If West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui isn’t under pressure after that Halloween horror show against Nottingham Forest, he should be.
The Hammers looked like a team of strangers playing in a completely unfamiliar formation, raising questions about whether the Spaniard’s tactics have improved since the start of the season.
West Ham appears to be shifting from one tactical setup to another with no clear identity or playing style. There’s a recurring need to rescue games with half-time switches, and a lack of discipline seems to permeate the entire squad.
Before West Ham’s 3-0 humbling at the hands of Nottingham Forest, Lopetegui praised his opposite number Nuno Espírito Santo’s clear and concise tactics as the foundation for their lofty Premier League position. His comments seemed to indicate an appreciation for straightforward instruction, so one has to wonder why he opted for yet another formation with a line-up of players who had never played together before.
The real cherry on top, however, was deploying the front three—Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, and Crysencio Summerville—in unfamiliar positions, squandering any potential advantage from having a more stable defence behind them.
Lopetegui is very fortunate that his first-half tactics against Manchester United didn’t lead to a loss. Without that VAR-assisted win sandwiched between humiliating defeats to Tottenham and Forest, he’d be leading the Premier League sack race.
