to beat Everton
The Hammers have had a fairly mixed bag of performances lately with the club beating Manchester United 2-1 but then also losing 3-0 against Nottingham Forest.
While there have been times this season when the team have oozed class, more often than not, fans have been left wanting a lot more from their team.
At the start of the season, most expected West Ham to be competing for European football, especially after their summer transfer window saw players such as Max Kilman and Crysencio Summerville welcomed through the London Stadium doors.
Instead, Lopetegui’s future has been under a lot of scrutiny and if he doesn’t manage to pull a win out of the bag on Saturday, it feels like it could be curtains for the former Wolves boss.
A win against Sean Dyche’s men would set them apart from those nearer the bottom of the table and could even kick-start their quest to end the season in one of the European places.
In other West Ham news, Nigel Reo-Coker has singled out Guido Rodriguez after what he’s done recently.
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