The excitement around West Ham was quickly dampened with a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on the opening weekend.
There appeared to be a real buzz around the Hammers after they took the summer transfer window by storm with eight new signings.
With the appointment of Julen Lopetegui promising exciting and up-beat football, there was a growing feeling that West Ham could find themselves competing at the top end of the Premier League.
However, the Spaniard’s team selection on Saturday raised a few eyebrows when he selected just two of his new signings – Guido Rodriguez and Max Kilman – to start.
Jean-Clair Todibo, Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville, who was tipped to shine by Paul Merson, were all introduced as substitutes later in the match.After such a busy and exciting transfer window, it was bizarre to see West Ham field a very familiar lineup.
It is obviously impossible to tell whether West Ham would have taken points away from the match had their new signings started, but the Londoners did look sharper once Lopetegui introduced new signings from the bench.Via Sky Sports, Paul Merson questioned Lopetegui’s lineup “It was an unbelievable result for Villa, that is a hard game and a hard place to go.
“I’m not sure about what the West Ham head coach has done, buying all those players and not playing them. It was extraordinary and I found that a bit weird.
“But I felt sorry for him because it doesn’t matter how hard you work and who you buy, if people don’t pick up at set plays and let your marker go, it doesn’t matter who you are.”
After taking a first glimpse at the new signings in action against Aston Villa, Lopetegui must quickly find his best starting XI.If the Hammers are going to live up to their lofty expectations and challenge for European qualification they cannot afford a poor start to the season.
A trip across London to Selhurst Park is up next on West Ham’s fixtures which is then followed by a visit from the reigning champions Manchester City.
