Julen Lopetegui has one big flaw, and it could end up being the defining factor of his tenure at West Ham United.
David Moyes left the London Stadium in May, with
Julen Lopetegui coming in to replace him at West Ham officially on July 1st.
Lopetegui has overseen a really poor start to the 2024/25 season in charge of the Hammers, and
reports out in Spain have actually claimed that he’s already facing the sack .
Whilst I don’t believe his job is at risk just yet, improvements need to be made as a matter of urgency.
We have Ipswich Town, Tottenham and Manchester United all to come in our next three games, and Lopetegui has to find a way of getting the most out of his best players.The performances have been really concerning so far this season. We’ve seen the odd glimpse of what we’re capable of, but that’s about it.
The Hammers need to start producing the goods, and fast. Lopetegui has to raise his game as well.
David Moyes nailed Julen Lopetegui’s main flaw at West Ham
Whilst Lopetegui has faced numerous different criticisms in his role as Hammers boss, I believe that he has one main flaw.And that is that he isn’t getting the best out of one single West Ham player right now.
He certainly hasn’t helped any of them improve yet.
All of our top stars seem to be underperforming, whilst those trying to get into the team are failing to take their chances when given them.
If Lopetegui doesn’t start to extract the very best from his current crop of players, his spell at the London Stadium could be extremely short-lived.Whilst Moyes had plenty of flaws himself, one of his strengths was getting the very best out of every player at the club, up until his final season in charge of course.The likes of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Emerson Palmieri all flourished under the Scot. Now it’s time for Lopetegui to start following in Moyes’s footsteps in this regard.
Despite Lopetegui’s faults, he needs time at West Ham
It will be crucial for the club’s owners and fans to give the Spaniard plenty of patience and time.
Positive change never happens overnight, and we all need to get behind the manager right now.
Having said that, we can still criticise Lopetegui when he makes mistakes – the two things are not mutually exclusive.
The Spaniard needs to settle on his best starting XI and a system that works. He’s chopping and changing around far too much for my liking right now.
He needs to be flexible and ready to shift to another playing style, if the players cannot his put ideas into action.
West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui is under huge pressure right now, and the Ipswich Town clash on Saturday will be crucial for him.
We need to see a better performance and some of our big players need to step up and be counted. If Lopetegui can start to get the best out of some of his players, the Hammers will start picking up points instantly.