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Hammering Away Ep #39 - What Does The Future Hold?
40 Plays7 months ago
On today's episode of the podcast, Jack and Joe discuss West Ham's 1-1 draw vs Bournemouth, the future of Julen Lopetegui, what Niclas Füllkrug can bring to the team, and more!
Music by: LADI OGUN & @ANTlll
Blog: Hammering-Away.blog
Twitter/X: @Hammering_Away
Instagram/Threads: @HammeringAway_
Tiktok: @hammering.away
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Transcript
Podcast Returns with Updates
00:00:18
Speaker
Welcome back to the hammering away podcast for the first time in a long time. We're back. Uh, as always, I'm your host, Jack joined by Joe. And not only are we going to have a lot to talk about cause we've been gone for a while, but there's a lot going on with West Ham right now. I mean, between a little bit techies, job security, these kudos links away. Um, and just the general hysteria that always surrounds us. Um,
00:00:46
Speaker
It's going to be a packed episode. I'm excited to be back.
Lopategui's Future as Coach
00:00:49
Speaker
Uh, first things first, what do you do with Julian Lopategi? Man, to think that this is our first episode since he coached a single game at West Ham and now. No, no, we did an episode after the Man City game. Oh, did we? We were riding high.
00:01:12
Speaker
Well, yeah, i we should, it's probably better off we don't acknowledge that happened. um So yeah, it's crazy. This is, I guess, our second episode since Will Petegui took over. Now we're talking about whether or not we should move forward with him.
Team's Struggles and Setup Issues
00:01:32
Speaker
um Listen, it's just like, it feels like,
00:01:39
Speaker
the team is just like working against him right now in terms of like, like these players like individually are like putting in fine performances for the most part individually. And they, as the season has grown on, they have been getting increasingly confident with the ball, like individuals are shining more. And then it's like every week we're getting undone.
00:02:06
Speaker
so easily and giving me up so many chances. And to no one's individual fault, it's just the way we've been set up is just so porous. It doesn't feel and because of the lack of adjustments that has been made by Lopategi to shore up the center of our of our you know formation. Just put shortly, I don't I don't see any future with this guy. So I think the best thing to do is just cut ties. So yeah, you said something, which kind of encapsulates my concerns with him. And it's about the individual performances more so in possession than out of possession, because I do think
00:02:54
Speaker
that even individuals out of possession are concerning. But I think a lot of that comes down to a lack of legs and athleticism in midfield, which has always been an issue for us. And now that we have decided to play in a different way and open ourselves up more, these midfielders have to cover more ground and they're just not built to do that.
00:03:15
Speaker
and the midfielder that they signed, Guido Rodriguez, is also not built to cover large areas of space. So that's concern number one.
Players Unsuitable for Current Tactics
00:03:24
Speaker
ah The other huge concern, which is actually probably concern number one, is how we defend and transition, which I think is partially down to Lopategi. Well, it is down Lopategi because it's a double-edged sword, right? We're set up so open and the full backs are so high and we're so,
00:03:42
Speaker
quote, unquote, expansive. I don't know how expensive we actually are, but we open ourselves up and transition so much. And then we have a group of players outside of the two center backs, Max Kellman and Giancarlo Thibaut, and Mavropanos does it pretty well to an extent. They just aren't built to defend in space. I mean, Juan Bassaca can, but he's already so far up the pitch and he's never been
00:04:09
Speaker
He's a good transitional defender when his starting place is right. If that makes sense. When he's too far up the pitch, he doesn't catch attacks. yeah He can defend in space when he's with the counter attack, but when he's already pat, like he doesn't chase down attacks the way say a deck on rice would not to compare him to the deck. Nobody does it like him, but.
00:04:31
Speaker
That's the big concern for me, is that even as we've improved in possession from the Leicester game than now, and I do think out of possession to an extent we've improved since Leicester, just because I feel like we just have shorted up a little bit, Bournemouth in particular, we seem to really not take too many chances with our press as we used to. I think the smaller pitch might have helped us there too.
00:04:56
Speaker
um But yeah, it's in transition. We were hopeless. If like, if we give the ball away for all of our positive steps that we've taken in possession, which to an extent is reaching like there have been improvements in possession.
Managerial Support and Player Dynamics
00:05:15
Speaker
We look a lot more comfortable with the ball, but we're still not creating enough.
00:05:20
Speaker
to even pretend that this out of possession transition transitional periods in particular isn't a massive issue. And if we can't shore that up over the next month, he he just has to go. um I would have said after Lester that he lost the changing room.
00:05:41
Speaker
But I do think that over the last two games, Wolves and Bournemouth, that the players have shown a desire to make this work. I mean, Peketa running over to him is a prime example of him having a team. I think that we have worked harder over the last two games with his job in serious, serious danger. But overall, like, these chances on the counter attack are still there. I mean, even against Wolves, like, a better team would have made us pay on multiple occasions on the break.
00:06:10
Speaker
Absolutely. And yeah, I think this is absolutely to the team's credit, the fact that he hasn't not lost the dressing room yet, because he's certainly not helping himself in that regard. um And that's shown in the flare ups between Kudu and most recently to Devo. And the legend ones with Rodriguez, Falkrug, and Ariel. Alvarez. And Alvarez, right?
00:06:37
Speaker
I wouldn't be surprised. I think Alvarez is just a little bit of a ah tough personality, we'll call it. Because he also had the issues with Moyes at the end of last year. True. And there's all these rumors flying around from people that at least we trust about that. He doesn't really treat people around the club well and all that stuff. um I don't think it'd be right to go too far into that. But yeah,
00:07:02
Speaker
yeah but yeah despite the fact that You know, these, these players are being given an impossible job to do.
Team Spirit and Upcoming Matches
00:07:12
Speaker
And they do it every single week to very frustrating results. They have gone out there since the lesser result and like play their asses off like fully. And like they're giving a little bit taking my opinion a lot more than he deserves.
00:07:31
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, but that's that's the group that we put together under Moise and not to make it a Moise thing because it's not, it's about these players and these characters that we brought in. But these are not quitters. And we've seen over the years under Pellegrini and under Village, there are a lot of quitters, not just in this sport, in all sports, you can find guys that quit on their teams. I mean, in the NFL, didn't somebody walk off the field this week? Yeah, in the middle of the game.
