“The Paella Moyes” | Lopetegui Just Needs to Take the Handbrake Off

Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui’s comments about who scores the second goal in a football match are quite revealing of his football philosophy. The Spaniard was referring to West Ham being 1-0 down against Fulham and remarked how pleased he was that the team closed ranks and didn’t concede another goal.

His reasoning was that this allowed West Ham to stay in the game, score a late goal, and come away with a valuable away point. Lopetegui’s logic is sound, and it’s clear that West Ham has become more resilient in defence.

However, the real truth is that the Hammers didn’t just retreat into their shell after conceding the first goal at Craven Cottage. The team started on the back foot. In many respects, West Ham made the familiar decision to invite pressure upon themselves with a starting line-up featuring two holding midfielders and no playmaker.

During the first half, the normally rampaging Aaron Wan-Bissaka rarely crossed the halfway line and played with the handbrake on. The Irons hardly threatened the home team’s goal in the first half. Although we’re only five games into Lopetegui’s reign, this is becoming a bit of a theme.

I won’t pretend to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Spaniard’s career before he joined West Ham, so I relied on information from others. The general consensus on Lopetegui seems to be that, while he is a pragmatic manager, Hammers fans could look forward to rampaging full-backs and more possession of the football.