West Ham’s bright new era under Julen Lopetegui has started in doom and gloom – which was further compounded with Saturday’s 3-0 loss by Chelsea.
The Hammers were comprehensively defeated by their bitter rivals at the London Stadium – a result that saw them suffer a third loss in their opening five Premier League games of the season.
Once more it was their third home defeat out of a possible three – the first time the club have suffered that fate in their history.
A section of West Ham fans got their wish when David Moyes left at the end of the season but pressure is mounting on Lopetegui – with some supporters walking out early during Saturday’s derby capitulation.
And in the latest episode of It’s All Kicking Off!, IAN LADYMAN and CHRIS SUTTON discuss the Hammers’ current plight.
Listen to It’s All Kicking Off! here:
Ladyman warns that the Hammers are in a ‘dangerous’ place to be in already in September with Lopetegui’s pragmatism stifling the attacking players he has it his disposal such as Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus and captain Jarrod Bowen.
Sutton is in agreement with Ladyman about the attacking talent but also expressed his concerns about the porous nature of their shape defensively – citing that it was ‘galling’ how easy it was for Chelsea to ‘cut through West Ham’.