00:07:57
Speaker
Which is insane. yeah Yeah, not playing anymore. But yeah, and this is a group of players that is not only high character um for the most part, but is also high quality. And I think to be sitting in 14th with the results that we've had,
00:08:18
Speaker
is unacceptable. Obviously, his job isn't in as much danger as it was before Wolves in Bournemouth. But I think that there needs to be an expectation that he can't lose either game against Brighton and Southampton. Four points and good performances is the minimum for me. Absolutely. So you can consider him for the rest of the season. Yeah. To get out of this situation, I guess this is more of a question than a statement that I have.
00:08:47
Speaker
to get out of this perpetual hot seat that he's in, what what is it going to take? Because I feel like right now, when you put this ultimate amount of manager, that you have to win these X amount of games, you get an X amount of points from the next two or three games, it's like you're just delaying the inevitable. So what would it take for you to say, like, what would the team have to look like to say, okay, Julian, like you've proved it. Like here's the rest of the season. Well, I don't know if there'd be anything that he could do in the next month for me to say, here's the next, the rest of the season. Cause obviously it can just all go to shit again. But what I would have to see to be encouraged that he can actually see out the season and have it not be painful and possibly even even a relegation scrap.
Management Decisions and Missed Opportunities
00:09:38
Speaker
is he we have to put in two performances against Brighton and Southampton. Really, we have to win both games. right I mean, Brighton are a good side, but at home with a new manager to the Premier League who's you know taken to it, like a duck to water and all that, but they're not some unbeatable side and then Southampton are the worst Premier League side we've seen in a long time. Not only would we need those six points,
00:10:05
Speaker
I honestly think for me to be like, okay, this is turning around.
00:10:12
Speaker
And this is a harsh thing that that he's going to need. If not a result in one of the Liverpool and man city games, he's going to need two very serious performances. We were tough to play against and we were tough to beat. Like I don't want to turn up there and concede nine goals and five days or whatever and not score.
00:10:35
Speaker
Yeah, like that's like even if we won both games that you can't now, okay, they're arguably the two best teams in the country as bad as City have been playing, right? It's still not acceptable to just get brushed aside like it's nothing. and Right. We need to get out of this mindset as a club um that like conceding four or five goals is just like a normal occurrence. We did. no matter We did get out of it. And we just have accepted it again for god knows what reason especially with this group of players it's insane to me it really is insane this there's too much money in this club to be like uh actually like this bournemouth this bournemouth fixture this is not a muscle-in like this is like it's unrealistic to expect us to beat bournemouth
00:11:25
Speaker
And it's what upsets me about stuff like that with the whole Lopategi thing too is, okay, like you want to stick by your manager or honor the contract, blah, blah, blah, fine. Fair enough. But by not sacking him after Lester, if we continue to play the way that we have, and honestly, if we don't beat both Brighton and Southampton, it'll feel confirmed to me.
00:11:50
Speaker
that we've just punted this season. yeah Like as an overall group of players, this is arguably, if not definitely, the it's arguably the best group of players we've ever had. And I would say it's definitely the group of players, like we have the most pedigree in the squad that we've ever had, top to bottom. Like these guys have all played, a lot of them have played Champions League football. A lot of them have won big titles. I mean, there's a German international, like Germany is number nine. I know that Havert starts, but like full crew goes huge for them at the Euros. Mohammad Kudus is one of the best African players in the world. the so
00:12:31
Speaker
Jared Bowen is an England international. Lucas Paquetta is a fixture in Brazil's 11, as terrible as he's been. And as much as Paquetta more than a lot of other players, it's probably down to him. i would It would be harsh to be like, this is 100% on Paquetta when you watch what Lopategi is onto other players. And then beyond that, Jean-Claire D'Ivo was one of the most sought after center backs in Europe this summer.
00:12:56
Speaker
um Aaron Wabasaka, that writes itself, that's an Alvarez as Mexico's captain. Like there's too much pedigree in this squad to just be okay. Scraping results here and there and then hovering around 12th all year and then just pumping the season. I think that's crazy. I think that not sacking him after Lester was a huge mistake. I think that you have to sack him right then and there.
00:13:21
Speaker
and you have to go get the manager that you want. Like I understand it's extremely difficult, the higher management season, extremely difficult, but the short-term solution nonsense, it really irks me.
00:13:41
Speaker
Um, I would have been happy to take Potter on a six month deal. I still would be. Um, I don't think he's the best manager in the world. There are obvious flaws to grand Potter, but there are also reasons why he was so sought after when he left Brighton. yeahp Right. So if you're going to do a short term prove it type of contract, he's a manager. I'd be okay with doing that with, cause I think it also keeps us in the mindset of playing better football and all that kind of stuff. And I do think.
00:14:08
Speaker
He would coach us, but then again, all of his teams have been really soft through the middle too. Um, but just going back to the beginning of the point, Aston Villa sacked Steven Gerrard and they said, okay, we're going to find our guy and we're going to pay whatever it takes to get our guy. And that's what they did. They went to Villa, Villa Real.
00:14:33
Speaker
He wasn't at Villaria. Was he at No, he was at Villaria. And they paid the fee for Unai Emery, right? um There was another example I had in my brain that I'm forgetting, but then again, Chelsea did that with Grand Potter. Not that Chelsea are a club that you should be looking to emulate, but I mean, they figured it out now. They did it a couple more times after that. Yeah. But my overall point is like.
00:14:59
Speaker
the scouring, the free market for managers and always trying to like save a few quid here on a manager or you know taking shortcuts with managers is something that we've always done. And it's something that has always come back to haunt us. Besides what Moyes, we got lucky once. We didn't make a good hire. We got lucky is what happened.
00:15:20
Speaker
Both times we got lucky. Yeah. And even when we hired Pellegrini, like we're linked with Paulo Fonseca, no matter what you think of him, like would that have been a more inspiring hire than Pellegrini? Probably, but they were, you know, wanted to prove it to the fans. Oh, we're trying. So we're going to make Manuel Pellegrini who won the legal man city, who everybody knows his name. We're going to make him the third highest paid manager in the league instead of actually doing their homework.
