West Ham United fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea yesterday in the Premier League in what was a diabolical performance from the home team at the London Stadium.
The defeat means the Hammers have lost their first three home games of a season for the first time in the club’s 129-year existence.
In our opinion, West Ham need to cut ties with manager Julen Lopetegui after the horrendous start to the season. It might look early, but it is abundantly clear he is not the right fit.
Chelsea took the lead in the third minute, with the entire West Ham backline falling asleep as Nicolas Jackson crashed in on goal and slotted the ball between Alphonse Areola’s legs. Schoolboy defending doesn’t do justice to the lacklustre effort they put into preventing the goal.
The Irons did not heed the wake-up call, and soon enough, Chelsea undressed the rearguard again with excellent rotations before Jackson netted his brace.
The space behind Aaron Wan-Bissaka was disastrous, and the gaps between the West Ham players and their teammates were atrocious.
This sort of poor spacing is not on the players. The blame lies with a manager battling and failing to imprint his ideas on the players at his disposal.
Lopetegui’s start to life at the London Stadium has been miserable, and there are no signs of it getting better. The Hammers need to cut their losses with the Spaniard early enough.
Lopetegui never struck a chord with the West Ham faithful from the first day his name was mentioned as an option. Many felt he was an underwhelming choice, and the football the Hammers play justifies those worries.
The 58-year-old has managed Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, and it would be a reach to say he is out of his depth, but he is not the right fit for this club.
It is hard to place whether West Ham are an attacking or defensive outfit. The team seems to be caught in two minds about their identity, and Chelsea took advantage of that uncertainty.
The individual quality at Lopetegui’s disposal today merited a better collective showing. Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta, Niclas Fullkrug, Crysencio Summerville, and Jarrod Bowen all have the individual qualities to put up a fight against Chelsea, but poor coaching meant they couldn’t.
For all the talk of playing more attacking football, West Ham did not create a big chance against Chelsea despite boasting several exciting attackers.
Defensively, they were abysmal, giving up five big opportunities. The heavily reinforced backline should be stronger and tighter, but the same porousness that plagued them last season was evident for all to witness.
This team is disjointed. The manager has not shown he can plug those cracks. The top brass cannot afford to let Lopetegui waste this season, especially with the talent in the squad. Chairman David Sullivan and the directors must move decisively to halt this free fall.
The pressure on Lopetegui is mounting. His inability to instil a sense of identity or cohesion in the team is a concern. West Ham’s performances have been woefully inadequate. A change in managerial leadership may be the only way to salvage the season and prevent further damage to the club’s reputation.