Lopetegui’s New Look West Ham Fall At First Hurdle In Invincible Stakes

It was not the result we had wanted to kick-off an exciting new era at the London Stadium, although it was not too far away from what many had expected. The phrase ‘there’s still work to be done’ is likely to become a well-worn one over the next few weeks as new players are introduced, and the intricacies of a new style of play ironed out.

There were few clues on the extent of the work outstanding following Saturday’s outing in the season opener as Julen Lopetegui’s team selection baffled supporters and observers alike. Excluding so many of the new signings from the starting eleven was a huge surprise. Had Edson Alvarez not been injured it is quite feasible that Maxi40milian Kilman would have been the sole debutant on show. The coach may have felt he needed to show loyalty to the squad members he inherited, but is it not counter-productive when the aim is to have your best players performing as a cohesive unit in as short a time as possible?

It was disheartening to discover that the likes of Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek, and Michail Antonio would be starting on Saturday. Each have had respectable West Ham careers, but it is impossible to imagine them as part of the bright new future, except in a backup capacity. The omission of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jean-Clair Todibo was equally baffling. Both had completed a full pre-season and were presumably raring to get their first taste of football with the Hammers.

With a reliance on the old guard, not much was revealed on the evidence of Satrurday’s game as to how Lopetegui expects his team structure, formation and tactics to evolve. The low block had disappeared, a higher defensive line was apparent and there was some attempt to move the ball forward by passing rather than quick transitions and long balls. However, there was little in the way of pressing, the front players rarely intercated with each other, too much space was conceded through the centre and the role of the full backs was ambiguous.

Some of those deficiencies may have be down to the personnel involved but others suggest the system is far from fully understood. If the intention was to prevent opponents attacking through the middle it did not work. Villa’s runners repeatedly sliced through what passed as the midfield defensive shield. And was the narrow back four a carry over from last season’s set-up or is it an intentional Lopetegui tactic? Either way it presented far too much space for Villa to exploit down the flanks. Although it was positive that Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed weren’t expected to operate as auxiliary defenders, the resulting space was an obvious weakness.   

Saturday’s game was not completely one sided, but Aston Villa were easily the better side and deserved winners. They made better use of their possession, were more incisive and ramped up the majority of the presentable goalscoring opportunities. The opening goal was fully down to Alphonse Areola in my opinion – if a keeper is not going to take responsibility for that part of his six yard box then who is?

For a while it appeared that the visitors might run away with the game, such was their dominance. A disjointed Hammers attack had got little change from the Villa defence until Matty Cashed a West Ham Czech to concede a borderline penalty. I’m not a fan of the stuttering penalty technique but Lucas Paqueta despatched the spot kick with aplomb.

All square at the break, the equaliser had the effect of boosting the Hammer’s confidence and postponing what would surely have been a couple of half-time substitutions. Ultimately, it was surprising how late the substitutions were delayed in the context of an evenly balanced scoreline and a game that available to win.

In fact, it was Unai Emery who made the first moves to introduce fresh legs and when Jhon Duran replaced Ollie Watkins you just knew that the immutable laws of football consequences would contrive to ensure that he scored the winner.  And a very well worked goal it was with three substitutes combining in a quick passing move that once again exploited the space conceded down the Hammer’s right flank.

West Ham had a few opportunities to snatch a draw in the closing exchanges despite an apparent lack of urgency as the minutes ticked away. The closest efforts were a Danny Ings header and a near range Soucek miss – which may have attracted the attention of VAR for a foul had he completed the simple task of putting the ball in the net rather than ballooning it over the bar.

Kudus was the standout man for the Hammers. What a player he is! From an end product perspective, he is wasted wide on the left where the option to cut inside and shoot for goal is restricted. ‘Jimmy’ Summerville is a ready made replacement for that position and looked very bright when he was introduced late on. Kilman had a steady game as did Dinos Mavropanos although the latter will surely make way for Todibo by next Saturday. Bowen was very quiet by his own standards (and is a strange choice for skipper in my opinion) while Coufal and Antonio were the weakest links. Have to say I didn’t really notice the work of Guido Rodriquez other than his speed of movement was towards the sluggish end of the spectrum. A penny for his thoughts on his Premier League debut.

Lopetegui had little to offer in his post-match interview comments. To say that the team must ‘keep doing the good things and improve on the bad things’ is an obvious everyday mantra for each and every coach. Still, it is only one game, and we weren’t expecting miracles anyway. The major disappointment was the decision to stick with the old guard instead of introduing new recruits or youth players. With more tough games on the horizon, the direction of travel needs to be more obvious even if the points tally remains modest during the opening weeks.

Player Ratings: Areola (5), Coufal (4), Kilman (7), Mavropanos (6), Emerson (5), Rodriguez (5), Soucek (5), Bowen (5), Paqueta (5), Kudus (8), Antonio (4). Subs: Fullkrug (5), Summerville (6), Ward-Prowse (5), Ings & Todibo (N/A)

With the transfer window still open, speculation is unlikley to dry up over its remaining days. Further ins and outs are highly possible. It is clear an additional striker option is badly needed (as long as its isn’t Tammy Abraham). Although I was not convinced a player like Duran could be relied upon as the sole striker in the squad he would be a great acquisition now that Fullkrug has also signed. The other significant gap for me is someone capable of carrying the ball forward at pace in midfield. It is a skillset currently missing anywhere in the squad.

Onward and upward then. It’s no time to panic but we must see the new signings bedded into the team starting from the very next game. COYI!