Whether Lopetegui stays, or Lopetegui goes, I believe we have further investment to make, urgently, in the transfer window in January. Bear with me here, all of you shouting ‘we’ve already spent £140 million, there’s no money‘.
West Ham’s useless – at the moment – midfield quartet of Alvarez, Paqueta, Soler and Rodriguez are liabilities and the reason for our dreadful form. Radical surgery is needed to replace and recruit in midfield. Forget the ‘new striker’: If we don’t recruit fast, fit creative ball-carrying and defensive midfielders then the ball will never make it up to which ever striker we recruit.
It could be Jhon Duran at £50 million, if we don’t fix our midfield that would be £50 million wasted. He’ll be as isolated as Danny Ings has been and just as effective.
We will also continue to leak goals. No defence in the world is going to keep clean sheets if the midfield in front of them doesn’t tackle, intercept or pass successfully. Just take a look at Rodriguez’ stats for the Nottingham Forest game: Hooked at 45 minutes, yellow carded, zero tackles. Seven lost possessions. Three ‘duels’, none won. Zero key passes.
West Ham have built a midfield that can’t run, can’t tackle fairly, can’t win the ball and can’t create.
That is where the ‘radical surgery’ is needed first. Left wingers we have, right wingers we have – central midfield we have just the cardboard cutouts.
Cardboard Cutout Midfielder Modelled on West Ham
So. Money. It is sad but true that ‘Starboy’ Mohammed Kudus will be off next summer when his £85 million release clause becomes live again. If the rumours we hear this November are true, he may well be off to Arsenal, Liverpool, Saudi- wherever – in January.
Make no bones about it, I’ll be sad to see him leave but remember it is only six months earlier than expected and that money would fund the rebuild in January of a midfield, pay a new coach’s salary, pay -off Lopetegui, deal with PSR issues and leave a few quid for a £15 m striker too. You work it out.
Your talking crap as usual no point having creative midfielders if our main strike force Antonio and ings are about as much use as a chocolate teapot, we need a striker who is capable of harassing the opponents back four and capable of at least having the ability to pass the ball, at the moment our midfield has no one to be creative with, as usual we blame the wrong people?
Just read this morning that Flynn Downes is heading the stats for running in the PL – for some reason my C&H page always shows me an old story about Connor Coventry moving – what might have been (and there is always Josh Cullen too)
Look – none of us – I presume – are top football coaches. If we were put in charge, most of us would select our best players, and, as far as possible , put them in their most comfortable positions. And interacting with the other players that they best understood. OK, there’ll be difficulties achieving this perfectly.
Then we’d work out some tactics according to the opposition.
Come kick off we would try to remain calm and take in the game. (Ron Greenwood used to sit up in the stand. ) What we would not do is to immediately get agitated and start jumping up and down.
But we ain’t the coach are we?
It ain’t the players it’s the coach.
Not that it will him make him any better or faster, but speaking of Rodriguez contributions a few I noticed: minute 18 he stopped Gibbs-White (it cost him a yellow card at the box entrance); minute 22 he dispossessed Gibbs-White in midfield; minute 29 cleared a ball near the line (preventing 2×0); minute 34 he stopped Gibbs-White near the box and cleared the ball; minute 40 clears a ball over the crossbar from a Hudson Odoi cross as Murillo is ready to score.
Kudus has a lot to learn about how to play football in a TEAM. he has great skills but can’t tie that in with a good team performance (whether he’s played out of position or not). he’s still very selfish and now we see, petulant. he’s not going to learn much with the curent coach, either. i personally don’t care if he stays or goes. if he is to stay, he needs a much better man manager. if he goes, that gives us bling bling to solve some other problems
Wow, are you actually a West Ham fan? Your negative posts are seriously depressing and I am reaching out for the medication. If we beat Everton will you take a sabbatical?
The issue with January is players being available that West Ham would want isn’t likely. January is a great time for clubs in good shape to make money on selling players to clubs in desperate need. For example, Aston Villa selling Danny Ings.
Lopetegui is undoubtedly the main problem but another is the ridiculously small squad Moyes left us with leaving Steidten too much to do in one window with what would be a good budget but not so good when spread over that many vacancies.
Totally agree.
And as Steidten is totally in charge of transfers, this can’t be laid at the door of JLo. In fact, whilst I’m already thinking JLo may need to go (the only two other managers I’ve wanted out so quickly, indeed in the first season of appointment, are Macari and Grant) I’m beginning to wonder if the biggest issue is the midfield he has been given.
Really finding it difficult to find either of your logic?
Soler the loanee nobody wanted else – from what I’ve seen so far you can see why – lacking speed, mobility, an inability to tackle, head the ball, take a player on, shoot or make an effective pass
Rodriguez – who wasn’t wanted at the end of his contract (was it Betis?) is even worse in that he is no better than Soler but is even slower – These are both JL picks.
Alvarez – who I agree has been abysmal, was superb last season – whether he is still getting over his serious hamstring injury on ****ing international duty I don’t know & sadly to me his performance & loss of speed mirrors what happened to Michael Owen. He was a TS signing.
Paqueta who was prior to this betting case capable of being brilliant some of the time was not a TS signing.
Soucek another midfielder not up to the Prem isn’t mentioned.
Again can’t see how you don’t see midfield as a problem or why you are laying this all at TS door?
Of course all the blame is being put at steitdens door . Sullivans never taken responsibility for anything in his entire life .
Any chance we could get this thread into order of posting. It m’ght help deternining who’s replying to what.