West Ham must axe 4/10 dud who makes “a mistake a game”

West Ham United need to improve. Julen Lopetegui has not so much started as stuttered into gear as the club’s head coach, having been thrashed at the London Stadium by Chelsea on Saturday.

It’s now three defeats from three home matches in the Premier League. After being backed with over £120m in transfer spending this summer, the Spanish tactician, David Moyes’ successor, is already under pressure.

It’s clear he needs to shuffle the pack, and after bringing him off before half-time against Chelsea, it’s clear that Guido Rodriguez should be dropped – with Anfield waiting on Wednesday.

Guido Rodriguez’s poor afternoon vs Chelsea

West Ham signed Rodriguez this summer after his contract with Real Betis expired. It was a shrewd move to bring in a defence-focused midfielder who would add some strength and solidity to the engine room.

He’s started all five of West Ham’s Premier League matches this season, but he was withdrawn after only 38 minutes, replaced by the industrious Tomas Soucek.

GIVEMESPORT branded the Argentine with a 2/10 match score, writing: ‘Couldn’t live with the Chelsea midfield in the opening half an hour as the game ran away from the Hammers. Was pulled off in the 38th minute by Lopetegui for a more dominant and physical player in Soucek.’

The game passed him by. The 30-year-old has looked decent since joining West Ham but was overwhelmed by Chelsea’s slick attacking play – with Liverpool up next, his deployment at the centre of the field would send a frisson of fear lancing through the Irons faithful for sure.

That said, he’s not the only man who deserves pulling from the starting XI.

Why it’s time to drop Konstantinos Mavropanos

Mavropanos has been a regular feature under Lopetegui this season, but he’s not proving he is the man to partner Max Kilman in West Ham’s central defence.

The most annoying part is that there is a player in there. In the Premier League this season, Mavropanos has won a whopping 77% of his duels. To contextualise this, Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk has won 65%, whereas Arsenal superstar William Saliba has succeeded with 71% of his duels.

This is a measure of the Greek defender’s natural defensive quality, but when he’s making “a mistake a game“, as was said by reporter Jacob Steinberg, it’s hard to justify his persistent inclusion in the starting line-up. Especially when flicking back to the summer’s spending spree.

Indeed, Jean-Clair Todibo signed for West Ham from OGC Nice on loan, with the option to buy for £35m. So far, the Frenchman has played only seven minutes in the Premier League (sitting as an unused substitute across the past three outings) and lasted until half-time against Bournemouth in the second round of the Carabao Cup, hooked after struggling to impose himself.

Against the Cherries, he was booked, dribbled past twice and succeeded with just one of his four attempted duels, as per Sofascore, but it’s understandable that he struggled on his first test. It happens. What’s less logical is Lopetegui’s reluctance to unleash him since – the Hammers haven’t exactly been iron at the rear.

With Liverpool (in the Carabao Cup) and Brentford coming up this week, Lopetegui would be wise to enforce change and move Mavropanos to the bench. GIVEMESPORT branded him with a 4/10 match rating after the Chelsea horrorshow: all three Blues goals were served down his flank.

They wrote: ‘It was an extremely tough afternoon for those at the back. Mavrapanos and Kilman couldn’t get hold of Jackson and the midfield runners all game. The Greek defender tried his best and got some blocks in, but ultimately wasn’t good enough.’

Something needs to change and fast. The likes of Rodriguez and Mavropanos must be axed for the fixtures ahead, lest West Ham’s poor start sour into something more ruinous.