Julen Lopetegui in danger of being next Premier League manager sacked as new-look West Ham struggle in six areas
WEST HAM’S new era is yet to take off.
After bringing in Julen Lopetegui and backing him with £127.5million in summer signings – there was every right to expect more than this.
The Hammers are 14th, could be overtaken by Everton with another defeat this weekend and have shown few signs of improving.
There are mixed messages over Lopetegui’s future. West Ham‘s owners have never been trigger-happy when it comes to dismissing managers and do not like admitting they were wrong.
But fans have not warmed to the new regime and even the most patient of clubs would be tested if this continues.
SunSport runs through how it has all gone so wrong…
DEFENSIVE ISSUES
West Ham’s biggest problem last season was their leaky defence, conceding a club-record 74 Premier League goals under David Moyes.
Money was spent to try and fix the problem.
Max Kilman arrived from Wolves for £40m, Aaron Wan-Bissaka joined in a £15m deal from Manchester United before Jean-Clair Todibo was signed on loan with a view to a £35m deal next summer.
All are individually good players, but they have struggled to gel so far while Wan-Bissaka has been used in a variety of positions.
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The Hammers have shipped 19 goals in 10 Premier League games, the same as odds-on relegation favourites Southampton.
Conceding at this rate they will end the season having let in 72 – hardly the improvement expected after significant investment.
STODGY MIDFIELD
The problems at the back do not lie solely with the defenders.
West Ham possess one of the most immobile midfields in the Premier League.
When not suspended or injured, Edson Alvarez struggles to keep up with play.
Tomas Soucek has been a fine servant for the club but should have been improved upon some time ago.
The Czech is a brilliant squad option but is too limited a footballer to be a regular success.
Guido Rodriguez, a free signing from Spanish side Real Betis, has made little positive impact – mistakes being his most memorable moments.
And with each minute Carlos Soler plays, it becomes harder to work out why so much late effort was put into shifting James Ward-Prowse to Nottingham Forest just to bring him in.
The lack of dynamism and legs in the middle is making it easy for teams to bypass and charge straight at an unprotected back four.
POOR SIGNINGS
Tim Steidten, who won the power struggle with Moyes over the summer, was given almost ultimate power in the transfer window.
Lopetegui was not exclusively his pick, but many of the players were.
Rodriguez is probably the most baffling, but others raise big questions too.
Niclas Fullkrug appears to be the latest in the line of failed West Ham strikers.
It may seem harsh given he has been limited to just an hour of Premier League play due to injury so far – but it was hardly an inspirational signing.
The German arrived, for £27.5m, the wrong side of 30 and with a detailed injury record leaving another manager to rely on Michail Antonio and Danny Ings through the middle.
A bungled attempt to sign Aston Villa‘s Jhon Duran, who has eight goals in 16 appearances this season, only makes it look worse.
Areas clearly lacking were never properly addressed.
LACK OF LEADERSHIP & DISCIPLINE
Not all of this can be put at the door of the manager or higher-ups.
Players are the ones tasked with going out and putting in a shift each weekend and few have done that in a West Ham shirt this season.
Mohammed Kudus and Alvarez are both suspended this weekend – the Mexican after his second red card of the season.
There is a lack of a strong mentality and clear leadership within the squad.
Sources say the dressing room has become a quiet one in the absence of Declan Rice‘s leadership or Mark Noble before him.
Antonio is a loud character but not when it comes to leadership, while new captain Jarrod Bowen prefers to do his talking on the pitch.
Perhaps the biggest problem is Lucas Paqueta.
The Brazilian, awaiting a hearing for his spot-fixing charges, has looked disinterested for most of the year.
It is understandable given his situation, but West Ham are still paying his wages and expect someone who was recently valued at £85m to be delivering far more.
Coaches have noticed a collective lack of mentality amongst the squad, something which must be addressed.
NO STYLE OR INSPIRATION
The end of the Moyes era was largely brought about due to a desire for fans to see a far more attractive style of play.
Lopetegui was never seen as a total football appointment, but players and fans alike have struggled to identify a clear plan of attack from the Spaniard.
They are not sitting tight and counter-attacking nor going for expansive, dominant football.
The muddle leads to inconsistent performances and a reliance on individual brilliance – which has been in short supply.
Lopetegui is struggling to get the best out of Bowen and – when he’s not suspended for lashing out at Tottenham players – Kudus.
The manager’s deadpan approach in front of the media does not help either.
The lack of spark means fans are struggling to warm to the former Wolves boss.
HOW LONG HAS HE GOT
This will be the question on many fans’ lips.
A heavy defeat to Everton on Saturday and it could be that Lopetegui struggles to see out the weekend.
But there is an insistence that the board remain behind their man, though all remain frustrated by the poor performances.
There is a feeling they have not reached the lows of the second half of last season, but get any closer to it and a change will more than likely be made.
West Ham have worst stadium in Premier League
By Andy Dillon
All that has been achieved under David Moyes has made West Ham forget that they have by far the worst home ground in the entire Prem.
A stadium totally unfit for staging regular football matches.
One that can work on big European nights when the fans have electrified their voices in the nearby Carpenters Arms before kick-off.
But one which drains your soul during routine home games against the likes of Burnley or Everton.
A home ground where giant trampolines separate fans from the action.
With temporary seating and scaffolding trying to bring the players and crowd closer.
When West Ham are playing badly but winning, issues with the rented stadium are pushed aside.
If they are playing badly and losing, the whole festering sore surfaces and the frustration will be aimed once more at chairman David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady.
It wasn’t long ago that fans were invading the pitch, that 8,000 protested against the owners, that Sullivan was hit in the eye by a coin thrown from the crowd. Moyes has been an effective human shield with his consistent, if not entirely pretty, brand of success.
This is what incoming boss Lopetegui has to contend with.