The style revolution is moving slowly. West Ham look no less dowdy after swapping David Moyes for Julen Lopetegui, who has much to prove after beginning his new job by producing football surprisingly lacking in inspiration, guile, cohesion, energy and defensive organisation.
It has not been easy to work out what Lopetegui has been trying to do so far. There has been talk of laying on more entertainment and there have been flashes here and there. Mohammed Kudus had an exciting spell during the second half of West Ham’s defeat by Aston Villa on the opening weekend and there was also a burst of assertive play against Manchester City, who had to fight hard for a 3-1 win.
Yet West Ham are very much a work in progress. There is no panic yet but, having taken four points from their first four games, they have plenty of room for improvement. They could not have had any complaints if they had lost by more to Villa after being outplayed. They were also lucky not to concede in the first half during their victory at Crystal Palace and needed a 95th-minute equaliser from Danny Ings to rescue a point against Fulham at Craven Cottage last Saturday.
The rudimentary approach at Fulham was puzzling after a summer in which the sporting director, Tim Steidten, oversaw a spend of more than £100m on eight players and brought in two loan signings. With Lucas Paquetá on the bench after international duty, Lopetegui played Edson Álvarez and Guido Rodríguez as screening midfielders and Tomas Soucek as a No 10. Predictably enough, West Ham were stodgy during the first half, their lack of fluency resulting in them often resorting to hoofing the ball towards Soucek and Michail Antonio.
Those hoping to see an identity were made to wait. There was an improvement after Paquetá and Crysencio Summerville came on at half-time, but it was not exactly a siege before Ings scored. There has to be more intensity and creativity when Chelsea visit on Saturday.
Perhaps it would help if Jarrod Bowen played as the central striker, Kudus moved to the right and Summerville, yet to start a league game since joining from Leeds, were deployed on the left. Even that would raise questions over West Ham’s recruitment, though. Their three strikers are all over 30. Antonio, 34, is no longer the same physical force. Ings, 32, was up for sale all summer. Niclas Füllkrug, the 31-year-old target man, is adjusting to English football.
An achilles problem kept the Germany striker out against Fulham and he was a key figure in Borussia Dortmund’s run to the Champions League final last season. Even so, paying £27m for a player of Füllkrug’s age and profile was questionable. Not only is there no resale value, there is also a tactical cost given Füllkrug’s lack of pace. West Ham, who decided not to pay Villa’s asking price for the prolific and much younger Jhon Durán, are going to find it hard to stretch teams with the German up front.
That said, it seems that Lopetegui is thinking about aerial power in attack. The former Real Madrid and Spain manager has placed a heavy emphasis on long switches of play. There is surprise at some of the tactical instructions. Then again, a source with knowledge of Lopetegui’s work in La Liga describes him as a defensive manager. Another says he is not too dissimilar to Moyes.
West Ham are looking for more expansiveness. They grew tired of Moyes’s pragmatism. They conceded 74 league goals last season and needed a change. In Lopetegui’s defence he has reintroduced the grit that disappeared towards the end of Moyes’s reign and their possession statistics have gone up.
Yet West Ham are not doing much with the ball, partly because their reliance on Paquetá to provide a creative spark has caught up with them. The Brazil midfielder, who is at risk of receiving a lengthy ban after being charged with a breach of the Football Association’s betting regulations, which he denies, has looked demotivated for a while; he has gone 12 games without scoring or assisting a goal in open play in the league.
This is not to say West Ham are heading for disaster. But while goals are always within reach when Bowen and Kudus are playing, keeping them out is a problem. West Ham have conceded a worrying number of chances and the defence has not looked settled. Konstantinos Mavropanos, signed from Stuttgart last year, makes far too many mistakes next to Maximilian Kilman in central defence.
Lopetegui’s hope must be that West Ham become harder to break down when Jean-Clair Todibo is ready to start alongside Kilman, who has been smooth since his £40m move from Wolves. This is a team in transition. Aaron Wan-Bissaka has eased Vladimir Coufal out at right-back. New relationships are forming in different areas of the pitch. Todibo is a top talent, even though he did not look like one during when he floundered against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup.
There is faith that everything will come together. Lopetegui has managed at the highest level and impressed during his brief spell at Wolves. For now, though, the vibe is underwhelming. West Ham have invested too much to accept standing still.
