If we’re perfectly honest, West Ham were the worst team against Fulham at Craven Cottage and can consider themselves lucky to come away with a point. Marco Silva’s team has every reason to feel hard done by, given the result in what was largely a one-sided Premier League encounter.
What frustrated me most was the starting line-up, which included a clearly exhausted Michail Antonio up front, with Tomas Soucek tucked in behind him. It was a bizarre tactic by Julen Lopetegui, one that predictably failed, and I hope never to see it again.
Quite why the Spaniard decided to sacrifice any semblance of midfield control by omitting his two best passers, only he knows. But after watching the team struggle against Fulham’s balanced side, I sincerely hope the Hammers’ head coach has learned the error of his ways.
While Lopetegui deserves credit for using his substitutes and eventually bringing on Danny Ings, West Ham should never have been in that position in the first place.
A draw away from home against decent Premier League opposition isn’t a bad result, but West Ham had no control over the match and cannot rely on injury-time rescues to mask poor performances.
I hope the international break isn’t used as an excuse for the teams lacklustre display either. With two more breaks coming soon, Lopetegui now has a week on the training ground with all his players to refine the line-up and establish some cohesion, as the team seems to have made little progress since the season opener against Aston Villa.
Don’t bank on Lopetegui learning the error of his ways, he has done the same thing four times out of four so far and it is not looking good for next week.
Maybe Lopetegui is obligated to play Souchek by order of one of his bosses and Souchek compatriot Mr Daniel Kratinnsky.
@Chris The Bad Speller. I really don’t think Daniel Kretinsky would have any say about whether Soucek plays or not. That’s quite a comical statement. I hope it was meant to be!