00:15:47
Speaker
and finding the right guy to take that role. And this is the other thing. David Moyes, no matter what you think about him, took so many bullets for David Sullivan and the rest of the board, stood in front of the hellfire that would come at him when we were playing bad, and really shielded Sullivan from a lot of blame that he could have and should have gotten And last January is a perfect example. How we didn't buy a winger is beyond me. We're closing in on Osman. Sullivan gets cold feet. um And he did that again recently with a manager. He did that with Amorim, allegedly. yeah He got cold feet. Not that Amorim would have joined us, but it will always, always, always go back to David Sullivan with this club.
00:16:32
Speaker
for whoever is in charge, however bad the manager is, whoever the players are, whoever the technical director is now, the circus starts and ends with David Sullivan. Yeah. And it's it's really like something that you lose sight of a lot when Moiz was here, because he really did take all those bullets and those bullets ended up killing him. But Yeah, it's it's ah it's a problem. It's it's the reason why Lopategi was probably here in the first place. Yeah, because he was suggested to solve him through an agent. Exactly. Stop doing that. against the like You have a technical director, he's there for a reason. he was That decision was maybe made with his like advice and consent, but it wasn't his pick.
00:17:24
Speaker
Definitely wasn't his first pick. Certainly was not his first pick. He may have approved it, but it's not his pick. And he's another and not not that he's blameless either, but people will disagree with this. For the most part, we spent fine. People have turned on to Deebo and whatever, because, you know, he had his little thing with Obitagi and he's made like a few weird mistakes here and there.
Impact of Technical Directors and Signings
00:17:46
Speaker
But for the most part, he's been very solid and we've looked a much better team when he's in there because him and Kilman gives us two elite space defenders that cover up a lot of these issues that we have.
00:18:00
Speaker
and leaving space and leaving ourselves open to countertacks and transitional attacks and it's never perfect because of how open we leave ourselves he's been uturist there ummbasaka He's been awesome. The only people who don't think Juan Bassaca has been good are the people who just seem to ignore that Will Patecki is asking him to do a job that he's A, not suited to, and B, just leaves full backs out of position. His positioning isn't particularly bad. He's not, and I'll be honest about him, he's never had the greatest positional awareness. He's an issue in the air in defending the back post.
00:18:36
Speaker
But the role both fullbacks are playing leave us exposed. Yeah. Everybody was crying for Somerville. We got him. And you know he's only 22. There's some who really over um inflate what he's done for us so far. He's been fine. He's had some bad games. He's had some good games. He's 22. He's a really good player. Full crew got hurt. That's a shame. Rodriguez is a miss.
00:19:06
Speaker
And then who else do we sign? Rodriguez was recommended by Lopategi. Yeah, but also Kilman recommended by Lopategi, and he's a homerun. Yes, he's a grand slam. But um though I'd say the the greatest criticism you could levy against Tim Steiden, knowing that you know this is most likely his man not his manager, um is that you know we didn't bring in that physical presence in the midfield that that we're so desperately crying out for right now.
00:19:35
Speaker
and To that, you can also say, well, there was those rumors that we had Yusuf Fufana lined up and Lopategi... He's rejecting us anyways. Right. But Lopategi, like, superseded Tim Sidon's recommendation, which is just enough to show that he couldn't even... He didn't even have the luxury to pivot to his own alternative to Fufana.
00:20:05
Speaker
I mean, ah the only reason I would disagree with that a little bit is that over the summer, everything that we were fed was that they're working together, they're happy to work together, blah, blah, blah. Maybe that wasn't true, but when it was moist, the noise was never that they're happy to work together, right? That's A. And B, I think that Tim Stuyten as the technical director,
00:20:29
Speaker
His job is to sign players, no matter whose recommendation it is, whether Sullivan wanted Somerville, whether a little bit teggy wanted Kilman or Rodriguez, it doesn't matter. The onus of signing these players falls on him first. Yep. I agree with that. He's the be all end all in that room.
00:20:46
Speaker
And thats that's the power he was given this summer. I don't think that he was like, no, I don't think Rodriguez is the right fit. Maybe Lopategi pushed really hard and forced his hand a little bit. Maybe he wanted Fofana and he said, if we don't get Fofana, then sure, we can sign Rodriguez. You know, there are a million different ways that this could have gone down. None of us were in the room. right But at the end of the day,
00:21:09
Speaker
This is his job and it falls on him. Kelman's a home run. That's as much, as many points for Staiten as it is for Lopategi in my book. Rodriguez is a mess or isn't working in a system that also falls on his shoulders, on Staiten's shoulders for me. But I also think that he can be a little bit of a destabilizing figure in the club. But I also think that we are in a very stable club in the first place because of David Sullivan.
00:21:38
Speaker
And again, we don't know what's happening in these rooms.
Challenges in Team Performance and Tactics
00:21:43
Speaker
Stuyten definitely has an ego. He's definitely, you know, a little bit of a narcissist and he's putting himself in front of the cameras and stuff. And I can see how that would hurt people at the club. But I'm also 99% sure that Sullivan is not, you know,
00:22:03
Speaker
maybe allowing him to do what he feels he should be allowed to do as a technical director. And he's worked in this role at other clubs before. So you would imagine that he knows what a technical director should be allowed to do. And he's been allegedly pushing for a little bit. I get to go for weeks.
00:22:23
Speaker
There was that one report that said that he wanted him out in like the second week he got there. Preseason, yeah. That's gotta be nonsense, but... Yeah, that's ridiculous. I would imagine he wanted him gone after Forrest, which they would have been right to sack him then too. um Yeah, that that that take has only aged very well. But maybe zoning in on the Bournemouth game a little bit.
00:22:52
Speaker
I thought the first half we played with the ball really well. I thought we were okay out of possession, but we still probably gave up more than we would want to. um But obviously it can't be perfect. They're also a good side, especially at home. ah But the issue is that even when we have these stretches of playing well with the ball, we're not creating enough for my liking.
