Travelling with the West Ham fans to Nottingham Forest: ‘I think the transfers were pretty awful’
It is 10.30am and a group of West Ham United fans are forced to stand on a rammed five-carriage East Midlands Railway train heading to Nottingham.
Paul Mead, 53, Kerry Whicks, 50, Oscar Whicks, 22, and Jack Mead, 16, are en route to West Ham's away fixture against Nottingham Forest . As they bond over M&S-branded Helles Lager, they give The Athletic their thoughts on the season so far, the summer transfers, concerns over Julen Lopetegui's impact as head coach and much more.
After a summer expenditure of £130million ($170m) on nine players, there is one subject Paul wants to address first.
"I think the transfers were pretty awful," he says as he tries to maintain his balance while the train gathers speed. " Danny Ings , Michail Antonio and Niclas Fullkrug have a combined age of 97. We don't have any young fresh legs up front. But my biggest concern is midfield, which must be one of the slowest in the Premier League . Guido Rodriguez keeps getting booked and is becoming a liability like Edson Alvarez .
"We're buying players who are too similar to the ones we have. Most haven't been able to add anything different. But when you have a unique talent like (Crysencio) Summerville, for some reason, he can't get in the team."
West Ham's central midfield options are Alvarez, Rodriguez, Andy Irving , Carlos Soler and Tomas Soucek . Lopetegui's preferred midfield pairing has been Rodriguez and Soucek, which has not had the desired effect.
Other West Ham fans nearby nod their heads in agreement.
"Lopetegui doesn't know his best starting 11," says Kerry. "But in fairness to him, he will change it. The frustration with (David) Moyes was he took ages to make substitutes. Lopetegui makes changes earlier, but most of the time it's to correct the line-up because he got it wrong. I'm still unclear what Lopetegui's philosophy and vision is. It feels like he's making it up each week."
Ten minutes into the journey and the topic changes to Jarrod Bowen . In August, the England international was appointed captain, with long-serving defender Aaron Cresswell as vice-captain. Bowen is the face of the club having signed a seven-year contract in October 2023. Although his attacking pedigree speaks for itself, the group do not view him as a leader.
"One of my biggest concerns is the captaincy," says Kerry. "I love Bowen, he's a club legend and works hard for the team, but he should never have been appointed captain. He doesn't strike me as a leader and he's not that vocal on the pitch."
"We don't have many leaders in the team," Oscar interjects.
"It has to be Kilman," says Kerry.
"It's an area we have struggled with and our previous captain, Kurt Zouma, struggled to unite the team," Paul adds. "Plus his form took a massive dip and he had issues with his knee. We took for granted just how brilliant Declan Rice was on and off the pitch. Leadership is something you have. I don't think you can become a leader over time. You either have it or you don't. Sadly, Bowen doesn't strike me as the sort of guy to tell the players off when things go bad."
Transfers become the topic again and there is frustration that the club are yet to sign a proven No 9. West Ham missed out on signing Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran following a failed offer of more than £30million. The 20-year-old has subsequently scored eight goals across 15 appearances.
"We spent all that money in the summer, yet we still need another midfielder and a striker," says Kerry.
"We've been needing a forward for the last five seasons," adds Oscar. "Antonio can't do it any more."
"We should've given Aston Villa what they wanted for Duran," says Kerry. "The money we spent on Fullkrug (£27m) and (Luis) Guilherme (£25m) should've been spent on Duran. A young exciting forward, not a 30-odd striker in Fullkrug who won't be a long-term option for us."
"Duran did the Hammers sign on social media," adds Paul. "He clearly had interest in joining us."
The group are sharing their memories of the West Ham sides they grew up watching. A popular theme was the emergence of youth, which West Ham have recently struggled with. In April 2023, the youngsters beat Arsenal in the FA Youth Cup, but first-team opportunities have been hard to come by for academy prospects.
"We have some talented young players and they can't even get a sniff," says Kerry. "When you see how bad our midfield is doing, you can't tell me Lewis Orford or George Earthy (who is on a season-long loan at Bristol City ) could do worse than them. They were key players for the FA Youth Cup and haven't been rewarded. The young lads at Arsenal ( Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly ) have been playing, why can't we do that?
