Simon Jordan shares new Julen Lopetegui verdict after West Ham United loss v Chelsea. Simon Jordan doesn’t believe West Ham United are a “disaster” but does admit Julen Lopetegui needs to find a way to motivate his players.
The Hammers’ poor start under their new manager continued with a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Chelsea at the London Stadium on Saturday (21 September). Although some fans have been quick to suggest that Lopetegui was the wrong appointment, talkSPORT host Jordan insists that it was always going to be hard for the Irons to win their opening three home games.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Monday (23 September, 12:10) he said: “West Ham beat Palace 2-0 this season and got spanked by Palace at the end of last season 5-2.
“They got beaten 5-0 by Chelsea at the back end of the season. David [Moyes] made a choice to play a brand of football at West Ham that didn’t appeal to the owners and the fans.
“I’m a big David Moyes fan, I wrote an article at the beginning of the season thinking that he deserved all of the accolades and was on a fully redemptive journey now and should be treated by West Ham a damn sight better than he’d been treated previously.
“But let’s get it right, West Ham have had three games at home against Aston Villa who are in the European Cup and are punching very hard in this league now, a Chelsea side that isn’t quite the car crash that the so-called experts forecast they would be and a Manchester City team who are the best team in Europe.
“So I don’t think it’s much of a disaster. They’ve gone away from home and they’ve beaten Palace 2-0 and they’ve got a draw against Fulham, so it’s not that much of a disaster.
“They’ve had three difficult games at home, the manner of the performance [against Chelsea] is the problem rather than the result. The fact that they were so passive and so easy to play against that Chelsea had a stroll on.
“That’s up to Lopetegui to get his players more aroused, because I saw West Ham against Palace and I thought they were very good.”
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As Jordan suggests, the manner of the Hammers’ display on Saturday was inexcusable. The players and the manager just didn’t look at all interested as they were easily picked apart in front of their fans.
Of course, the buck stops with Lopetegui and he will always be criticised if his team look poorly set up or off of the pace, but it would be naive to assume that any other manager could have done much better.
Whether this side was managed by Lopetegui, Moyes or Pep Guardiola, they would have found it hard to come away with nine points from home matches against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Of course, a 3-0 thrashing is always going to leave a sour taste in fans’ mouths, but this team has already shown that they’re capable of beating teams in and around them in the table this term.
As Jordan suggests, it has been a disappointing start, but that doesn’t mean it is a disaster.
In other West Ham news, Brendan Rodgers’ stance on a Celtic exit has been predicted after a move to the London Stadium was mooted