00:23:17
Speaker
The Sioux check chance is a huge chance. Obviously the players like Bowen and Kudus, when Bowen hits the bar, that's a good chance, but it's still made himself. And again, it's on the counter, which we don't do anymore. And you can see it, especially in Kudus when he breaks. And I think part of it also comes down to him playing the left wing, that he slows the game down more than he would last year. And I think that we aren't looking to hit on the counter unless it's very, very advantageous to us.
00:23:47
Speaker
And I think that that's wrong. I think that when you have two players like Muhammad kudos and Jared bone, we're two of the best counterattacking players that this league has to offer. We should be looking to use that to our advantage at all times. And I don't think that we try to do it nearly enough. Um, and besides those two chances in the first half, you can correct me if I'm wrong. There's not another that comes to mind or another big, big chance that comes to mind until full crew is header in the second half.
00:24:15
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right. So that's an issue for me, that even when we are able to move the ball well and, you know, play through the press and get it up to pitch and really feel like we're on top and in control of the game, that we still can't find those moments to give us a chance to take advantage of that control. It's just, it's, you know, it's just hard when you like in those tight spaces when you're like dominating possession and you're like in there third you really got a team pull like pinned back that's that's when like scoring is at its hardest you know like there like the the team you're playing is at their most compact and that's when you need guys like kudos who are able to like break through and operate in tight spaces to create chances
00:25:09
Speaker
the issue is that he can't be at his maximum strength when he's on the left. And, you know, he like breaks through those lines with his dribbling. And then he like, has nothing to he, he like he is on the left. Yeah. It's not that he sucks all of a sudden. It's that he's not being played in a way that suits him or gets the best out of him, which is a theme throughout the squad. Throughout the squad. And to take Kudos' credit, he's done a lot better on the left wing than he was in the beginning of the season. I think yesterday, I mean, on Monday, he had what, like two, three chances, like that really should have ended in goals. Um, whether it be in Bowens and then Sue checks, uh, he had a looping crosses, Sue check on the other, on the other post.
00:26:03
Speaker
Uh, I'm sure there was a third that I can't put to mind right now, but yeah, he's been totally fine since the Brentford game. Yeah. He's been like, he's, he's, he's making the most of this, but in order to, like, if we're going to be this conservative in terms of like not taking any risks with the ball, um, and to in terms of like, you know, creating that incisive pass, a lot of, uh, a lot of like, you know,
00:26:32
Speaker
lateral passes to make the full backs and out to the wing to the touch line.
Positioning and Utilization of Key Players
00:26:37
Speaker
Like in order for this to work, like kudos needs to be playing right wing. I don't.
00:26:44
Speaker
I don't care how it happens. You're playing as a 10 because the other guy, Paquetta, is somebody who you probably would hope that against a deep block, because whereas Bone and Kudus are really good players and they can be fine against a deep block, where they excel is in space, right? right Kudus especially running at defenders in space and having space to run into. You can't do that as much against a set defense.
00:27:08
Speaker
So Paquetta is somebody that you would hope can play that incisive pass that now opens up everything for everybody else. But when he's playing like this, this poorly and Solaire has obviously been pretty good, but he's doesn't take the amount of risks on the ball that Paquetta does, which is probably a good thing because we can't have plays like the ball is a bomb. Like.
00:27:32
Speaker
If Piketa is not opening the game up for your other attacking players with his passing, now we're just passing it back and forth aimlessly, it feels like. And then we're reliant so heavily on our full-backs for chance creation the same way Lopategi was at Sevilla.
00:27:48
Speaker
when these two fullbacks, as good as they are at what they do, really crossing and chance creation is not their strong suit. Emerson's strong suit is getting the team up the pitch with his dribbling and link up play. And Aaron Wambasaka's strength is one-on-one defending and he's a good dribbler too. And he can kind of step into the midfield and help play you up the pitch that way too. But neither of them are high volume chance creators. And then you like add on top of that,
00:28:17
Speaker
We had a striker like Antonio to start the season for who as good as he is, he isn't always in the ball. like He likes to drift, right? And he likes to pick up the ball and he likes to get involved and like kind of help create from wide. And then under Moise Bowen would fill that space. Doesn't as much under a little Patagi.
00:28:37
Speaker
um And then when Bowen's up top, he's, you know, he's, how tall is Jared Bowen? Five, nine? If that? Yeah. So now you're playing through two full backs whose strong suit isn't chance creation. You're getting them the ball and space out wide, asking them to create a chance for either a winger who is five foot nine,
00:29:01
Speaker
or a striker whose game isn't as much about being a constant box presence as much as it is imposing his will in other ways around the pitch. Not that Antonio isn't a box presence, he is, but he's not as in there as often as a striker like full Krug would be. And that was something that we were excited about when we looked at their heat maps when full Krug was signed, is how central full Krug likes to stay.
00:29:27
Speaker
We'll see if, you know, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more full crew in the next month, but to your point of the full backs, like, yeah, these, these teams like are begging for our full backs to have to cross. To be fair, as some teams set up against you and they're like, we're going to have Anne Rombosacka beat you. I'd be like, go ahead.
00:29:52
Speaker
Exactly. that's That's the plan. That's the big plan. You have Mo Kudus, Lucas Paqueta, Jared Bowen, all these guys. And the plan is to beat them with Aaron Wambasaka. And I'm obviously a huge fan of Aaron Wambasaka, and I think that his game going forward is very underrated by a lot of people, and it is. But that doesn't make him somebody that you should be relying on for chance creation. It's insane.
00:30:18
Speaker
It's just insane. And let's say it's a theme with Lopategi. He like does not display a proficient understanding of what each individual player's strengths are. Yep. A lot of square round holes into square pegs? Square pegs into round holes? Yeah, square pegs into round holes. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so getting we're getting some English sayings off today.
00:30:45
Speaker
yeah But yeah, like the the craziest thing of I think of Lopategi's managerial career, and it like really went underrated on Monday, was that we had Kurus and Bowen on the pitch at the same time. And the they did not neither of them started the game on the right wing. And the craziest part about that,
00:31:15
Speaker
is that the other two attackers were Lucas Paqueta and Carlos Soler, two number 10s. One number 10 who spent the entirety of last season, almost the entirety, playing left wing and excelling there in a season that Lopategi allegedly was watching with a very close eye, waiting for this job was a lot of the reports was that he wanted this job. Wasn't he was at.
