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Hammers’ ‘Ticking Time Bomb’ Faces Tough Test

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With the negative headlines of late concerning Lopetegui, Steidten, Sullivan and stories of possible candidates to replace the head coach, the impending arrival of Manchester United on Sunday comes as something of a relief. Our squad and coaching team have no doubt been keeping true to their word to ‘work hard’ to overcome the errors and poor performance of last weekend and one area that has come under particular scrutiny is the Hammers’ midfield.

Many pundits and commentators suggested it was the trio of Rodriguez Paquetá and Soucek who failed to work effectively and it seems that Lopetegui is planning to make changes to the middle in a bid to make West Ham more robust. Reports abound of a recall in particular for Edson Alvarez.

Not shy of controversy himself this season with a sending off following two yellow cards against Liverpool in the Carling Cup,  ‘threats to kill’ an opponent and a yellow card for fighting whilst on international duty, Alvarez sometimes looks like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode into another rash tackle and another yellow card.

If recalled, he will be playing under intense scrutiny and – quite probably, considerable provocation from the opposition to see if he is another Hammer ready to blow a fuse and get himself sent off.

The Mexican enjoyed a great run under David Moyes, seemingly an ever-present in West Ham’s midfield providing solidity yet being able to stay – most of the time – on the right side of the referee apart from the small issue of thirteen Premier League yellow cards to his name.

At his best, Alvarez is an exceptional midfielder who has the ability to be strong in the challenge and aggressive going forward. Lopetegui needs ‘El Machin’ to exercise some self discipline and deal with his wayward temper for the sake of his team-mates and the club that pays his wages.

The game against Manchester United gives Alvarez an opportunity to prove that he has it in him to step up both for himself and for the team to start putting some results together so that we can all start looking up the table and not down.

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From the old Bobby Moore Upper to the Billy Bonds' stand these days I've been watching since '03 and a supporter since about 1970.. 'Football is Life' oh yes. Let it raise your spirit but never darken your mood. Life's too short not to enjoy the journey with our Claret and Blue heroes n' villains.

9 comments

  • D says:

    Play players in their best position and don’t experiment with the stupid fullback experiment. I’m pretty sure we didn’t do that against Ipswich and wonder of wonders we did pretty well. Often less is more

  • Phil Baker says:

    The annoying thing about Alvarez is him getting stupid yellow cards . I’m OK with players getting tactical yellow cards to prevent a goal scoring opportunity , but not needless cards out of rage . Betting on Alvarez getting a card isn’t even a gamble and I’m in fear while he’s on the pitch .

  • Ray says:

    If every player on the team is playing well in their position, that vastly reduces the need for players like Alvarez to cover for them. That in turn reduces the stress on Alvarez and the yellow card count will go down. Too many West Ham players are not PL top ten standard and do not have the trust of those that are. Alvarez does not need guidance, he just needs to know that everyone else is as committed as he is.

  • Ian the sub says:

    Do you know if Alvarez is getting proper psychological guidance ?

  • David Pope says:

    Time bomb is right Martin, I hope Lopetegui and the players make it clear to him that multiple yellow cards and the sending off do the team no favours!

    Secondly, “With the negative headlines of late concerning Lopetegui, Steidten, Sullivan and stories of possible candidates to replace the head coach”…. sadly many of those negative headlines are spread all over this site!!
    Enough already!

    • rollercoaster hammer says:

      stories are to be reported. pretending everything is just dandy is of no use to anyone

      • David Pope says:

        Yep…they ARE stories…at least many are ..just repeating dubious other sites and media who claim Lopetegui is staring down the barrel of a gun.

  • Matt says:

    Alvarez is essential in midfield right now.

    Rodriguez obviously suited La Liga as he couldn’t catch a cold! Paqueta is a passenger in games and hasn’t been right for ages. Soler gives as many fouls away as Alvarez.

    Man Utd looked decent against Brentford. We have only looked good vs Ipswich.

    I don’t trust JLo and I think the players feel the same way. Luckily there maybe 3 teams worse than us this year.

  • Hammeroo says:

    Christ, I hope Alvarez doesn’t reclaim his membership of the naughty club this weekend. That’s all we need!

    And I hope Loppy doesn’t send Wan-Bissaka on another gallavanting raiding mission up in the opposition half and leave his defending duties to chance again. If Garnacho is firing on the left wing we’ll need AWB where he’s supposed to be!

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