Julen Lopetegui claims his instructions may be getting lost in translation.
There is a big difference between the appointments of Julen LOPETEGUI at west ham and Ange Postecoglou at Spurs.
When it emerged Lopetegui was the man the Hammers were going to pick to succeed David Moyes, fans were seriously underwhelmed.
Whereas the vast majority of Tottenham Hotspur fans were excited by the arrival of Postecoglou.
No compensation was required for West Ham to appoint Lopetegui as he’d been out of work for a year.
West Ham were linked with sexier names in the summer.
Supporters were genuinely excited when the club met with Ruben Amorim.
Lopetegui slammed for what he did on final whistle at Spurs
Paulo Fonseca was another in the mix while last week West Ham confirmed talks were held with Thomas Tuchel.
West Ham were also linked with Marco Silva but baulked at his £13m compensation.
Many supporters now feel West Ham have got what they paid for with Lopetegui.
The fact he was not a manager who excited fans means patience is already running out among some.
That is the price on the ticket when your West Ham team loses 4-1 at bitter rivals Spurs.
Postecoglou made Lopetegui look amateurish in the second half as his Tottenham team breezed past the Hammers.
The Spaniard has been heavily criticised for his tactics, team selections and approach so far in east London.
Now Lopetegui has been slammed for what he did on the final whistle of the shambolic West Ham defeat to Spurs but it makes no sense.
Outrage over Lopetegui walk-off makes no sense
As usual West Ham packed out the away end.
But it was empty with 15 minutes still to play and not for the first time this season.
There have already been mass walkouts during defeats against Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Hardly what owners want to see when they’ve just appointed a new manager and spent £155m on nine players.
One criticism of Lopetegui at Spurs is very harsh, though.
Many West Ham fans have voiced anger at the fact Lopetegui went straight down the tunnel at the end of the defeat to Tottenham.
Supporters have been using that as a stick with which to beat their head coach.
But in defence of the 57-year-old what else was he meant to do?
Was Hammers boss really meant to applaud 3,000 empty seats?
Usually players and the manager will go over to the away end and applaud supporters.
So it makes a good headline that Lopetegui ‘went straight down the tunnel’.
However, there were no fans left in the away end at Tottenham for Lopetegui to applaud.
There may have been a handful at best. And yes perhaps he could and should have gone over to them to show his appreciation.
Lopetegui would have been furious with his players judging by the fact he laid the blame squarely at their feet afterwards.
And he would have seen long before the final whistle that the West Ham section had emptied.
Criticise him for his tactics, his team selection, his game management and substitutions or the way he is dealing with certain players like Mohammed Kudus.
But let’s not start a witch hunt over petty things like his failure to applaud 3,000 empty seats.
West Ham fans are better than that.
West Ham’s 4-1 loss to bitter rivals Tottenham has undoubtedly put at least a bit of pressure on Julen Lopetegui. While the fixtures haven’t been kind to him, there’s no denying that the level of performances are extremely concerning.
“It’s one thing that we can improve. Despite the fact we are playing maybe one of the best teams in the Premier League in the attacking phase, I think that we can do better in the defensive phase. We have to do better.”
“Maybe I have to improve, too, my translation with my players, for sure.”
It’s unclear whether he means the language barrier or whether he believes he isn’t explaining himself well enough to his players. If it’s the former, then surely it’s as simple as hiring a translator, but if it’s the latter that’s much more concerning. One of the most important skills a manager can have in general, let alone a football manager, is communication. If you’re not able to get across what you need from your players then you simply can’t be a top coach.
Either way, things need to change and fast or otherwise the club’s big Summer spend could be pointless.
