That looked like eleven players working together in pre-season, forming a team for the first time. It did NOT look like a West Ham team fighting for their coach’s future after a dire start to the season. It most certainly did not look like a team with eleven Premier League and two cup games under their belt, nearly 30% through the season.
I am at a loss to understand what they ‘work so hard on’ in training. There is so little understanding of each other, such paucity of ideas. The reason so many of us wanted to end David Moyes’ regime was that the entertainment factor was zero per cent. Today, I think before 75 minutes we reached about 5/100.
Sixty thousand people spend hundreds each week struggling to this white elephant stadium, being corralled into ‘walking traffic light’ queues and duly lining up, mostly peacefully, to wait for further huge queues at turnstiles and then have further insult heaped upon them with the most expensive tea, hot dogs, snacks wine and beer in the Premier League. Some of the worst seating views, furthest from the pitch that can ever experienced at a UK football match.
After all this, is it too much to expect a bit of entertainment?
That is why West Ham fans are so fed up. Hundreds of millions spent doesn’t guarantee success of course but it demands a commitment to entertain. Lopetegui is so far behind the curve in that respect that his expensively- assembled squad looks as if they’ve just been introduced to each other this morning.
I’d love to dream for a moment that I wake up tomorrow to news on my phone that Lopetegui has been sacked and anyone else has been installed- Potter, Mourinho, Sarri – anyone but Frank Lampard to be honest, because it would show a desire to do better by our club. Not to accept that rank mediocrity that was on offer today.
Even my son, at the game and the most positive, upbeat Hammer ever since he could stand up on two legs, was forced to admit with true English understatement that ‘it wasn’t the best’ on show. If you watch the highlights I bet they’ll be over inside three minutes.
And the point we ‘rescued’ will be classed by the Board, somehow, as a ‘win’ so that Lopetegui gets another three months.
On the positive side, Crysencio Summerville got a full 90 minutes without being ‘hooked’ and almost won it with his shot that cannoned back off the post. We have our first clean sheet in FIFTEEN games. Todibo and Kilman grow in confidence together. Hooray.
Ironic really, a totally forgettable performance on ‘Remembrance Day’ in the Premier League.
I am notorious for my ‘instant verdicts’ that are too fuelled by emotions so – wait until the morning if you want rational discussion. This comes straight from the heart.
Sorry, Lopetegui, not good enough. At all.
