Sometimes, you have to tell it how it is. West Ham’s press conferences have been a lesson in obfuscation. Julen Lopetegui has become the master of mist, the demon of dull and the speaker of sweet FA. Often we have been left scratching our head wondering what to write after Lopetegui has stumbled through a session.
Of course, his English isn’t brilliant which is not his fault but his desire to give nothing away often allows nothing whatsoever to come out of the familiar ‘question and answer’ sessions.
Normally the honesty comes from Jarrod Bowen, who wears the armband at the club and is never shy of being frank in his assessment. However Bowen now faces a lengthy layoff now with a foot fracture.
West Ham now urgently need a stand-in leader to step up.
In this instance, the brutal honesty – along with pretty clear criticism of his head coach – comes from Max Kilman. Speaking to the club web site whufc.com , Kilman made it very clear what he thought of Lopetegui’s strategy:
“Of course, it’s Liverpool, but we’re also a top side, and we’re playing at home, so we needed to show more of ourselves to them and perform better than that. We had to be on the front foot against them, had to dominate more and be more aggressive.“
Ever-present and stand in for Jarrod Bowen? Max Kilman
Little room for interpretation there. West Ham were second best in every department, routed 5-0 and left skulking away from a virtually empty London Stadium.
Clearly Max Kilman feels the pain and believes standing-off, combined with the ultra defensive set up starting with just two forwards was the wrong call.
Quite how this will sit with his boss in an already divided dressing room is not clear: West Ham urgently need a stand-in skipper on the pitch for Bowen.
Whether Kilman’s honesty has boosted his chances of wearing the armband or distanced him from his head coach will come clear in the next couple of days.
