Football fans are often accused of being fickle, and it’s true.
But what isn’t said enough is that pundits and journalists are just as fickle, if not more.
Towards the end of last season, West Ham fans were lambasted by corners of the media and neutral fans for calling time on their love affair with David Moyes. For some, that love affair will continue until the end of time, while some were of the belief that while he’ll go down as a club legend, it was probably time for change anyway.
There was this unfair conclusion that Hammers fans were entitled for wanting better than the defensive style of football they were being served during the final 18-months of Moyes’ tenure.
Yes, the man delivered the club’s first major silverware in 43 years, but either side of that famous Europa Conference League victory in Prague, supporters were often paying to watch negative tactics and underperforming superstars having their true qualities nullified by Moyes’ approach.
Moyes’ replacement, Julen Lopetegui, isn’t the glamorous, all-out-attack, tiki-taka, young, forward thinking manager everyone thought West Ham might turn to, nor is he the man many fans will have preferred to see in the dugout. But his track record certainly speaks for itself. He is perhaps known as a pragmatic manager, but he’s also quite happy to see his players actually in possession of the football, which is already an upgrade on Moyes’ way of thinking.
Anyway, after just four games of this new era at West Ham, we’re already seeing some comments that suggest West Ham are worse off under Lopetegui. None more so than an article on inews.co.uk that suggests West Ham having the second lowest shots on target in the Premier League so far is an indication that Lopetegui is a ‘pensioner driving a rally car.’
It’s a ludicrous claim that fails to tell the whole story and simultaneously shows a real lack of understanding of why many West Ham fans were so fed up towards the end of the 23/24 season.
While shots on target is something Lopetegui’s West Ham needs to address, it’s quite clearly not for the want of trying.
West Ham’s 53 shots in their four Premier League games puts them 11th in the rankings. Ahead of Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle. It works out to be 13.25 shots-per-game.
Comparing that to last season, only the three relegated clubs and Wolves registered fewer shots on goal than West Ham’s 450 over the entire 38-game season. That works out to be 11.8 shots-per-game.
Wait, isn’t that a worse ratio under Moyes that what we’re seeing under Lopetegui? Seems so to me. Whisper it quietly but, perhaps West Ham fans had a bit of a point about life under Moyes towards the end?
In 22/23, West Ham averaged 12.47 shots-per-game, it was 11.82 in 21/22 and 12.32 in 20/21, which was Moyes’ first full season in charge.
Looking at the numbers, Lopetegui has already significantly improved West Ham’s shots-per-game ratio in just four games. Seems to me he’s getting to grips with this rally driving malarky, there’s just a few navigational issues that need ironing out.
Such as finishing, which has admittedly been below par to this point. But is that such a surprise given the big name striker signing Niclas Fullkrug is yet to start in the Premier League and was forced to miss the 1-1 draw with Fulham through injury.
Eight new outfield players arrived at the club in the summer. That kind of squad churn in a single summer should be expected to take time to get up to full speed. To stick to the inews article’s author’s trend, it’s the equivalent of getting in your car on a hot summer’s day and immediately expecting the air con to be blasting ice cold air before you start driving. You’re going to be left disappointed and will have to make do with being hot and sweaty for a little longer before things get more comfortable.
Lastly, you have to consider the teams West Ham have played so far. The opening weekend defeat to Champions League Aston Villa came via a late Jhon Duran goal. We followed that up with an impressive 2-0 victory away at Crystal Palace, who were the Premier League’s form team under Oliver Glasner at the end of last season. A 3-1 home defeat to champions Man City followed before Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Fulham.
If we’re going to get into the habit of comparing everything to last season, we’re three points better off from those fixtures than we were from those fixtures last season. In 23/24, those four games saw is pick up just one point. On top of that, defeats to Palace and Fulham last season saw us concede a combined 10 goals, scoring just two.
So, there’s more progress, I guess.
It just goes to show that you can look at everything at face value and come to your own conclusions pretty easily. But sometimes, it’s worth looking at things a little differently.
You’ll be surprised how less silly it’ll make you look.
Patience. Rome wasn’t buil… ah, you know the rest.