00:31:44
Speaker
They care about cup game against Arsenal last year on November 1st, when we beat them 3-1. He played a 10 that day, to be fair. He fooled them. they But again he was watching us the day after Halloween in 2023, watch the rest of that season. And if memory serves me right,
00:32:12
Speaker
has definitely not started a game with Lucas Paquetta on the left wing, hasn't even tried it, you has been strangely reluctant to use kudos on the right wing, and also has a very quick leash for kudos, is really willing to take him off the pitch earlier than ever, which is strange.
00:32:35
Speaker
um
00:32:38
Speaker
But I don't get that. And it, and like you said, it's up and down the squad. It's just not understanding like he's Jared Bowen is awesome and has made the most out of the role he's been given and has played well. But why is Jared Bowen, one of the premier league's best goal scorers from the wing, somebody who excels at being in the box and getting in those spaces and scoring goals. Why is he playing like Hakim Ziek? Why?
00:33:05
Speaker
Why is Guido Rodriguez being asked to chase balls down the channel and cover space? you know why Why is Aaron Wambasaka being asked to be a primary source of chance creation? What are we doing? That makes no sense.
00:33:27
Speaker
and I remember in the summer hearing all about Julian Lopategi's tactical versatility. He knows how to get the most out of his players. That was something we both looked forward to a lot. And we haven't seen it. We haven't seen it once. And he's just married to this idea for some reason. And there's still time. A lot of time. I have not even played every team once yet this season.
00:33:54
Speaker
and i And to be more positive, I do think that full crew is going to be a big help. I think having that focal point to play off of is a huge help.
Fullkrug's Return and Impact
00:34:03
Speaker
And people have been crying, why isn't he starting it? It's because he's 32 years old and he was just out for three months with an Achilles injury. Give him time. um I do think he's going to start against Brighton. I'm still a little bit skeptical just on the fact that he was out a long time.
00:34:20
Speaker
like We don't really know this player that well about his general, like his overall fitness, like his quote unquote natural fitness is probably what football manager would call it. But like we, like we have to see this guy and I think we know what he's capable of doing, but now it's about hoping that his body and his fitness is in the right state that he can come back from an injury that long when, you know, he went out early in the season, like he played what?
00:34:48
Speaker
40 minutes for us total before he missed three or four months. Yeah. Basically, we do need to be patient with him, but his play style and we saw it honestly in the Bournemouth game, he wasn't as involved as I would hope he would be. I didn't think that we played that well in the second half. They peppered our goal.
00:35:09
Speaker
But, you know, there were moments where you could see Somerville and Kudus and Bowen, you know, playing off of him in the way that we all imagined they would be able to, because his whole thing as a center forward is that he stays in the middle. He allows a focal point for your attacking midfielders and wingers to play into, and he can make it stick, and then he can help play them in. Everybody will talk about the chance that he missed, but he did a good, obviously a good job. He's in the space, he gets his head to it, blah, bla blah, blah.
00:35:37
Speaker
Um, but the thing that moved me the most about his performance was there was one moment on the break where he picked the ball up and he played kudos through. ah You remember what I'm talking about? those was a that our best physical game Yeah, that was exactly what I was hoping we would see and envisioning when we signed him. That's the whole reason we signed him is that he can do that for players like kudos and for players like Jared Bowen, especially. And, you know, Chris NCO Somerville loves a one two. Anybody who watched him at Leeds would know that. Anybody who watched him at West Ham so far, I would know that he likes to keep his head up and he wants to play in those tight spaces.
00:36:14
Speaker
ye So those three suit what full crew does very well. He'll give us an aerial option in the box, somebody who's always going to be there and who is an aerial threat for our full backs, good or bad, to cross into. um I do think he didn't do a great job against Bournemouth.
00:36:33
Speaker
of actually making the ball stick consistently. I'll chalk it up the rest. It's his second game back. Um, and they keep one enough aerial duels like just from, you know, long kicks, goal kicks going long. He'll need to do more of that and he'll need to fight more to win those balls the way Antonio does for us. But I think his profile coming into this team would be a very welcome thing right now.
00:36:59
Speaker
Yeah, I i love what i've loved what I've seen from him so far. um You detailed the crew's chance. that was That was awesome. We really haven't seen that from a West Ham striker. It's obviously great in his own right, but not that he doesn't turn and play that pass. Yeah. yeah um The way he puts his back into defenders, the way you know he's able to fight them off. We say Antonio.
00:37:27
Speaker
Um, you know, put his back into defenders, but for whatever reason, like, you know, either the fed is like getting away with fouls, but like he's not. The defender's are also just allowed to kill Antonio. and yeah Maybe not the best choice of words right now because, you know, we should mention just really quickly, thank God he's okay. I was serious so scared for him. I so i i still am. I like still really sad about Antonio. That's like, Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, but I'm happy. He's okay. Yeah. But anyways, continuing. Yeah.
00:38:00
Speaker
um I don't know if he's going to change our season full crew. He's certainly going to make us look better. Bring balance. Bring, yes. He's going to hopefully bring some balance and consistency in terms of like, like with team selection, maybe like, cause you know, these, like this front four has been so jumbled. Yeah. I don't even know what the word for it. Like it's just been like.
00:38:29
Speaker
The roles have just been not been clear for these guys all season, whether it be Kudos or Bowen. And hopefully this just like gives them more like rigidness in their, what their role actually is. It would be very good if Fokru could just make that nine spot his.
00:38:52
Speaker
and just start there every week because you mentioned it about the attack and it made me think that's been a problem with our team the whole season. yeah every One to 11. We're trying to bleed all these different players in. It's a very difficult thing to do. I'm not talking down on that, but we haven't really had a consistent first 11.
