Worrying theme continues from last season as West Ham are beaten 3-1 by Premier League rivals Crystal Palace in Tampa. New manager, new staff, new players, new philosophy, new era but it is looking very much like the same old West Ham in pre-season. And the same old problems which dogged the team last term.
Julen Lopetegui has changed much at West Ham since taking over from David Moyes. But the Hammers still can’t defend and the midfield still doesn’t work.
All the evidence was there again as West Ham lost 3-1 – for the second game in a row against Premier League opposition – when they faced Crystal Palace overnight. The same awful traits are still prevalent too as West Ham conceded in the opening minute of the match.
Pathetic defending all round saw Palace take an early lead. Michail Antonio scored a well taken equaliser to level things up by the break.
But as with the Wolves game, West Ham could not maintain Lopetegui’s high energy, high pressing style and dropped off after the hour as Crystal Palace punished them with another two goals.
The Hammers were awful defensively and the midfield simply does not work. It is no surprise the club are bringing in Guido Rodriguez. On this evidence he will walk straight into the starting XI. And the new signings like Crysencio Summerville and hopefully Rodriguez and Niclas Fullkrug will also dramatically improve the side.
Honest Lopetegui once again criticised his side’s performance and admitted he has big problems to address. And a woeful trio piled the pressure on Tim Steidten to get signings done.
Vladimir Coufal, his Czech mate Tomas Soucek and the hapless Nayef Aguerd showed they cannot continue as starters for West Ham if the club wants to progress this season.
James Ward-Prowse also offered very little as big question marks continue to hang over what he brings to the team in open play. Especially when – as was the case against the Eagles – his set pieces aren’t up to his usual standards either.
Steidten simply must get the deal done for Aaron Wan-Bissaka as soon as possible. Coufal needs to be upgraded or West Ham will continue to struggle.
The technical director also needs to complete the deal for Rodriguez – and possibly another central midfielder as has been rumoured. Soucek is already showing signs of struggling to fit into Lopetegui’s style of play, as many feared he might.
Aguerd was woeful again and emphasised just how important it is for West Ham to sign another centre-back. Because Max Kilman is not making a major impact on the Premier League’s fourth worst defence on his own.
Here are our West Ham player ratings vs Palace:
Lukasz Fabianski – 5/10: A brilliant servant but signs are present that this could definitely be his last year. Distribution remains an issue and not commanding the area like he used to.
Vladimir Coufal – 3/10 (Gideon Kodua – 6/10): We all love Coufal. He has been brilliant for West Ham, a true warrior and a key cog in our progress over the last few years. But it is easy to see why the Hammers are so desperate to sign Wan-Bissaka. Kodua came on for the last nine minutes. He’s not a right-back but tried his best.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 5/10: The jury is still out on Mavropanos and it says a lot that West Ham want to add another centre-back this summer. But he did ok besides the awful collective defending for that goal in the first minute.
Max Kilman – 5/10: Like Mavropanos, Kilman was far from the worst player out there. Showed lots of good things but it’s clear to see why Wolves fans said he needs to play alongside a dominant centre-back. Beaten far too easily for Palace’s third goal. West Ham must find him that partner ASAP or their defensive issues will continue next season.
Aaron Cresswell – 4/10 (Luis Guilherme – 6/10): Cresswell is another great servant whose time in the first team is at an end. The big worry for Lopetegui will be if anything happens to Emerson.
Emerson Palmieri – 6.5/10 (George Earthy – 6/10): Emerson was one of West Ham’s better players and got up the pitch well. He was unfortunate not to score too. He is the least of Lopetegui’s worries ahead of the new season. Young George Earthy came on and looked to make things happen but it’s looking more and more like he could do with a loan move.
Freddie Potts – 6/10 (Nayef Aguerd – 3/10): Potts did a good job again and is showing he could be part of the first team squad this season. Aguerd’s weak, error-prone defending continued as he was at fault for the third goal and he has no future at West Ham as a starter. If the Hammers can find a taker, he must be shipped out if it means we sign a new centre-back.
James Ward-Prowse – 4/10: Offers nowhere near enough in open play and his set pieces were off too. There were rumours Ward-Prowse could be sold at the start of the window. Whether that happens remains to be seen but he won’t be starting next season on this evidence.
Tomas Soucek – 3/10 (Andy Irving – 6/10): Soucek has been amazing for this club. And he will always be a West Ham hero. But the system does not suit him at all on the evidence so far. He may have to accept his time as a first team starter is over. One thing you can be sure of with Soucek, he’ll be a consummate professional and always give his all if he does transition to a squad player. Irving came on in the last 10 minutes and showed some neat touches again.
Mohammed Kudus – 7.5/10: Comfortably the best player on the pitch once again. Big bright spot for West Ham and a mouthwatering prospect to imagine him in the same side as Bowen, Summerville, Paqueta and Fullkrug.
Michail Antonio – 7/10: Played well and looks revved up by the incoming competition. Let’s hope he maintains that attitude if he loses his place to Fullkrug. Took his goal well. Callum Marshall came on for him on 64 minutes but is another who needs a loan move.
