West Ham were absolutely awful today, and Chelsea took us apart, capitalising on some rank bad defending.
The Hammers players put in a performance totally devoid of any kind of passion, hunger or energy at the London Stadium.
Paul Merson suggested before the game that Lopetegui doesn’t even know his best starting XI at the moment, and he’s bang on the money.
However, the lack of a clear footballing philosophy is my biggest concern right now. Lopetegui really has to get to work with his players during training this week.
It’s early days, sure, but the Spaniard may well be worried about what the future may hold for him.
Julen Lopetegui quaking in his boots after Chelsea defeat
A return of just four points from our first five Premier League games is quite simply not good enough.
We face Brentford, Tottenham and Manchester United in our next four Premier League games.
A bad run over the next month or so would see the pressure on Lopetegui crank up massively.
Former Hammers stopper Rob Green spoke to BBC Sport after our defeat to Chelsea today.
And the 44-year-old shared something that will have Lopetegui quaking in his boots.
Green said, “Lopetegui will be under pressure. It’s a performance that screams pressure all over it, the manner of the defeat, against London rivals. The camera have just shown Karen Brady and David Sullivan, I’ve seen those faces before.”
That sounds ominous doesn’t it.
Lopetegui needs time at West Ham
The 58-year-old is certainly not immune from criticism.
There are plenty of things that need to improve. Firstly, he must find a way of getting Jean-Clair Todibo in the starting XI.
The Frenchman is one of the best centre-backs on the planet, and the fact that he’s still sitting on our bench is bizarre.
Secondly, Lopetegui needs his players to be braver in possession. If they make mistakes, then so be it.
It just feels like were caught in the middle right now, in some kind of footballing purgatory whereby Lopetegui wants his players to perform in a certain style, but they are all reverting to factory settings.
Having said all of that, we all need to give him time. There’s no point in making a big managerial change if we’re all going to moan and call for the Spaniard’s head after five Premier League games.
The 3-0 defeat to Chelsea today was not a good look for Julen Lopetegui. He will know how bad it was today, and I would like to think that he’s even more determined to turn things around.
Let’s wait until the new year at least before we judge the former Wolves boss properly.
While talkSPORT broadcaster Rennie was quick to slam the player’s performance in the dismal defeat, he did admit Lopetegui could already be at risk of the sack as he tore into the Spaniard’s team selection and tactical setup.
Writing on X on Saturday (21 September) he said: “Lopetegui should take a lot of the blame here. The setup has been very bad.
“The tactics have been very bad. The defensive plan has been very bad. The players have barely broken into a sprint as well.