"To be fair, the young lads who played under Moyes have gone on to basically do nothing," Paul responds.
"But now we have some top prospects," says Kerry. "It's also harder for them with Lopetegui struggling. He's had issues at most of his clubs, like at Real Madrid and Wolves . West Ham will probably give him time because they don't want to pay him off. (David) Sullivan (the majority shareholder) will try to give it as long as possible in the hope Lopetegui turns it around, but I can't see that happening."
In May, Lopetegui signed a two-year deal when he was announced as Moyes' successor. Despite the slow start to the season, the Spaniard retains full support from the board. But 20 minutes into the two-hour journey, the group explain why they are not happy with Lopetegui's coaching ability.
"When it was confirmed Moyes was leaving, I wanted us to appoint Eddie Howe (the Newcastle manager) or Ruben Amorim (the soon-to-be Manchester United head coach)," says Paul. "Howe did a brilliant job at Bournemouth and is doing great at Newcastle. He improves players and that shows how good of a man manager he is. I'm yet to see that side of Lopetegui. Howe plays attractive football and isn't afraid to drop players who are out of form. (Lucas) Paqueta and Rodriguez have been rubbish, yet Lopetegui keeps playing them."
"Summerville must regret coming to West Ham," says Kerry.
"He should be playing with (Mohammed) Kudus suspended," adds Paul. "He isn't the same Kudus that played well under Moyes. His head has dropped this season and that red card against Tottenham was very telling. It's a split dressing room right now. I dread to think how loud the boos will be if we lose to Everton ."
Having stood for almost 30 minutes, The Athletic moves on to carriage B in the hope of finding a seat. Daniel Donnelly, 36, with his son, Alfie, 16, kindly offers his on the condition he gets to add perspective on why patience is needed.
"Lopetegui hasn't had that new manager bounce, but things take time," he says. "We're going through a transitional period and we should give it at least until December for him to turn it around. You can't get any momentum if you change things after 10 games. We need to be patient with Lopetegui. Naturally, he will be under a lot of pressure given the amount of money we spent in the summer.
"My only frustration with him is he hasn't utilised the squad well. Summerville deserves to start, but it reminds me of when Bowen joined us from the Championship (in January 2020). He had a slow integration into the team and it took him a while to adapt to the league. Then there's the frustration with Fullkrug being injured. I wouldn't write him off just yet. It's the West Ham curse him being sidelined, but if he gets a run in the team when he returns, he could potentially improve us."
We arrive in Nottingham at 12.30pm and supporters unite with a rendition of "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles". Daniel and his son decide to head to a local bar, while The Athletic makes the 20-minute walk to the City Ground.
It was another disappointing weekend for Lopetegui, with West Ham losing 3-0 at Forest. Goals from Chris Wood , Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina saw West Ham suffer their fifth league defeat of the season. Lopetegui's side have only gained 11 points from 10 league games and the head coach apologised to supporters afterwards and challenged his team to respond to the setback.
"We look clueless at the minute, but I still wouldn't take Moyes back," says John Dyer, 23. "Today we hardly posed a threat and that's been a regular theme this season. We took a short corner in the game and I was fuming! Cross the damn ball in the box. It was a wasted opportunity. The manager needs to go. I expected good things and I know it takes time, but he's lost the dressing room.
"The players don't look like they want to play for him. West Ham have been a hard watch this season and that's down to Lopetegui. We beat Ipswich Town , a newly promoted team, and got a lucky win over Manchester United who should have battered us. It's the same old story with West Ham. We wanted to go in a new direction but got the appointment wrong. I'm not filled with much confidence that the board will get the next managerial appointment right if they sack Lopetegui."
We arrive back in London at 8.30pm with everyone heading in different directions.
"What a sh*t day," The Athletic overhears a supporter say on the escalator. It is a view that is shared by many. Only time will tell us if Lopetegui is able to lift the mood.
(Top photo: Rob Newell – CameraSport via )