Importance of Consistent Lineup
00:39:15
Speaker
in between to de-boat and start the first however many games. Then he comes in, now he's hurt, now he's punching the manager, now he's hurt again. you know And then... Kudos is punching somebody else. Yeah, I mean, Kilman and Wamba Saka are really the only two, and obviously Emerson, who have really nailed down a spot. um But Emerson's missed games here and there for whatever reason. um the The midfield's been all over the place.
00:39:43
Speaker
that I mean, Rodriguez was a fixture in the team sheet. Now he's nowhere to be found. Sucek's the only one who's been able to nail plays down, which I believe we predicted on here that he would not be out as early as um people were saying he might. And he's made me feel like an idiot because even though I said I thought he could surprise some people if he stayed and played for Lopategi, I thought, you know, FFP, bla blah, blah, blah.
00:40:09
Speaker
Why not just take 20 million for him and keep warehouse around, but I could not be happier that that turned out the way it did. oh yeah Um, but yeah, besides Kilman and Juan Bassaca, I mean, obviously Bowen, but that's Jared Bowen. That's what he does. And the attack around Jared Bowen has just not been consistent. His role in the attack has not been consistent. Exactly. Not exactly. Not even the personnel, the roles of each player. Yeah. I've just been like, so.
00:40:40
Speaker
Just a mess. Just a mess. And we just we just need to find a team that we can send out there to to gel with each other. Just 11 guys to gel. yeah And the rest will come. um Starting with a win against Brighton would be huge. Because I really do. um I'm strangely confident.
00:41:02
Speaker
I've been strangely confident for every game since the Leicester game, including the Leicester game. Like I was yeah like, I remember saying that day. I was like, I just feel like we're going to win. Then we got smashed. And I was like, at least he'll get fired. And then he didn't, but you know, the rules game, very confident for that. Obviously we don't lose those Sakios Bournemouth. I felt good about, and we, you know, it's a good point, I guess. And like, there's just something about these next two games. Maybe, maybe I'm just losing it.
00:41:31
Speaker
Because I don't like Will Pategi or what we're doing, really.
00:41:36
Speaker
I might just be losing my mind, but I have this weird feeling we're going to win both games. It feels like take like trying to remove myself from this situation, it feels like the nose dive is over.
00:41:50
Speaker
Like we're not like, the noseivees over here right we're not free falling anymore. We kind of like evened out. We're not evening out at a good place. We're still really bad. We'll be like the 12th best team in the league. Yeah, which is like not good, but you know, we're not like, you know, we're not falling to the bottom. Yeah. So this is going to be like, we're like, this is the crossroads right now. Like, okay. Like we stabilized a little, a little bit solar coming in helped us a lot.
00:42:21
Speaker
it's made the C make a like a decent amount more sense. yeah no I think he helps the press a lot too. I think he plays with a lot more energy than Paquetta does.
Tactical Understanding and Defensive Issues
00:42:30
Speaker
Yeah. it he Yeah. He's been like, just his, like the way he's played with the ball has made more sense than Paquetta.
00:42:43
Speaker
um And out of possession, he's like familiar with playing under Lo Pataki's press. He like just gets it in terms of intensity and like, you know, when to press and all that. He plays with energy and he doesn't give the ball away. Which like is Paqueta's like bizarre of like, two words Lucas Paqueta has never heard before, energy insecurity.
00:43:12
Speaker
But yeah, like that that has he's given us a jewel. And and also, Kudu said about what had been red-hot, like absolutely white-hot. For players who have not really contributed to that many goals in the last few games. they've They've been so good. And it's like it's it's them like taking these ridiculous roles that have been like thrust upon them and making the most of it. And this is them making the most of it. um So it's like, yeah, we'll see. We'll see where we go from here. they i We're going to find out a lot about this in the next two weeks. Yeah, I was going to say, I think that you're very right about that. The nosedive does feel over. Things seem to have kind of evened out, like you said, like plateaued.
00:44:03
Speaker
um And I think, like you say, we're going to find out a lot about them over the next two weeks, over the next month, over the next six weeks of Lopateki's survival, which I'm sure he will. Yeah. um And I think that's when we find out what this team really is, because it does seem like they're starting to get it in possession. Like, and you can see it like, like, especially to check on Monday is a prime example. I mean, he's dumming, he's flicking the ball, you know, he's doing all this stuff. And I, which is hilarious. But like, I think it shows that they're
00:44:42
Speaker
is becoming a tactical understanding of, you know, where are my teammates going to be? Like if I received this ball here, who's going to be here? Like, if I'm facing this way and I have the ball, can I play this pass without looking here and know that my teammate's going to be there? Because that's how our structure and possession is. And there does seem to be an understanding growing in that sense. The concern, like we said earlier, is that the chances aren't coming from that, at least not yet. I'll say not yet and keep it hopeful. um And then obviously, whatever the hell is happening out of possession is probably going to plague us for the entire season.
00:45:17
Speaker
um Yeah, that's the true ceiling on how good our team will be regardless of how good we are. And if we end up executing on but in possession is that we're two passes away from being undone at every single point of of the game. it's and It's really crazy. Two passes away every single time. And we got to pray for an offside my offside decision almost every week. Dude, literally every week.
00:45:47
Speaker
It's Max Kellman sliding like eight yards across the screen at full speed, desperation. Mavropanos is standing behind, like about five yards behind him and 10 yards to his left, with the to his right or wherever, wherever he is, to his left, because they're facing the other way, with his hand up.
00:46:08
Speaker
Aaron Mamasaka is not in the shot. He is not in the shot. You know, Rodriguez is huffing and puffing in the background. And Fabianski is standing there in horror. Absolutely hard. And it's four times a game. It's the exact you can see it. It's every game.
00:46:29
Speaker
it's It's just not sustainable. The way that we were like getting away with offside decisions that were like the difference of like the ah like the the size t-shirt that Bob Rapanos wore that day. It's just, it's not sustainable. Like it's crazy the it's crazy the way he has us living.
00:46:49
Speaker
It's also hilarious thinking because I know that the kind of decisions you're talking about and like they'll happen and I'd be like offside. I'm like, we deserve that. We don't deserve that. We don't deserve shit. You're kidding me. We're asking for it. It's terrible. Oh my God. Like a stupid Lester goal. I hate that goal. That's like, that's my least favorite goal we ever could see. The first one. Oh.
