Lopetegui (sacked 8.1.2025)

[maverick180]

I was thoroughly looking forward to the start of this season

Was also prepared that things might take some time and wasn't expecting miracles over night What I didn't expect was a manager who after spending 6 weeks with the total dross he'd been left by Moyes would deem them fit to start in a premier league game And low and behold all of them played absolute shit

We're now 1 game in and none of our new players are any closer to bedding in or learning anything from their new team mates cos they barely spent a second on the pitch, half of them not at all I think it's gonna take somewhere between 6-10 games before we see the team anyone with an ounce of sense would play cos this bloke can't identify shit when he see's it I thought we was handed a miracle at half time when we went in level and low and behold he changed nothing I'm sure people are gonna make excuses for him and say it's too early to judge

But from what I've just seen today, this cսnt is David Moyes in a mission impossible mask

[RootsRadical]

5 games in FFS.
Drew with Fulham away & beat Palace away, 2 games last season where we lost 10 nil on aggregate.
Beat Bournemouth in the LC too. Lost games against teams you'd expect us to lose to.
Okay Saturday was very poor with Lopy trying tactics that didn't work. He's obviously trying to change our style and tactics and adapt to different opponents which is already an improvement on Moyes.
Not easy to change manager, two thirds of the team and the style and tactics, you can't expect miracles but there have been signs of change.

My only criticism is that Todibo should be starting as Mavrapanos isn't top draw and costs us too many goals and Todibo was signed to be a starter.
Jury still out on a few players, I will keep my powder dry on making judgements until at least Xmas, even with Fulkrug as we don't know yet exactly how we are going set up and if that changes game to game depending on the oppo.
I can't imagine he was signed without considering if he fits into our plans.



 

[Lee Trundle]

We've just been walloped 3-0 by Chelsea, and you can't be bothered about it?

[scott_d]

Honestly, not that bothered yet.

We were almost unanimously in agreement that this project will take time considering we have a new manager and he's made 9 new signings.

Let's now give him that time and get behind him.

 

[Vexed]

He should just play 4-4-2 and stop fucking around with inverted full backs whatever they are.

Wan Bissaka - Todibo - Kilman - Emerson

Kudus - Alvarez - Soler/Paqueta - Summerville

Bowen - Fullkrug/Ings

It's a very simple game so why try and over think it.

Shut up you fucking worm. You flip flop on an almost weekly basis about the manager, you eventually decided to notice the huge body of evidence that Moyes was a hopeless cսnt of a manager (guess you saw a lot of yourself in him) and now after five games you're pining for the embarrassing eyebrowless cսnt again. You're cringeworthy, In fact you dont even have that much impact you're like a bit of wet fucking cardboard, a nuisance and probably riddled with woodlice too. Fuck off. Top yourself. Both. Pointless cսnt. 

​

[goose]

yeh lets take a team that cannot defend and make them even more open,

nice one 

[twoleftfeet]

He should just play 4-4-2 and stop fucking around with inverted full backs whatever they are.

Wan Bissaka - Todibo - Kilman - Emerson

Kudus - Alvarez - Soler/Paqueta - Summerville

Bowen - Fullkrug/Ings

It's a very simple game so why try and over think it.

[Sir Alf]

The thing that we are all so depressed about is the lack of progress. We let in 70 goals last season. Tighten up at the back but not playing “low block” , 10 behind the ball unless, like Arsenal showed against Atalanta midweek, you can transition to attack and back again into shape at lightening speed. We still cant based on the purchased players but also the high line tactic which was implemented in our first pre season game and has seen the same type of goals going in for 10 games if u count those pre season run outs against Wolves, Palace etc. Simple thru ball between the lines that catch Stavros and Kilman out for speed.  Add to that now the exposed wide areas with full backs out of position when the opposition counter.

Its a combination of tactics and the wrong players bought or selected in key positions for those tactics.  Does Lopetegui and his coaching team have another tactical plan is the question? Moyes didnt and had his one way of playing but good coaches match tactics to players available.  Which leads to recruitment and Steidten and conversations about positions to strengthen and type of player to purchase for said positions.

It looks, at this stage, that we got a lot of that wrong? Did Loppy specify the type of player or Steidten let him know who we might be able to get or did Loppy give him names like Guido, Soler who he knew from La Liga? Or did Steidten just get some players independently of Loppy ( the young Brazilian has to a case in point?)  

Bit of both probably but looks to me that Rodriguez simply aint quick enough for the Prem and was a mistake.  Thats a key position. We needed a Moises Cuisado or Kante type of player with speed and aggression. We’ve needed that for best part of 15 - 20 years. I think Behrami was the last of that kind of “terrier” we had like that?

Up front we needed mobility, power and pace. Yet again we didnt get that. Partly due to Villa playing hard ball, but also Sullivan allegedly saw £40 million for a young unproven Prem player as too expensive a risk ( he loves old and experience like himself but it fails every time).

