Julen Lopetegui will need to find a solution to West Ham’s misfiring midfield if he is to have any chance of beating Newcastle United at St. James’ Park in Monday’s Premier League fixture.
While I’m far from convinced that Lopetegui has tried to impose a more possession-based football alternative to David Moyes, his midfield selections this season have not been technical or athletic enough.
I sat down with my Hammers Chat partner Geo in our West Ham v Newcastle preview, and we both had very different answers to what we agreed was a serious midfield problem.
Lopetegui may well opt to play Edson Álvarez and Tomáš Souček or possibly even Guido Rodríguez, but none of these options are likely to give the head coach the level of control he’ll need against Eddie Howe’s Toon side.
Mohammed Kudus remains suspended, ironically for the two games that could determine the gaffer’s future with the Hammers, so Crysencio Summerville should be an automatic starter.
Possibly Lopetegui’s only chance in this game is to keep it tight at the back and try to pinch a goal on the break, but there is little evidence this season to suggest we’re capable of it.
So, my team for Monday’s game is a little unusual, and I go into detail about why in the video below. West Ham’s boss needs to roll the dice because doing the same thing is a certain route to defeat.
Sitting back, soaking up pressure and hitting hard on the break, has not been in our arsenal this season. We haven’t seen that being done effectively since the early part of last season under Moyes, before we forgot how to defend.
Our current midfield options, however we are set up by Lopetegui, will fail to get a foothold in the game, nor have the legs to negate Newcastle’s attacking threat. They are just too slow and lack any dynamism.
In attack, Antonio will undoubtedly run himself into the ground, and Bowen and Summerville will try to make inroads and be potent with the little service they receive.
So what are we to do?
The battle will be lost in midfield. But not the war. There’s still time for Sullivan to do something about this debacle before it’s too late.
We conceded four at Tottenham and three at Forest. I have no idea how we won against Man U they should have had the game won before half time, while the Everton game was billed as the worst of the premier league season for good reason.
I do not see a glimmer of improvement and I do not see anything other than us losing at Newcastle. I agree that it’s our midfield that’s so weak, it’s so porous that it’s beyond any belief. It will be a long night that I’m not looking forward to.