Starting the new season with nine additions alongside twelve outgoings and a new manager isn't an easy task, however, West Ham are yet to find some momentum this season. While back-to-back wins over Crystal Palace in the Premier League and against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup showed some progress, the Hammers have since then been underwhelming in their performances with Julen Lopetegui's struggling both in attack as well as defence. Despite having quality forwards such as Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus, West Ham have only managed to score six goals in as many games in the Premier League.
Moreover, defensive issues are still happening with midfielder Tomas Soucek recently admitting collective responsibility on the opening goal against Brentford. On top of that, the midfield hasn't looked much convincing either, with Edson Alvarez and Guido Rodriguez struggling with their recovery pace while defending. Therefore, West Ham are underperforming at the beginning of the season and a former West Ham captain has recently spoken about a key area which Julen Lopetegui's side needs to improve.
Former West Ham captain suggests what the Hammers need to improve
West Ham's youngest captain, Nigel Reo-Coker has suggested that the Hammers need a leader at the club, to boost the team's momentum, saying,
"I spent a bit of time with them this pre-season, and I think my biggest worry is the lack of characters that I saw there, especially with how things are going.Nigel Reo-Coker
For me, Bowen is someone who can be a character and personality, but I just think now it is too much for him to do it by himself."
While West Ham made star forward, Jarrod Bowen as the new Hammers captain before the start of the new season, Reo-Coker spoke about the added responsibilities on the England international to lead the team alongside scoring goals. Moreover, new signing Max Kilman was also another option to be made the captain given his good start to the season and the fact that he was the captain at Wolves under manager Julen Lopetegui. Other key players such as Edson Alvarez and Alphonse Areola possess leadership abilities but they haven't had a great start to the new season and Alvarez even received a red card in the 5-1 Carabao Cup defeat against Liverpool.
Thus, manager Julen Lopetegui and the players should reflect on their mistakes and should improve their overall performance with big matches coming after the international break. Hence, the next fixture against Ipswich Town is an important game as a win will provide a much needed boost for the Hammers who will face Tottenham Hotspurs and Manchester United in their next upcoming matches.