A new manager in any workplace or industry, especially in a competitive environment like the Premier League, deserves time to find his footing, and Lopetegui should be no exception. Patience is particularly warranted given that our opening fixtures have not been the easiest, with two of our early opponents finishing in last year’s top four and two away London derbies. It’s only fair to reserve judgment until we have a larger sample size.
While it’s clear that a new style of play will take time to implement and should not be scrutinised too harshly at this early stage, the personnel choices Lopetegui has made in his first few weeks are understandably causing concern and confusion among some fans.
Although it’s common for new managers not to make sweeping changes to the starting line-ups inherited from their predecessors in their first game, there is typically a gradual shift away from the “old guard” soon after. This initial loyalty to former favourites may be a way to maintain squad harmony by avoiding too many rapid changes, or perhaps it’s simply out of necessity due to Lopetegui’s sudden and unexpected appointment following the abrupt sacking of his predecessor. There simply wasn’t enough time to assess the current players or bring in his own. This may explain some of the concern surrounding his team selections.
Lopetegui studdied West Ham for months
Lopetegui’s time to prepare
If media reports are accurate, Lopetegui’s appointment was not entirely unexpected. In fact, his arrival was in the works as soon as the decision for the club and David Moyes to part ways was made. Some even claim he had been preparing for potential vacancies at Milan or West Ham for some time. If true, this would give Lopetegui a unique advantage over many of his peers, who are often brought in on short notice with little time to assess the team before their first game. Lopetegui, however, had ample time to closely follow West Ham’s games in the weeks leading up to his appointment, giving him a better understanding of how his players were performing and their fit within his preferred system.
Therefore, while patience is necessary in allowing Lopetegui to establish a new style of play, it is puzzling that, after four games, he continues to rely on a team largely unchanged from the one he inherited, despite a significant influx of new players. Given his preparation time, one would expect him to have assessed the capabilities and limitations of the players Moyes had assembled and recognised that some are no longer meeting the club’s evolving standards.
Caution over new signings
The exceptions to Lopetegui’s apparent hesitance in using new players are Max Kilman, Guido Rodríguez, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, all of whom have seemingly secured their spots in the starting line-up. It’s likely no coincidence that these players are clearly Lopetegui’s picks: one was his former captain, another had been playing in his homeland, and the third was a player he had tried to sign at Wolves. This raises another question: Is there a lack of trust in the new signings, suggesting possible misalignment between Lopetegui and the head of recruitment? Or are Todibo, Füllkrug, and Summerville simply not performing well enough in training to earn starting positions, with Guilherme not even making the bench? Perhaps this is a topic for future discussion.
Regardless, it’s concerning that previous regulars like Soucek, Antonio, and Mavropanos continue to start games, while Kudus plays on his weaker side, even though there are viable (and some would argue better) alternatives waiting in the wings. After months of preparation and analysis, Lopetegui has been afforded an unusually long lead-up to his tenure. Patience is essential and deserved, but one hopes that it won’t be too long before he finds a place for some of the incredibly talented players that few West Ham managers before him have had at their disposal.
Abrupt sacking Gonzo . Come on your better than that . You wanted Moyes gone as well . Moyes should have left straight after Prague lopetegui is playing catch up because of it . The rebuilding happening this summer should have happened last summer..it didn’t happen then because the vertically challenged one feared a media backlash.
In Gonzo’s defence ( he can answer for himself but – I saw this comment ) – I don’t think he is suggesting Lopetegui ‘move on’ but ‘move on from Moyes Boys’ i.e. selecting the ‘old’ war horses.
You can’t back every horse in the race. As a sample size, 4 games represents more than 10% of the season. Your article states that Lopetegui studied West Ham for months and he took over as coach long before the season started, which gave him extensive involvement in the appraisal and selection of new players. Reluctance to select players he has brought in and insisting on selecting the ones that ideally need to be replaced, does not indicate self confidence.
West Ham lost at home to City 3-1, while Brentford ran City a lot closer away, losing only 2-1. West Ham play Brentford in 2 weeks. By the end of November West Ham will have played Chelsea, Spurs, Man.Utd, Newcastle and Arsenal, will that be a large enough sample? Team selection, tactics and player fitness is his responsibility and so far, he seems to be struggling with it. Let’s hope he changes his approach this week..
Regardless of the build up to the season, the current continued selection of the previous manager’s players, with our best player playing out of position, isn’t working. The world and his wife can see that. He’s learning nothing by leaving new players out. If he doesn’t make obvious changes for the Chelsea game, he’s dead to me.
The positives to this perplexing problem are that El Lopo is changing team selections and using substitutes, unlike the previous administration. The bewildering question is why? After the immediate improvement in play, does he still play Soucek, Coufal and Antonio? When all are 29 or 30 plus and were on International duty. My only logic is he is being told to pick these players, by the directors of the club. One owner is Czech, so perhaps he is being told to pick them for TV rights or commercial interests in Czechoslovakia.
Czechoslovakia?! You’re old! 😜
Czech Republic. 🇨🇿
I know you meant to say Czechia! 🙂
West Ham were rubbish before Moyes painstakingly turned you into European winners and got you away from the usual struggle against relegation. Well now it’s going to be deja vu for you guys. Once again you have made a questionable choice of a foreign manager and you will pay the price this season.
Yeah big Jim, PAINSTAKING is the operative word!
Wow that was a hard read. Every supporter site I checked couldn’t believe the starting lineup. We started the second half with the lineup everyone was predicting before 2pm on Saturday. This is basic stuff Gonzo.
PS: funny to see Big (bet he isn’t) Jim chip in some spiteful little girly taunt. Now who does Big Jim support I wonder? What a tart😂
Best ignored.