00:47:17
Speaker
oh yeah We like gave the ball away and Barney was like onside by like a hair. Yeah. And it's, what's funny about that is that we gave up a chance to look the exact same about four minutes later. Mm-hmm. And then like before that, we almost went down one zero instantly against Newcastle. I don't like the exact same difference. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, how can you watch this and be like, yeah, this is, this is like fine. The way like.
00:47:50
Speaker
If anyone fucks up even remotely, it's like we're leaving it up to God, whether or not we can see it. And the other thing is that it's fine to play a high line. Teams do that. But our press has been so disorganized. And this is something that I think Solaire has actually helped out with a lot.
00:48:07
Speaker
has helped to be more organized and has helped just not give guys so much time on the ball. that was ah That's something that infuriated me with Paquetta earlier in the year is that he is obviously just not aware of where he needs to be in the press. So when they break that line where he is and he's in the wrong place and now this player can turn and just look in the Gito Rodriguez's soul and then play in their striker and I don't know, I think it really just comes down to not having the athleticism in midfield required to play this way. And this is something that me and you specifically have cried and cried and cried for, for years. Literally years. An athlete in midfield. I was crying for, we were crying for it, I should say, for Amadou Anano when Rice was here, because think of the possibilities of having two athletes of that standard in midfield, like what it could do for us. Now, Rice is gone.
00:49:08
Speaker
We replace him with Etsun Alvarez, who's an average athlete. We don't have another elite athlete. We signed somebody who can't really move to play next to him. Sucek keeps his place. Sucek is, you know, he's got a hell of an engine, but he doesn't exactly cover ground. He doesn't eat ground quickly. He runs a ton and he does a lot for the team. And that's how Sucek himself is able to make himself useful is because he just, the sheer amount of ground that he covers.
00:49:38
Speaker
over the course of a game helps, but he's not doing it in, you know, quick time periods. Like he's not covering, you know. He's not gonna try, he's not gonna like cover like ah a counter attack by himself. We need a guy who like can break counter attacks. I mean, just how long will it take this club to realize that, hey, every other good team in the Premier League seems to have an athletic monster in their midfield. And when we were good, we had an athletic monster in our midfield. We had the athletic monster. The athletic monster. unique And I don't know how that wasn't the lesson of like, yeah, this is like a premium position. And by the way, we ignored that position before Declan Rice too. We should have spen more in there. We got like,
00:50:36
Speaker
gifted from the heavens we would like it was like god tried to teach us a lesson and we just didn't learn it yeah this midfield is an insult to god the way it's currently set off i'm just like when When does it happen?
Transfer Market Analysis and Opportunities
00:50:59
Speaker
When do we finally send it on? Because like again, we're talking about side time before we didn't mention he spent 20 million pounds on a kid from Brazil. Galerme seems like a nice kid. He seems like a good kid. Very nice kid. He was excited to be here. He is allegedly supremely talented. He's done okay when he's come on. Maybe he ends up being amazing. Maybe he ends up being Neymar. Maybe he ends up being
00:51:28
Speaker
Decent, maybe he ends up being terrible. No matter what happens with him, that was 20 million pounds that could have been spent on a midfielder potentially. And Manu Kone joined AS Roma in August, in like mid August, for like, I think 17 and a half million pounds. And is now playing very well there. He is secure on the ball.
00:51:58
Speaker
He covers ground. He's combative. He played in Germany. I thought Tim Syden knew about the Bundesliga. Like what's, what are we doing? And he's just an example. No. Yeah. That's, that's like, that's a, that's a head scratcher. And you could even say it's even worse of a blunder than Oh Nana. Cause at least Oh Nana was like.
00:52:24
Speaker
Listen, he's 10 more talented than Kone, we know this, but he was at least raw. He was a very raw player coming out of the wheel. And we also walked away from it. Yes. We were released at the table for an honor. Well, we made a decision and we were wrong. Kone is like, we just ignored it. I hope that we go away. We at least had the mindset of we need a player like an honor. Kone was like not on our radar.
00:52:52
Speaker
for really no reason. There's no reason. Even if you thought Alvarez was going to be like such an, this like such important player for us. Why can't he play with Alvarez? I mean, I know that's what you're going to say, but yes. Like that, that, that issue is only made worse by the fact that Alvarez has had such a down year.
00:53:14
Speaker
Yeah. And Onana was the closest we got to signing that kind of player. And then the pickup became available and Moyes got stars in his eyes and that was that. I mean, how many times has David Moyes talked about a player that we're linked with in a press conference?
Hypothetical Impact of Past Signings
00:53:30
Speaker
when he was manager, once. He lostes he lostes cool you lost He They would ask him about players, and he'd say, I'm not going to talk about players at other clubs, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. They asked him about Lucas Picate. He could play eight. He could play six. He could play 10. He could. He's losing a 10. What is it? He's a sicko. Literally a sicko. And he proceeded to only play him 10 and left lane.
00:53:59
Speaker
Which that thank god he did, but like, you know. He knew. Shit. I wonder where we would be right now if we signed Amadou and Ana instead of Paqueta. It's like a really strange thought experiment because we probably would be better. It changes everything. It literally changes like the entire like fabric of the club. Because do we still sign a 10? You'd think so.
00:54:29
Speaker
Maybe. Dude, maybe we don't. Maybe not that summer, but the next one. Maybe we just like say like, Ben Rama, like this is your club now. Yeah, Ben Rama. Run back to Lanzini, Ben Rama for Niles, Bowen for some. Maybe. Well, tough we wanted Lingard that summer too. Imagine we got Lingard and Onana.
00:54:55
Speaker
My God. That dude, I just, how have I never realized that that was the plan? Who knows how that would have went, dude. That's like a crazy thought. And with jessie liner for anybody thinks Jesse Lingard would have flopped here, David Moyes would not have what allowed that. If there's anything that he could have stopped, it was Lingard getting fat. Oh yeah. He was going to get whatever football he had left in him. He was going to get it out.
