West Ham United vs Spurs (Away) | 19.10.24 | Match Thread

[stubbo-admin]

Match Centre:

Odds:
West Ham: 11/2
Draw: 9/2
Spurs: 1/2

Pre-Match Press Conference:

 Tactical Preview: 
[br][/br]Watch-along:
   

  Live Streams:
https://vipboxs.net/match/soccer/totten ... d/12437038 (With all live streams be mindful they can carry viruses etc.  Don't click on any ads and use a VPN).
 

[Sir Alf]

Agree totally nychammer

Its not the only problem but the biggest imo.  We need 2 of them really as cover for injuries etc.  

We were described as a “wet paper bag” in Central defensive midfield.  We relied on last ditch Rodriiguez tackles 4 times first half because we could not get the ball due to this lack of pace, strength and intensity in the middle of the park. Thus means you cannot press effectively. 

only recruitment can solve it imo unless there is someone hidden in the squad that can do it?  You need a Kudus type strength and speed in there and it will be necessary in more than one player.  Like i say there are other  issues ( goalkeeper distribution, lack of speedy, strong striker ) but this is the core problem we have Imo

[zico]

Well the be careful what you wish for media mob must be rubbing their hands with glee. Many of them still can't see that their solid defensive manager conceded the fourth highest amount of goals last season but JL was never the answer.  Must confess I was concerned when I read an old article describing Lopetegui as the Spanish David Moyes and it's certainly not looking good.  £150 million in the transfer market and correct me if I am wrong but we still have the second oldest squad in the PL.  Long term issues like an ageing striker who needs to be replaced by a young whippet have been addressed appallingly and no manger we have seems to see that we have a slow midfield that cannot keep the ball.  All the old problems remain and yet again recruitment has been poor.

JL looks out of his depth but it all clearly goes deeper than that.  Tim Steidten must take responsibility as well considering this was arguably his first summer where he had free reign,  The messiah he certainly isn't unless he is being overruled by the club on matters such as the potential signing of Jhon Duran which is now looking a big big mistake.  Yet Steidten must have had input regarding the appointment of Lopetegui so must share burden of the blame. Unfortunately the biggest problem clearly is Sullivan and that won't go away until he sells up and then you hope whoever comes in won't be just as bad. 

 

[Hammer and Pickle]

You reckon we’ll ever see him start with Rodriguez/Alvarez, Paqueta/Soler and Guilherme? I’ve pretty much given up as he’ll persist with Soucek until there’s no point watching at all. Even Soler instead of Soucek would be a step up.

[nychammer]

IF Soler and Rodriguez aren't Strong and Pacey Midfielders, a gap we have clearly had for some time now, then Why TF did we bother signing them?  If its "because they did well in Spain / European Leagues" then that's the same naive mistake that many managers have made in the PL.

[Sir Alf]

I forgot Paqueta. Also not strong and quick.

[Sir Alf]

Dont think we have the pace in central midfield pickle? Alvarez, Rodriguez, Soucek and Soler? And thats a big issue. Spurs have Bissuma, Chelsea have Caicedo etc. Strong and quick.

[Hammer and Pickle]

Thing is Alf, we do have pace in midfield to play a high press. Only problem is, Lotepegui is a coward and won’t play his best side. He’d rather do the safe thing, lose and let the players carry the can when the fans and media freak out.

[Hammer and Pickle]

This one is definitely on the manager selecting and setting up the side. He started ultra defensive with Rodrigues practically as an extra centre half, they did the job and went on to score. But then he makes the extraordinarily naive error of trying to push up and use Paqueta as the single lynchpin between attack and defence. He sees him getting bundled off the ball leaving us wide open and he sees them score. And what does he do? Bugger all. By the time he makes the changes we’re three one down and I’m busy cooking dinner. 

As others have said, Lotepegui isn’t up to the job.     

[Sir Alf]

Results wise in the league nothing has really changed since early 2022 when Moyesball low block wasvworked out.  We got the odd decent result with it at home after that but the problems of lack of pace and strength still remain at the heart of midfield remain. Rodruigez, Soucek and Paqueta over 90 mins is mever going to keep a team like Spurs at bay. 

In 2023 the league form only had that little spell at the start of the season when if we’re honest we had a lot of good fortune. But we overlooked the league form as we won a trophy and Moyes hid behind that and fair play we won spmething.

But as I say, root cause of lack of pace and strength in midfield and central striker not been addressed. 

[Fauxstralian]

Not necessarily wrong but have posted the same opinion 238 times
Yawnnnnn!

[Come On You Irons]

Sorry COYI - hadn't seen your post: the posts on this thread were coming thick and fast amid the anger. But whatever you posted, it seems like we agree.

I've posted those points many times on this forum before. Lopetegui's managerial track record is shocking.

But apparently I was talking shite for pointing out that Real Madrid sacked him after 3 months as we are apparently not alloweed to take that into consideration!

[southbankbornnbred]

Sorry COYI - hadn't seen your post: the posts on this thread were coming thick and fast amid the anger. But whatever you posted, it seems like we agree.

[Fauxstralian]

Said even against Ipswich I wasn’t convinced at all by our midfield
One paced & lacks any athleticism or power.
Poor start by Loppy but any idea that having Moyes back would be any sort of answer is utter lunacy
The only long term solution is Sullivan selling up & competent professionals taking over
All his managerial choices lack any sort of imagination 

[Come On You Irons]

Apologies - he won the Europa for Seville in August 2020 (it was the extended Covid season). He then went a full season with Seville the following year, and was sacked early in 2022.

