West Ham currently sit 14th in the Premier League after ten games played, winning just three times, drawing two, and losing five.
Julen Lopetegui’s men are currently averaging 44.9% possession this season (the fifth lowest in the division), whilst they are conceding 16.1 shots per game (fourth most in the league).
After a 3-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, Lopetegui could find himself in big trouble, with Everton coming up next, and another loss potentially taking them into the bottom five.
Why West Ham hired Lopetegui
The 58-year-old Spaniard took over from David Moyes, who managed to lead the Hammers to European success in the 2022/23 season, winning the UEFA Conference League and delivering European glory for the first time since 1965.
However, after West Ham finished ninth last season, conceding 74 goals, the board deemed it the right time to move on from Moyes and look to employ a new manager to take the project forward. But why did they go for Lopetegui?
In his final season at Sevilla (2021/22), Lopetegui’s side averaged 59.9% of the ball, the third-highest figure in the league behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. The season before (2020/21), the Spaniard’s side averaged 58.7% possession, the highest in La Liga.
Then, in his first and only Premier League term managing Wolves, Lopetegui’s men were averaging 50.1% possession per game, the eighth highest across the league. On the flip side, in 2022/23, West Ham averaged 41.4% possession which was awfully the 3rd lowest, and in the 2023/24 season, they had 40.5% of the ball, which was the fourth worst record.
So clearly, West Ham wanted to undergo a playstyle change, leaving behind their low possession numbers, which led to them conceding 74 goals by inviting pressure in 2023/24, and entering a new era of trying to get their best players on the ball, and control games.
This season, Lopetegui’s side has registered 44.9% possession, which is better than they have managed in the past two seasons. However, whilst this has improved, the results have not, instead they have got worse, with the Hammers now 14th in the top-flight.
Now, with pressure mounting after that 3-0 thrashing against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, Lopetegui’s job looks to be on the line, with the club already looking at alternatives in case they decide to pull the trigger.
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West Ham could hire former academy player
Speaking on talkSPORT, Jeff Stelling urged West Ham to look at the possibility of hiring Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard should Lopetegui get sacked.
“Is it time, if Lopetegui goes, for West Ham to bring Frank Lampard home? Just a thought. He is available. He’s been mentioned in connection with the Roma job, but West Ham would be ideal for him.”
Lampard, of course, made 179 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 33 goals, providing 17 assists, and totalling 14,703 minutes before making his move to Chelsea.
The 46-year-old is currently out of work, having already managed Derby County, Chelsea, and Everton in his short career as a head coach so far. Lampard tends to switch between a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1, and has even been praised by Anthony Gordon during his time at Everton, who labelled him a “tactical genius”.
His first job came at Derby from 2018-2019, taking charge of 57 games. Considering this was his first job in management, many regarded this as a successful spell for the Englishman, who averaged 1.63 points per match and guided Derby to the play-off finals, where they lost 2-1 to Aston Villa.
Off the back of his job at Derby, and the fact Chelsea had just been handed a transfer ban, Lampard took the job as the Chelsea head coach in 2019, providing them with a familiar face, getting the fan base on side early and bringing academy talents through, as he could not use the transfer market.
Appearances
53
37
47
22
Goals
8
2
18
2
Assists
5
3
5
1
Minutes Played
3,742
2,392
2,960
1,868
This included the likes of Mason Mount, Reece James, Tammy Abraham, and Fikayo Tomori, who all played big parts in Lampard’s first season at the club. In his spell between 2019-2021 as Chelsea manager, Lampard averaged 1.75 points per game, after taking charge of 84 fixtures.
Lampard later returned to Chelsea on an interim basis from April 2023 to June 2023, taking charge of 11 games, and averaging 0.45 points per match.
The other job he had between those two Chelsea stints, was the manager of Everton where he registered just 1one point per game during his 44 outings in the dugout. That said, he did achieve what he was bought in during the 2022/23 season to do, which was to survive the drop, and avoid relegation.
But who could the appointment of Lampard benefit most at West Ham? Many fans will be wondering how he would set things up, due to having three very different jobs, all of which he applied different tactics and ideas with, reflecting on the state of that club at the time.
West Ham players who would benefit from Lampard
The obvious choices for players that could benefit from the appointment of Lampard are the youngsters around the squad, who are very highly rated and could provide in-house solutions to problems that Lopetegui has already found this season.
One of those is Lewis Orford, the 18-year-old midfielder who has made 11 appearances for the U21 side this season.
In those 11 games, the Englishman has four assists, bringing ball security in deep areas of midfield, defensive stability in front of the defensive line, whilst also having the ability to attack the box and be involved going forwards, exactly the type of player Lampard would take a liking to.
Another youngster who is catching the eye, and could therefore be an option for Lampard to freshen things up should he get the job is 19-year-old left-winger, Sean Moore. Like Orford, Moore has been playing for the U21 side this season, making ten appearances, and scoring three goals.
Moore has been dubbed the next Bowen, and Lampard could integrate both of these youngsters immediately if given the job, in an attempt to win over the fans and freshen things up.
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