Welcome to West Ham United Julen Lopetegui

[Barty]

Champions league here we come ! ?üòâ

[Massive Attack]

"I remember calls from many West Ham fans calling for Phillips to be signed and to replace Soucek in the side and yet it was him keeping him out the side, not the other way round. And Phillips is supposed to be the £30/£45M City and England Superstar. The way some carry on about Soucek you'd be forgiven for thinking he's managed a career at all and not the one he's actually had winning Trophies at both Club level either domestically and in Europe, as well as 68 Caps for his Country even becoming their Captain scoring 12 goals and 6 assists along the way. But yeah, fuck knows how he's winged it so far."

[Russ of the BML]

Eerie Descent 2:25 Tue May 21 With respect - That was once and in a game where we had about 20% of the ball. Don't get me wrong - I have been very critical of Soucek this season and I am not trying to be contrary and argue with people that he is great. I just feel he has earned the right to be given a chance and not just flogged too early. Under a new system and philosophy he may adapt and thrive. That's all.

[Rossal]

"Mate of mine was in the seats by the dugout for the Leverkusen game. At full time that bent ref was getting abused walking off so a steward approached him as he left the pitch to escort him off. Nolan went absolutely ape shit at the steward, asking him why he is protecting him whilst also berating the ref himself After the steward came back out to find Nolan to explain himself and to smooth things over. Nolan was having none of it......gave the steward both barrels and walked off livid He cares, and i think he is great to have around the place. I really hope he stays aswell And for Soucek, another mate did a golf day must be about 2 years ago this summer with Nobes...... got chatting to him about the squad etc and Nobes said he can't believe Soucek has got as far as he has with such little technical ability. Said he stands out in training for all the wrong reasons"

[Russ of the BML]

"BillyJenningsBoots 2:22 Tue May 21 ""My fear is that Lopetegui's style is more possession based and that's where Soucek suffers as he wont have time on the ball and his passing/distribution is poor."" !100% right. And that is why my instinct tells me that Soucek's game time will be limited and he will ultimately be sold. I suppose my point ultimately was that I think it would be unfair for Tomas not be given a proper chance and for people to label him a 'Moyes Boy' and to be ushered out the door closely behind Moyes. I think he has earned the chance to show the new boss he can adapt."

[Eerie Descent]

"We need to throw all the shit out with the bathwater FFS If you can't see the limitations of a player who can sometimes go 90 minutes with completing double figure passes, then football ain't for you. I'm very, very confident the new manager is not a mug. Let's fucking hope so."

[Russ of the BML]

"On Nolan - I am sad to see him go. He is a proper traditional football man and I do feel he offers something unique to the management team. Yes, he has his knockers and there is the running joke of him checking Instagram, or looking at porn on the I-Pad during games. But I think he offers a role in linking the players to the management team. He understands the players and can bridge that gap. He also offers a link to the foreign players about what it is they need to be doing in terms of effort and how to win the supporters over. Fornals and Soucek have both said in the past how much Nolan helped them with settling in and being their go to man. I was hoping he would stay"

[BillyJenningsBoots]

Russ Thats fair... I wonder if when our approach was a high press and counter attacking with Soucek hitting the box late and scoring a few goals he was at his best and that might still wirk. My fear is that Lopetegui's style is more possession based and that's where Soucek suffers as he wont have time on the ball and his passing/distribution is poor. Maybe we need a Soucek Out thread to discuss further... just a thought?

[Eerie Descent]

"Yeah, I'm absolutely baffled by you here, Attack son. You're at complete odds with every other post you've made on this forum. He made 9 completed passes in 90 minutes against Aston Villa once. NINE! Fucking incredible for a central midfielder. I reckon he might be up (or down) there with the worst passing stats for a centre mid in Premier League history. To be fair, I haven't checked how many blocks he made in the Villa game. I'll let you look it up as it seems to be your bag."

[Russ of the BML]

*BABY out with the bathwater.

[Russ of the BML]

"On Soucek - You cannot survive in the PL for as long as he has without being a very good player as a minimum. The problem for Soucek is that he is indicative of what was bad about the Moyes era. When he first arrived he was more attack minded and was scoring for fun. But Moyes then saw him as a blocker and a stopper rather than the DM that made runs into the box. This left Soucek with a problem. Because he isn't the most technically gifted player. He is much better than many give him credit for but as far as PL standard goes, he is an average player. So when he is in the team just to fight, battle, tackle, clear and win headers, it looks ugly and when he's not attacking and we get beaten, his input is rather limited. That's Moyes fault. As many state that Soucek has been given precedence by Moyes, he has actually also almost certainly been the victim of Moyes - As he was the one that shackled Soucek into a henchmen role rather than coaching him properly to play DM but also to make runs and get on the end of crosses and balls in. And it was Moyes obsession with the pragmatic, defensive, stay in the game approach that shackled Soucek in the first place. AndtThere were times when even Tomas probably wondered why on earth he was playing, his form was that bad and his input so low. But Moyes insistence on playing was not his fault. People are immediately saying that its the end for Tomas. They see him as part of Moyes and the 'out with the old and in with the new'. I disagree. Lopategui is not an all out attacking coach. He does have his own style and he would never be regarded as 'cavalier' and 'all out attack'. So with that in mind, he is going to need some enforcers. So, for me, there is a valuable player in Soucek if played in the correct role and coached efficiently. Soucek could well be given a new lease of life under new boss and I do feel that its important that we don't throw the bay out with the bath water until all players have been assessed and how they fit with the new boss's methods / philosophy. Just my thoughts."

