Julen Lopetegui must have smashed a mirror on the way in to London Stadium in the summer. Pretty much everything has gone wrong for the unlucky Hammers head coach who now finds himself fighting to keep his job and his reputation intact: The Paquetá loss of form, Niclas Fullkrug injury saga and Kudus ban and ‘dressing room bust up’ have all come from nowhere to derail the Spaniard’s progress at West Ham United.
At this crucial time, in his pre-match press conference Lopetegui was philosophical and either ‘upbeat’ or ‘in denial’ depending on viewpoint: The eagle-eyed amongst us did notice that he tried to sneak through bad news under the radar:”There is a “little problem with two players” he confirmed before the trip to Newcastle but when pressed, refused to give names.
Rumours today from a couple of sources make for a big Lopetegui worry indeed – the identities of the ‘two little problems’ are believed to be captain Jarrod Bowen and midfielder Lucas Paquetá: As if the hill to climb wasn’t steep enough for Lopetegui’s must-win game, the prospect of doing so without his Captain and Senior Pro makes it a positive mountain.
We will await news with nails bitten down to the core: Already without Mohammed Kudus, the challenge for the squad would be that much harder without the two. Fingers crossed they are, indeed, little problems and not classic coach understatement.
Can you also explain, on the basis of what you have witnessed over the past five months, exactly what we would be missing if Paqueta were unable to play? Personally, I have prayed for that scenario, so that we can be spared watching him drag his lazy disinterested hulk around the pitch.
Irrelevant. We’re getting a humping. With or without the pair of them. Moreso Paqueta. The only good thing about tonight will be Sullys tight arse plans unravel on tele for all to see
Martin, you are just like the weather. One minute you slam Lopetegui, the next he is “unlucky”. There is nothing unlucky about the last five months, just pi** poor coaching, a total lack of man management skills and complete absence of tactical nous. There is no circumstance where there should be any way back from the disaster he has single handedly created.
sorry, don’t see how Lopetegui has been ‘unlucky’. he knew about Pacqueta, the dressing room bust-up was, i’m sure, about Kudus being frustrated and shackled by Loopy playing him out of position. same goes for the ban. all signs that Loopy doesn’t have the players’ respect and confidence.
Another night of calamity defending and non existent forward line to watch.
Let alone the three snails in midfield…
Geordies will be lickiing their lips and 100 minutes of sky TV sticking the boot in of David Moyes crap…
Enjoy.
You can get 200/1 on a 7-0 Newcastle win if that’s any consolation?
For those “Always look on the bright side of life” you can 5/1 on any win for West Ham
It will be another one of those forgetful nights, we will get absolutely smashed I have no doubt, Rodriguez v Joelinton, Paqueta v Guimaraes, Todibo v Isak, we ain’t winning any of those duels so another 5-0 pasting is on the cards. Luckily for us Calum Wilson is still out injured otherwise it would be 7-0. Bring on the Gunners at home easy three points, not.
I don’t think it makes a lot of difference to be honest as I’m not expecting anything from this game whatever we do other than improve out of any recognition since playing Everton…
Which I do not think is going to happen under Lopetegui.
Does it really matter ? We”ll get a pasting no matter who we have available – sorry state we’re in at the mo’