Julen Lopetegui needs quick-fire results at West Ham as grace period starts to expire

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Evening Standard

·26. September 2024

Julen Lopetegui needs quick-fire results at West Ham as grace period starts to expire

Early days for Hammers but life is not looking all too different to the David Moyes era

Having jolted his calf while reacting to Crysencio Summerville squander a chance, Julen Lopetegui dealt West Ham a new injury concern.

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The sight of the Hammers’ head coach exiting Anfield on crutches on Wednesday night was a novel one, and it was hard not to conflate it with matters on the pitch at the club right now.

Indeed, Lopetegui’s players will no doubt be feeling similarly wounded after yet another heavy defeat. However vehemently he insisted his side did not deserve to lose by such a margin, the fact of the matter is that they did. Liverpool ran up a 5-1 win to kill off West Ham’s short-lived Carabao Cup run.

West Ham have now won just two of their first seven games under Lopetegui, in what has been a faltering start to a new era that offered supporters such renewed hope this summer when the Spaniard replaced the departing David Moyes.

On the subject of Moyes, life under Lopetegui is not proving so very different in so far as the chosen brand of football is concerned.

Accepting that Aston Villa, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool have been difficult early-season fixtures, there remain long periods in which the Hammers wilfully sit off their opponents. One particular spell in the first half on Wednesday saw five uninterrupted minutes of casual Liverpool possession. West Ham press as much now as they did under Moyes: almost never.

This should come as little surprise to those who worked to get Lopetegui in the door, with his track record as manager of Spain (briefly), Real Madrid (briefly), Sevilla and Wolves having been about building a solid defensive base first and attacking fluency second. Lopetegui, like Moyes, is a pragmatist.

It is little wonder the club’s only positive results in the league this season — the 2-0 win at Crystal Palace and 1-1 draw with Fulham — have seen the Hammers dominated by their opponents in terms of possession. The Hammers were the sixth-highest net spenders in Europe this summer, but changing the way you play relies on the desire to do so. They remain a counter-attacking team.

Difficult start: Julen Lopetegui is yet to spark into life at West Ham

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The fixtures have been tough, yes, and it is still early days in terms of blooding the club’s new recruits, but West Ham sit 14th in the league and do not look better than they did under Moyes.

Gaping holes in the defence were exploited by Nicolas Jackson for both of his goals in Chelsea’s 3-0 win at the London Stadium last weekend, and the same was true for Diogo Jota’s second at Anfield. No one closed Cody Gakpo down as his brace added shine and sheen to the scoreline late on, and that was after Edson Alvarez picked up a needless second booking.

There is pressure on Lopetegui now, to get the best out of Carlos Soler after deciding James Ward-Prowse was not part of his plans. He must also stick with Summerville on the left wing, and the sooner Niclas Fullkrug is ready to lead the line again, the better.

Tottenham and Manchester United loom next month, but first are Saturday’s visit to Brentford and then a home encounter with Ipswich Town.

Grace periods have expired. Fixture excuses have been cashed in. The time for an upturn in results is now.