Under Julen Lopetegui, West Ham have seen a real downturn in player discipline. Whether this is purely coincidence or not doesn’t matter, it’s on the manager to resolve this.
However, there are some players that always have that hot streak and Edson Alvarez is certainly one of them.
While his passion is often seen as a good thing, it leads him to make foolish decisions which see him get a red card, as he’s done twice this season already. His most recent one, against Brentford, is even more baffling than the one against Liverpool.
Alvarez has since apologised via Instagram, stating: “Tough day for me. I apologize to my teammates and fans. Falling, Learning and getting up.”
It’s hard to read this and not get the impression that the midfielder is feeling a bit sorry for himself. In reality, he’s a highly experienced player who knows better than to make these poor decisions.
Ultimately he has to stop this rashness, but it’s also on Lopetegui to work with him on that. On his day. Alvarez is an unbelievable player, but those days seem to be few and far between lately.
Jamie O’Hara lays into ‘Absolute joke’ Julen Lopetegui at West Ham United
Julen Lopetegui is “miles off it” at West Ham after their 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Jamie O’Hara has said.
Speaking on talkSPORT with Jason Cundy (2 November, 5:56pm), O’Hara lambasted Lopetegui’s style of football and run of results since taking charge after the defeat at the City Ground.
The Irons, who went into half-time trailing 1-0 and down to 10 men following Edson Alvarez’s second yellow card in stoppage time, are fourteenth in the Premier League table.
Discussing Lopetegui with a talkSPORT caller, O’Hara said; “The manager – you’re absolutely miles off it, he’s an absolute joke.”
West Ham learning grass isn’t greener under Julen Lopetegui
The instillation of a new era at the London Stadium was meant to start much more smoothly than this, with Lopetegui and a whole host of big-money signings all arriving at the club this summer.
While blooding effectively a brand-new team was always guaranteed to take some time, a clear lack of a style of play is continuing to hinder Lopetegui’s efforts to finally kick-start the Irons’ ailing season.
A fifth league defeat of the campaign, and certainly not the first which has come emphatically, leaves the Spaniard running out of road when it comes to appeasing an expectant fanbase.
The hiring of Lopetegui – and proceeding to give him well over £100million to spend in the transfer window – was pitched as a step up from David Moyes and the key to qualifying for European football.
So far though, the 28-year-old’s tenure has had far, far more downs than ups, and being comfortably dispatched by a recently-promoted team should set alarm bells ringing for the Hammers hierarchy.
In other West Ham news, Roshane Thomas has revealed why Crysencio Summerville decided to join the Hammers this summer