Sacked by Porto after winning nothing at all - quite an achievement for that club in that league. Sacked by Spain on the eve of the 2018 world cup. Sacked by Madrid after three months. Sacked by Seville in January (albeit after winning a trophy 16 months before that). Threw his toys out of his pram at Wolves and quit before even managing a full season.

Who the hell thought to appoint him? West Ham and David Sullivan, of course.

If you're gonna plagerise from me son, it's good etiquette to reference the guy you're ripping off.

[Leavemyarcelona]

Steidten looks to get the.players that suit the manager. Unfortunately this manager doesn't suit us

[southbankbornnbred]

Why is back-to-back top-four finishes for Seville impressive?

They are the fourth-biggest club in Spain. A top-four finish for them should be par. He got them to finish where they should - for two seasons. Not a failure, sure, but hardly ripped up the form book. He got sacked after a poor start to the following season. Which shows you what Seville expect as 'par'.

He won a Europa League trophy, which is not to be sniffed at. But other than that, he's really not done much at all - and has failed regularly. Yet I keep seeing boot-licking hacks like William Bellend trying to lecture West Ham fans about how he's a "top, top manager and will show it at West Ham".

We're stuck with him. And maybe he'll come good - I hope he does, because I want us to do well. But I'm unimpressed by him and always have been.

[Sir Alf]

Agree with Stubbo and to a degree with nychammer.

We cannot compete financially with the top sides and our recruitment came up short. We need another 100 million to get engines/ strong athletes in that midfield and a quick, strong striker too . 

Can Lopetegui and Steidten see that? The Bumdesliga and La Liga dont have the intensity and pace of the Premiership so the need for pace and strength is paramount which is why Kudus tends to be our best player most weeks and is now closely followed by Wan Bissaka.  Bowen is decent of course and think Todibo and Kilman are ok but then I start to struggle about whos up to it. Probably with 2 stronger midfielders and a striker, other players like Alvarez can be more effective as we will dominate possession but not as things stand.

It comes down to whether Lopetegui and Steidyem see the obvious deficit in pace and strength? Their recruitment in summer suggests not but problem we have now is we dont have the ability to spend what we need to spend with Moyes cast offs only on loan and having to be sold cheap

season could already be a write off and “transitional” but a few more heavy defeats will mean sacking Loppy 

[Texas Iron]

Lightweight attack…

Slow porous Midfield…

Error prone defense…


And spent 150Million…???

[Leavemyarcelona]

Pellegrini 2.0
Lazy appointment from the dwarf
if he was the only option would rather we stuck with moyes.
And letting Ward-Prowse go was a big mistake

[BillyJenningsBoots]

Its not La Liga. Dont like Townsend but agree when he says we dont have the legs in midfield for the Premiership.

We should have lost 7-1

Only Wan Bissaka looked decent. 

Kudus was decent but ruined his day by getting sent off.

We need legs in midfield. When numpties like me see it you wonder what Lopetegui and Steidten were thinking?

Carry on with defending like that and Lopeyegui will be gone by xmas.



 

 

 

Alf... agreed Lopetegui needs to get a grip and drop Paqueta and Soucek. Paq because he's not focussed that's clear and Soucek really doesnt have the legs or passing in him to work in this sytem.. yes he pops up with a goal or 2 but for most of the time he's just a hindrance you might as well have a cone on the pitch instead.

[Iron Duke]

Yep, our midfield is not good enough. Way too slow and lose the ball to often.

Kudus was silly and will probably get a lengthy ban because he’s just a West Ham player. But, fuck me, there wasn’t a lot of contact and the constant play acting (of which Spurs players are some of the biggest culprits) really fucks me off.

[southbankbornnbred]

Apologies - he won the Europa for Seville in August 2020 (it was the extended Covid season). He then went a full season with Seville the following year, and was sacked early in 2022.

Sacked by Porto after winning nothing at all - quite an achievement for that club in that league. Sacked by Spain on the eve of the 2018 world cup. Sacked by Madrid after three months. Sacked by Seville in January (albeit after winning a trophy 16 months before that). Threw his toys out of his pram at Wolves and quit before even managing a full season.

Who the hell thought to appoint him? West Ham and David Sullivan, of course.

[nychammer]

COYI was spot on pre season with his views on Lopetegui.

Time to get the Moyesiah back.

( it won’t happen )

 

 

 

 

No Way. At best it would be a sideways move. We have to go through this transitional phase unfortunately. Maybe Lop will be the answer and maybe he wont. He dosen't have a young and pacey squad to work with, he dosen't have a fit striker outside the ageing Antonio.  It's going to take untold millions to transition this squad into one that can compete at the top level. When was the last time we beat a top 8 side?

Mad as I am at today, would not be for turning back. 

[goose]

Without wanting to get into it, I think a couple of hundred games at Sevilla, a trophy and back to back top 4 finishes is impressive.

”saving” wolves the same.

what I don’t get is that both were done by building a solid base - something we seem unable to do here.
Im struggling to see what he’s trying to deliver.

[BillyJenningsBoots]

COYI was spot on pre season with his views on Lopetegui.

Time to get the Moyesiah back.

( it won’t happen )

 

 

Yes you imbecile for once you are right about something... it won't happen so stop embarrassing yourself by continually going on about it...