West Ham United are not doing so well. It’s a plain fact, one that can’t be avoided.
One that mustn’t be avoided. This is a talented team, a team of pedigree and high-class talent, but it’s also a team suffering from the leave of David Moyes, whose time in the dugout bred riches and silverware, the golden age of the club’s modern history.
It’s important, however, to refrain from looking at the travails under Julen Lopetegui through rose-tinted glasses. Moyes was hurled to the wayside in the later stage of his tenure.
The Conference League might have been won in 2022/23, but the Irons did finish 14th in the Premier League. One year on, despite a host of exciting additions (albeit having lost Declan Rice), a ninth-placed finish was one of disappointment, European football severed.
Moyes had to go, but Lopetegui, simply, has proved to be the wrong appointment. Call it pessimism, but it’s hard to see him turning the ship around.
Lopetegui dangling by a thread
West Ham are among the lower-table fodder having stepped into November, and it’s clear that much work is needed if success is to be found toward the European-qualifying spots.
Having been thumped by surprise package Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Lopetegui’s tenuous hold on his position worsened. However, it’s understood that his job is not yet at imminent risk of severance.
Instead, West Ham chiefs have held such an eventuality in abeyance, with 17th-placed Ipswich Town heading to the London Stadium next weekend. It’s a big one though, to be sure.
15th.
Brighton
8th
16
15th=
Everton
16th
16
15th=
Wolves
20th
16
18th.
West Ham
14th
15
18th=
Crystal Palace
17th
15
20th
Southampton
19th
14
There’s just such little inspiration or attacking intent. This is a team carrying plenty of high-level forwards, a team that has spent £120m on fresh faces this summer.
Turn toward Old Trafford, and perhaps Manchester United’s hesitance in sacking Erik ten Hag is something that the Irons should take note of. As The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas puts it: “I don’t think Lopetegui is capable of turning this around. He was the wrong appointment. This team has regressed, has no identity, the players look despondent and the formation/tactics are questionable.”
Lopetegui might be safe for now, but technical director Tim Steidten and his team are already looking at success plans, with Graham Potter among the candidates.
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Graham Potter would be the perfect replacement
Potter is an accomplished Premier League manager but has been out of work since being fired by Chelsea in April 2023, merely six months after appointing Brighton & Hove Albion’s boss.
Recent reports have suggested that Edin Terzic, who once served as assistant manager for West Ham, is keen on taking the job, and the man who took Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final last year might indeed be a good pick.
However, Potter knows the run-of-the-mill in the Premier League and has managed 141 matches in the division. The 49-year-old is also starting to be viewed by many as the likely fit for the east Londoners.
And according to GIVEMESPORT, Potter is already being considered by West Ham bosses, which makes a rather plain comment on the faith that is held in Lopetegui’s capabilities.
Would Potter be an upgrade? He certainly plays the style of football that could turn things around. Hailed as a “tactical genius” by podcaster Ibukun Aluko, he’s sure to get more out of West Ham’s most exciting talents than the current boss.
“I want a tactically flexible, possession-based team,” Potter once said to The Athletic. “Players who are brave, who aren’t afraid to make mistakes, who can get on the ball and show courage and really try to enjoy their football.”
Potter’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation could also play to the Hammers’ strengths: Lucas Paqueta might be revived in the number ten role, while Jarrod Bowen could operate with fluidity on the right, serving the central striker or dynamically playing that part himself.
But possibly the biggest winner might be Mohammed Kudus, who has certainly been below his best so far this season. West Ham signed Ajax’s maverick in a deal worth £38m in August 2023, on a five-year deal.
1.
Mohammed Kudus
West Ham
124
2.
Jeremy Doku
Man City
87
3.
Bruno Guimaraes
Newcastle
72
4.
Ebere Eze
Crystal Palace
69
5.
Luis Diaz
Liverpool
67
Kudus is one of the most electric ball carriers in Europe, also ranking among the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons (3.95) per 90, as per FBref.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
He’s flattered to deceive this term though, only scoring twice across ten appearances in all competitions and stupidly getting himself sent off during West Ham’s bruising 4-1 Premier League loss against Tottenham Hotspur.
Potter could bring him back to the fore, utilising a flexible attacking shape that relies on pressure and high intensity, two things that the Ghana international excels in.
Even without playing at his best this term, Kudus has still averaged 3.5 dribbles and 6.6 successful duels per top-flight fixture, as per Sofascore, emphasising the robust and active role that he plays in Lopetegui’s team.
Now imagine that player in Potter’s set-up, moving with greater freedom, operating in a squad offering greater ball control. His fleet-footedness and direct assaults at enemy lines would surely find him restored, back to his best.
The English manager has never lost across seven clashes against Moyes, which points toward an attacking approach that holds superiority over West Ham’s former style.
Lopetegui’s tactical set-up is candidly indefinable. Something needs to change. Perhaps it is Potter who could conjure up some magic and lead this proud club back to prominence.
West Ham should sack Lopetegui and replace him with fantastic 4-2-3-1 boss
West Ham must sack Lopetegui to bring in this “fantastic” coach as his replacement.
ByConnor HoldenNov 4, 2024