[fraser]

"It's a shame then that he's shit at blocking and intercepting the ball, he's also shit at passing it and pressing."

[Massive Attack]

"No Eerie because I don't want Soucek always starting like Moyes religiously would, I just see a space in the Squad for him as a plan B when the pretty Football doesn't always come off. I want a manager to adapt to certain games accordingly and Soucek could be useful to bring on to ask different questions of the opposition. I've long called for a midfield of Alvarez Ward-Prowse and Paqueta all season long and use Soucek more from the bench, not what Moyes did and always play Soucek whilst dropping the likes of Alvarez and Ward-Prowse. Fraser - His primary role in the Team is to funnily enough block and intercept the ball as a Defensive Midfielder. It's not his fault he just so happens to be regularly involved in goals too, scoring crucial ones at times too."

[Massive Attack]

"No Eerie because I don't want Soucek always starting like Moyes religiously would, I just see a space in the Squad for him as a plan B when the pretty Football doesn't always come off. I want a manager to adapt to certain games accordingly and Soucek could be useful to bring on to ask different questions of the opposition. I've long called for a midfield of Alvarez Ward-Prowse and Paqueta all season long and use Soucek more from the bench, not what Moyes did and always play Soucek whilst dropping the likes of Alvarez and Ward-Prowse."

[fraser]

"Blocks and clearances fuck me, of course he's high for them and headers he's a big lump in a penalty box that's regularly under siege, just standing there to block play.. I can't believe you can't see the hypocrisy in what you're saying.."

[fraser]

"Blocks and clearances fuck me, of course he's high for them and headers he's a big lump in a penalty box that's regularly under siege, just standing there to block play.. I can't believe you can't see the hypocrisy in what you're saying.."

[BillyJenningsBoots]

"I think we should leave it with the new Manager who will decide whether Soucek should start or not... I think we are all agreed that if Soucek is a starter our style will not be changing much so we want to see ball playing, ball winning midfielders that can also contribute with goals... too much to ask? Soucek would make a good squad player, brinv him on last 5 if we need a lamp-post to shore things up if we are desperate or if we need a goal and are swinging in a load of cosses and corners chuck him on... otherwise bench him or sell him."

[Massive Attack]

"10 outfield goals in all Comps - 7 in Premier League 3 assists 8th best aerial battles won 14th best for blocks 21st for Clearances 9th in the League Knocked out by unbeaten Leverkusen in Europa Quarter-Final* Out of all players in the League. That's just this season alone. ""Contributes little"".. *Wins trophy *Semi's season before in Europa League"

[only1billybonds]

Re Soucek. I'm with ED on this one. I can't possibly see how anyone can be an admirer of Soucek while at the same time seething over the 'system' and 'style' of play that Moyes insists on using. TS is the absolute beacon for Moyesball.

[Eerie Descent]

"We'll have to start calling you Massive Contradiction. If there's one player to embodies the Moyes era, it's Tomas Soucek. A limited footballer who has scored some goals. We're not talking Lampard level goals here, 27 in 159 games, although saying that, 27 is way above his pass success rate in every game. It's decent, but it in no way makes up for the fact he cannot pass a football, or make himself readily available to receive a football. He shouldn't be anywhere near a starting 11 in the Prem for a team that wants to play football, or even considered back up. It's odd that you of all people can't see this, given the lengths you've gone to over the manager."

[Rossal]

"Soucek even as a squad player will be a disaster next season. Winning headers and making a ew blokes is good enough for a CM wanting to be a top 6 side nowadays Yes he has chipped in with some goals this year, but mainly against the shit teams... (everton, forest, luton, burnley and sheff utd off top of my head). Watch any game this season where he starts and watch when the CB's have the ball, he just runs off up pitch and stands next to the other teams CB's. He never, and i mean NEVER looks to get on the ball, never wants to take it in tight areas on the half turn. Never gets it and plays a killer forward pass to break lines. He wins lots of headers mainly as all we can do it pump it up to him or he is defending because he is the main reason we don't have the fucking ball most the time. We shouldn't persist with another season of him, develop Potts and Orford instead"

[Manuel]

"Lee - Nolan is an easy target to bash, but no doubt you are right and he does a lot of work behind the scenes, but personally I'm glad he's off, never liked him even as a player. Suspect all ''first team'' coaches are off, the likes of Mark Robson, Keen, Potts will no doubt be staying."

[Takashi Miike]

"it'll be a shame if xavi valero moves on as he's done a brilliant job with areola & fab, but I know Lop has four coaches ready to go, so it's understandable he may want his own men"

[Side of Ham]

"Trunds, I’m guessing they won’t need a bloke to pacify the players on why they are being asked not to have the ball and how shit it is to play that way…."

[Ron Eff]

"That might be true of Nolan in the current old British style set up but I doubt that’s required with a Spanish influenced coaching team. Not sure Man City, Arsenal, probably even Villa need to have an average ex player as a bridge between management and players just because he’s supposedly quite a good lad. Rather have someone that can offer some actual value on the training ground."

[Lee Trundle]

"Looks like they're all off. Probably for the best. Clean slate and all that. ""Kevin Nolan and David Moyes other first team coaches have been released from their contracts as expected in preparation for Julen Lopetegui to bring in his own backroom team"""