Before the convincing win over Ipswich Town last weekend, there were a lot of question marks over Julen Lopetegui‘s style of play. 
Many fans were questioning exactly what the style was, neutrals were beginning to hint that David Moyes’ style was far better.
Indeed, there has been an element of transition and the players have had to get used to a whole new way of playing after four years operating under a different manager who had different ideas.
But in the first month or so of the season, there didn’t appear to be a clear style, nor were there many real signs that the players were trying to play a certain way but still had to iron out a few issues before they were comfortable.
It was often really disjointed and unorganised.
But against Ipswich, things did appear to be clicking. The players were, on the most part, a lot more organised and clearer in what they were being asked to do, and it paid dividends with a 4-1 thrashing, albeit against an inexperienced and newly promoted Ipswich side.
But it was also a performance in which Lopetegui’s style and plans for this squad became a lot clearer and, despite the positive scoreline on the day, his main plan isn’t really working at the moment.
That’s the view of West Ham tactics experts Jack Elderton and Callum Goodall on The West Ham Breakdown podcast, who explained what they had noticed about the performance against Ipswich and how while there was an improvement in that game, the new manager’s very clear plans simply aren’t working they way he intends, which is likely down to the profile of players he has in those positions.
The main position in question is full-back and the reliance Lopetegui puts in that position in terms of attacking, which is what made his Sevilla side so successful.
Full-backs are the issue at West Ham
But it’s just not working at West Ham, despite the Spaniard seemingly trying the exact same thing.
It was said on the podcast: “I think the biggest issue in terms of the full-backs is how much they’re contributing in terms of the team xA.
“If you look at Lopetegui’s Sevilla teams and who’s contributing in terms of creating chances, it is repeatedly the full-backs every season when he had that Sevilla team and it’s Jesus Navas who was really the key contributor.
“But in that first season in 2019, they contributed 30 percent of the team’s xA, 25 percent in the second season and then down to 23 percent in the third season. And so far at West Ham this season, it is less than half those worse numbers. It’s 11 percent at the moment between Wan-Bissaka, Emerson, Coufal and Cresswell.
“It was much better in this game [vs. Ipswich]. It’s shot up a lot. We were down at five or six percent beforehand.
“So that’s big improvement after the Ipswich game. And they’re going to have to maintain that because it’s a really key part of how Lopetegui attacks. Ultimately, when we talk about those four players, none of them have massively impressed so far, Wan-Bissaka has probably had the best moments across the group.
“A lot of that probably comes down to the fact that they’re not exactly the perfect profiles for what Lopetegui is asking those players to do.”
Lopetegui is insisting on playing the same way
One of the key things the hosts on the podcast noticed was that despite West Ham’s full-backs either not fitting the right profile or still trying to adapt fully to what’s being asked of them, Lopetegui is sticking to his guns with the style.
They said: “With Lopetegui, the numbers are shocking in terms of that massive disparity between the full-back dependency at Sevilla versus at West Ham.
“If there’s an element of him just looking at the squad and assessing it and going, ‘okay, well, if I’m going to roll out how I did at Sevilla and rely on these full-backs to the extent that I did there with the personnel that I’ve got, maybe that’s not that wise.’
“I’d say that if he wasn’t rolling it out in exactly the same way he did at Sevilla, but he is. He’s doing exactly the same thing he did at Sevilla.”