So we look to have come up short in at least those 2 key positions in the spine of the team.

Todibo not physical enough? Mancs didnt think so. We can reserve judgement on whether the CB area is another we failed to address if and when we see him play.

Summerville looks decent and perhaps Soler too from his brief cameos. But Soler is a replacement for Paqueta creatively.  I think Paq should go alongside Alvarez and play a defensive role as he did very effectively at Lyon and early last season before xmas.  He is good at gettng a foot in and using his body to shirld it and could spring us into counters from deep.

Kilman with a fast partner should be decent too.  Wan Bissaka is a good defender and played deeper is an asset.

Foderingham ok for a third keeper. So it looks like 4 decent buys, possibly 6 if Todibo is not like Aguerd and a lightweight.  But Rodriguez, Fullkrug and the Brazilian boy, look to be questionable although I guess the Brazilian is one for the future? ( 25 million we needed for now and better spent on a striker in hindsight which of course is a perfect science ).

The squad Moyes left was dreadfully old, slow and suited to low block Moyesball. We were never going to address all the issues in one window but could not really risk getting more than a couple of our aquisitions wrong. But early evidence is that 3 or 4 ( 40%) aint what we needed.  Add to that a coach who has vastly underestimated the “need for speed” and strength in the Premiership to play his high line, possession tactics.   Finally, up front, our biggest failure, getting a slow german although he hopefully proves me wrong

[Russ of the BML]

My view:
Lope is worrying me at the moment. Firstly, I has concerned with the Fulham line up. 3 DM's in one team? Odd.

Secondly, why was Alvarez and subsequently Soucek played as almost a sweeper against Chelsea? So many times Alvarez was our last man. It seemed he was told to play between the two CB's either behind or in front. Yes, Lope can't be blamed for the joke defending by Mavro and Alvarez, but this system led to Chelsea's second goal and caused us problems all day because two CB's were two far apart.

But, thirdly, and more importantly, I am struggling to see what we are under Lope. Are we possession based or playing on break? What is our pattern of play? Who are our key players and what are their roles? And why the fuck are we defending like twelve year olds? It leaves me scratching my head.

Having said that, from 15 minutes to end of first half we actually look pretty good with the ball. Once Lope took off Rodriquez we got a foot hold and played some decent enough football, without creating any major chances. We needed an early goal in second half but they killed us off early. Game was dead then as they just sat in and closed it all down. 

Real shame, as it was all very positive going in to season, and rightly so. We had alot to be positive about. Most importantly the club had finally released the shackles of the toxic one and got the ghost out. But, right now, Lope is not looking to be the right man and doesn't seem to have a plan to utilise this squad. The football has been poor, the defending a joke and the overall performances and results simply not good enough. He does need time, but you can only get time when people can see something starting to change and happen and a direction has been set. We look pretty rudderless and players struggling with what he is attempting. 

It's brought the "Cult of Moyes" out in numbers. Really unable to believe that grown me can be so childish. Someone I know defended Moyes all last season, even after all those drubbings, most goals conceded bar the relegated sides. 4 wins in 2024. Shit awful style, negative tactics, poor generally. Yet 6 games in he has nicknamed new manager Lope the Clown and wants him out. I mean you couldn't make it up. How, after last season, can any West Ham fan say "We should've kept Moyes" is beyond me. 

Moyes was a bad apple at the end and had to go. But its not directly linked to Lope. He may not be the right man. He may turn out to be. But for fuck sake Moyes had to go. End of. 

[Lee Trundle]

It's quite a come down from a couple of months ago.

A lot of our supporters were pretty delighted with the situation we were in after getting rid of Moyes with the direction we were going.  Getting rid of Moyes was absolutely the correct decision.  I still remain unconvinced Lopetegui is the right man, though.

I've not seen any of the positives I was told he'd bring to the team, yet.  And it was criminal not to solve the biggest main issue (the striker situation) we've had for as long as I can remember.  That's on both Lopetegui and Steiden.  If I had £150m, then that would have been the immediate focus.

[Manuel]

I'm not sure about Brentford, we're up norf midweek, they don't play, and we have a poor record against them. They've had a pretty good start to the season and will want to bounce back from losing at Spurs. Then again, we might just turn up and put on a show. 

[Full Rug]

We'll get something from the next 2 games, neither team are great and we've got enough talented players that one of them will turn up in either game. However, it will paper over the cracks.

The news about Todibo is most worrying, the fact we can chase a player for that long, spend that much money, yet the manager doesn't think he's tough enough for the Prem. That shows that there's something not working with him & Tim

Also, why sign Wan-Bisakka if you're going to play this inverted fullbacks bollocks? That's not his game.

I was led to believe this manager adapts, both to the players he's got and the opposition. I'm seeing something that is at complete odds to that. As for his supposed strengths with substitutions, to me it looks as formulaic as the former dinosaur in charge, he just makes more of them.