00:55:25
Speaker
That wasn't the year he went to Korea, right? and That was the year he went to Forest. oh yeah When that was basically done, he was coming here and then... They gave him just the ludicrous contract for no reason. And mar on like, what was the point, man? You ruined his career. You made a bad signing. You fucked us. You gave us, I mean, and I'll always love Paqueta because not only has he had really great periods for us and he had the assist in the final and he's hilarious, but like,
00:56:03
Speaker
Like, you know, man, like he gives a shit, like for everything, like he, like wanting to leave, blah, blah, blah. I think it's pretty clear. He has an appreciation for this club, especially after winning that trophy. And then, you know, we've stuck by him during his gambling scandal. I always loved that guy. Yeah. But I think me I've come to the conclusion on this podcast today that if I could go back and I could change it and I can make it Lingard and Onana.
00:56:34
Speaker
Well, the issue is that I wouldn't want to risk the trophy. yeah Exactly. You're putting the trophy. I'm putting the trophy. Yeah, you change anything and then you put the trophy in them in God's hands, really. Yeah. And I wouldn't be comfortable doing that. But if I could guarantee that we still win the conference league and then we have Lingard, Nonana, instead of Paquetta, I think I would, um,
00:57:04
Speaker
I'm just too curious how it would have all worked out. You'd you'd push the button? I think I'd push the button. If I knew that we were still going to win the conference league, I think I'd push the button. we You'd never know that. dude that's it's impos you're like That's like a cop-out answer. Okay, then I wouldn't push the button.
00:57:21
Speaker
So you wouldn't risk, you wouldn't. I would not risk the Europa conference league to find out if Jesse Lingard, Namadou Anana could have made his finished ninth instead of 14th or whatever the fuck it was. There's, there's like an endless possibility, endless list of like positive things that could have happened. result That was, that was a year really. That was just, they decided that Moyes was no longer the manager.
00:57:51
Speaker
Cause he tried to change it to, he tried, he tried to go more possession based the first half of that year. It's a curse. It's a curse. No manager should do it unless him. It's only going to get you fired. Would you, uh.
00:58:06
Speaker
Did you throw Brozia in there into that scenario? Brozia instead of Skamaka? I don't think it matters. I'm sure anton Antonio would have taken his place anyways. He his ACL. He had a bad loan spell at Fulham. And now he's at Everton. I think he's hurt again.
00:58:25
Speaker
Oh my God. Yeah. Like forget, forget Broja. This is it's a loser. Oh, this is only good stuff happens in the side. We can't be going after Broja. If it's, if it's Broja, I mean, yeah, it's, it makes no difference because it's going to be Antonio anyway. Yeah. Okay. So would you push the button to bring in Lingard, no Nana instead of Paquetta? Part of me thinks that we're winning this, this cup anyway.
00:58:54
Speaker
Yeah, but the issue with that is how good Paquetta was in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final.
Paquetta's Role and Contributions
00:59:01
Speaker
Well, not, he wasn't that he was, he was pretty bad in the final, but he made the pass. He pushed that one button and pushed the one button. But that's what makes me uncomfortable with it is how large the role that he played in winning it was who where it's like, not just changing a guy.
00:59:25
Speaker
like he assisted the goal. Yeah. Like this is like, it wasn't like, oh, he had a good game. Like he like, like created a bunch of chances. Like, no, like he like was like, you're like removing from the situation, like the catalyst of winning. the Does Lingard play that pass? No, dude. He fucking runs with it. Exactly. He carries it.
00:59:54
Speaker
Does, if Onan is on the pitch instead of Suchak, does he miss hit? Does he miss control it? Yeah, does he miss control it? It's like serious butterfly effect implications here. So what would you do?
01:00:17
Speaker
I can't push it. I can't do it. Can't push it. Because you know what? We almost made out like thieves with Paquetta. It wasn't for that gambling scheme. Oh my God, I know. We make out like thieves. Like thieves. He comes here, he plays two seasons, he gives us great memories. One season, one season. Oh no, no, no, you mean like, oh yeah, you're right, you're right. You're saying like, if this summer, if the Chargers didn't get like re-
01:00:48
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Let's do it that way. I like that way better. Okay. Yeah. I like the two seasons because they were still going to buy him until it got doubled down on. Right. Yeah. So he gives us two great seasons. He plays all these crazy passes and he goes to city and we get the money for him and we go out and we signed a midfield there. We signed a midfield there. We signed Oh Nana.
01:01:17
Speaker
ah
01:01:20
Speaker
Oh, man. When is it gonna end? Never. Literally never. not ne Nothing will ever go to plan. Thank you everybody for listening today. Make sure you answer the question and the replies in the Spotify app and your Apple Music app. ah Joe, you have podcasts. Do they do that on Apple? can you You can like ask questions on Spotify. You can like reply to the podcast.
01:01:50
Speaker
No, that's cool. Yeah, I don't actually know where to look at it though, but whatever. um But, you know, leave your answer in the ah Spotify replies. I think it should show up. um And I will find out how to look at them.
Final Reflections and Audience Engagement
01:02:04
Speaker
Let us know if you would push the button to take Lingard and Onana, but risk not winning the conference league. We still could win it, but you just have to play everything over again from that moment. Or would you not push the button and allow things to go the way they have gone? And leave a reply on Twitter too if you found this podcast from there.
01:02:22
Speaker
we should We should make this a poll. i wouldn i' like I'm going to make it a poll on Twitter. I'm very curious. I feel like people are going to be biased against Paquetta, but they got to remember how good this guy was. But it's not honestly, it doesn't matter to me how good he was. It's it's the one pass. Yeah.
01:02:40
Speaker
But yeah, thank you, everybody. No, no, no. Say what you gotta say. No, before we go, before we go, before we go. I was just gonna say, like, it could have been, like, fucking me out there who played the pass, but, like... Not playing that goddamn pass. But, like, what if I did, you know? It was, like, a low possibility, but, like, you know, what if it came off right, you know? And non-zero chance? Would you play me at 10 for two years if it meant that I would play that one pass?
01:03:10
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. That's what makes this question hard. Thank you everybody for listening. Let us know if you'd let Joe play the number 10 at West Ham for two years to win the conference league. We will talk to you guys next week.