Hammers fans have been voicing their disappointment at Julen Lopetegui’s team selection for his first competitive West Ham match against Aston Villa.
There’s a new manager, new staff, new philosophy and eight new players at West Ham for the new season.
But much of the team which started the Premier League opener against Aston Villa was the same old West Ham.
After making a raft of hugely impressive signings, Julen Lopetegui named just two of them in his starting XI against Villa.
Wes Foderingham aside, the other seven were expected to be in contention to come into the team.
Fans disappointed to see familiar West Ham side
Especially off the back of West Ham’s woeful 2024 thus far – which extended into pre-season.
The Hammers will clearly be a work in progress for some time yet.
It is unrealistic and frankly deluded to expect anything else.
Especially given the huge rebuild that has – and still is if Lopetegui gets his way – taking place in this window.
Free signing midfielder Guido Rodriguez and £40m defender Max Kilman were the only two Irons new boys to start the 2-1 defeat to Villa.
That led to much bemusement and disappointment from fans at the London Stadium.
Real reason for Lopetegui’s underwhelming first line-up
Audible groans went up on the concourses when the official team was announced on Saturday evening.
With full pre-seasons behind them Jean-Clair Todibo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Crysencio Summerville were expected to start.
Niclas Fullkrug is fit and ready to go too having trained and played with Germany at the Euros and then Dortmund.
Many Hammers fans were also looking forward to seeing talisman Mohammed Kudus playing in his preferred central role.
Instead the star boy was out on the left and old hands such as Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal and Michail Antonio started against the Champions League visitors.
And Konstantinos Mavropanos partnered Kilman at the back with the jury very much out on the big Greek.
Various theories were floated about Lopetegui’s team selection.
There is talk Aaron Wan-Bissaka suffered mild concussion against Liverpool in pre-season and has only just come out the back of the 10-day protocol period.
It was suggested Todibo has only been training with the team for a week and Lopetegui did not want to throw him straight in.
It’s also been suggested the Spaniard really likes both Antonio and Soucek.
But this is the real reason for Lopetegui’s underwhelming first West Ham line-up.
When a new manager comes in and makes a plethora of changes, balance is everything.
West Ham boss in classic new manager tactic with old guard
Lopetegui could – and perhaps should according to fans – have handed six of his new stars starts against Villa.
When he arrived he made it clear the small squad needed to be improved.
Like most managers, though, Lopetegui also declared it was a clean slate under him for those already in the building.
So he could hardly turn around in the first game and go back on his word. Not if he wanted to earn the respect of the players – both old and new.
Honesty and trust is vital between players and a manager.
What Lopetegui did against Villa was a classic new manager tactic.
It was the former Real Madrid and Spain boss saying to the players he has inherited ‘I gave you a chance to keep the shirt’.
That’s how it should always be at a club like West Ham.
And if you don’t perform to the standard required – with the new quality in depth at the club – then you will lose that shirt.
Selection says ‘I gave you a chance’
That is the real reason for Lopetegui’s underwhelming line up.
Many have been surprised at the fact Lopetegui withdrew Jarrod Bowen in the second half.
But he played a combined total of about 24 minutes for England over the summer and was the last back in pre-season.
So he was always going to be managed back carefully.
Lopetegui has given the old guard their chance and stayed true to his word by doing so.
The likes of Coufal, Antonio, James Ward-Prowse when he came on – and in some ways Soucek too – cannot complain now when they are replaced by the new signings.
On the flip side those players know that should those new arrivals not perform to the required standard either once up and running, Lopetegui is a man of principle and they will get another chance.
That kind of healthy competition – with everyone knowing where they stand – can only benefit West Ham in the long run.
And this will be a marathon, not a sprint, under Lopetegui.
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