There genuinely hasn't been a single positive to cling on to, a bit of hope going forward. I didn't think our league form and performances could get any worse after the last 2 years. What a fucking monumental balls-up.

[onsideman]

I think you can add Steidten to Sullivan's list of questionable appointments. Kudus aside, his work has been fairly underwhelming imo

[Come On You Irons]

Yes, the Brentford and Ipswich games are massive now. I can see us losing at Brentford and only drawing at hope to Ipswich, which would be a disaster.

If only we had owners like Villa. A team that was miles behind us only a couple of seasons ago, but which appointed the right manager (a proven winner, unlike the loser we appointed in the summer) and backed him with a proper transfer strategy.

[goose]

Similar to you Manny, I talked myself into the appointment from certain parts of his CV.

But there’s absolutely nothing I’ve seen so far that makes me think he’ll be successful.

If he does revert to Soucek and we suddenly look solid, then that’s okay with me. But at the moment we’re wide open at one end of the pitch and toothless at the other

[Manuel]

I can't deny I was OK with Lop based on a pretty decent CV, including a decent PL season at Wolves, and the fact that he really wanted the job and had allegedly been studying us, which I saw as a positive. Now with hindsight I'd rather we had got Potter, who is out of work so was very gettable all ways up.

I'm not yet completely writing Lop off, but Brentford and Ipswich are really big now. Seen it many times before that once the rot has firmly set in it's game over. It's Spurs and Man Utd after Ipswich, too.

[simons]

I could see us with Moyes again on a short term deal, possibly even before Christmas if things got drastic. I’m so hoping that’s not the case, but would not surprise me. Southgate would probably want a bigger gig.

[Sir Alf]

He was making subs for the sake of it. A kimd of scattergun approach in hope if aomething getting us a goal.  

Is he a “high line” one trick pony in the same way Moyes was a low block one?  Because imo that was a big part of the problem. You play a high line with players that can handle pace and make recoveries and in a formation that does not leave you too exposed.  He got his tactics all wrong and the formation for them wrong too.  

i have a bad feeling he will go back to the likes of Soucek and the rinse and repeat cycle continues? 

[goose]

I find it so depressing that the club gets an opportunity like this and manages to cock it up with the wrong appointment and/or recruitment.

During Sullivan's tenure I would say he's got it right twice with obvious/pragmatic choices in Moyes & BFS. Aside from that he's got it wrong with Grant, Bilic to an extent, Pellegrini and now Lopetegui.

You can rightly blame Lopetegui for the poor performances, but there's an underlying issue with picking the wrong person. Lets be honest - when we knew that Moyes was going not one person said 'get Lopetegui in'.

[Lee Trundle]

I reckon we'll limp along all season, fighting it out with the rest of the bottom half teams.  Sullivan won't sack him unless we're fighting relegation, which I hope we're miles away from.

My hope is that Newcastle might get rid of Howe and we move for him, because there's no way Sullivan will look to employ of foreign coach after this.  My fear is that Howe won't be available and we'll end up with Southgate.

[Come On You Irons]

We dud not recruit enough of...

Freudian slip, Alf? 

 

Our recruitment was unimaginative and largely obvious.
Id expect the ‘pearl diver’ to be producing something a bit more surprising than the players we bought.

I did say all summer I wasn't convinced about our transfer spending spree and the players 'guru Tim' and 'loser Lop' signed.

Gaping holes in the squad were not addressed. £25 million spent on a mystery Brazilian kid who doesn't even get in the squad. Insane.

[Italian hammer]

Lopetegui is a clueless manager when it comes to deal with an average team like is West Ham, expecially if the few players that can make some difference are not in their best conditions.
Moreover he is  a complete failure in choosing the players needed, the result is what we see a team that plays the worst football in PL.
Frankly speaking if Lopetegui wasn't spanish there would be no way for him to manage in PL.
 

[Lee Trundle]

All the problems ATM. Come from keeping Moyes after Prague. Imagine declining signing Julian Alvarez for £14m and picking JWP ahead of  Youssef forfana . Complete madness . At a proper functional club that would have sent the alarm bells ringing out . Sadly we're run by Sullivan and his goon loving Pitbull .

hahaha yes it's Moyes who picking the team currently, and decides the shit tactics.

[Pshyco scored all 4]

All the problems ATM. Come from keeping Moyes after Prague. Imagine declining signing Julian Alvarez for £14m and picking JWP ahead of  Youssef forfana . Complete madness . At a proper functional club that would have sent the alarm bells ringing out . Sadly we're run by Sullivan and his goon loving Pitbull .

[kinglewy]

We had eleven players on the pitch, Chelsea had a team on there.

[goose]

We dud not recruit enough of...

Freudian slip, Alf? 

 

Our recruitment was unimaginative and largely obvious.
Id expect the ‘pearl diver’ to be producing something a bit more surprising than the players we bought.