For Julen Lopetegui to suggest that whole loss at Spurs was about a mad eight minutes when West Ham United lost focus and conceded three times suggests all was well in the first half. It wasn’t. Mohammed Kudus‘ goal may have given the Hammers a lead but remember, Spurs laid siege to West Ham’s goal with no less than 12 corners in the first half. That is the second highest ever recorded in the Premier League so if the head coach thinks we did ok, he needs a reality check by watching that half again.
He told the club web site whufc.com:“I think it was a match where we started well and did good things. We were able to score and to have other clear chances, so it was a pity that we suffered their goal before half time, but this can happen.”
“After the second goal, we had a lot of time to be competitive and to draw or even win the match, and I think the worst thing today was the eight minutes when we were not competitive.”
It wasn’t solely about eight minutes. It was about Paquetá losing the ball and being porous throughout the first half. Lopetegui compounded a bad selection decision by sending him out again for the second half. Antonio was blown by half time and Spurs just played around him in the second half. Kudus’ head wasn’t right from the start. Certainly for the second half he was ambling around. Our midfield was woefully immobile and uncompetitive as soon as Spurs’ switched tactics.
Wan-Bissaka remaining in a forward position whilst Spurs scored again and again. Wrong decision, should have been pulled back for the second half. Better a dull 30 minutes in the second half with no goals conceded.
So to suggest it was all about a mad eight minutes is naive. Actually the defence wasn’t the issue. Strolling through a non-functioning midfield again and again as we over committed seemed more the case. And by the way, Julen, if you can stop your goalkeeper turning over possession every time he clears, the burden on the defence will be that much less.
Lopetegui needs to get honest with himself. There were some awful selection issues. Some bad substitution issues. And some strategic blunders. So, go put those right in the next five days and then worry about “changing the mentality”.
Otherwise what is at present a drama will start to look like a looming crisis.
