'We still need to be patient and trust the process'published at 12:51 20 August
James Jones
Fan writer
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The Julen Lopetegui era is under way at West Ham and, while many will have viewed the 2-1 home defeat by Aston Villa last weekend as more of the same, there were some huge positives to take.
Much of the complaints about style of play towards the end of David Moyes' tenure centred around possession, namely the fact we never really seemed that concerned about having it. It was often a defence first approach to style. That's evident in the fact West Ham averaged 41% possession in the Premier League last season. Against the previous season's top four, that slipped to 35%.
But on Saturday, West Ham enjoyed 52% possession against Champions League opposition. We had just one fewer shot than Aston Villa, had the same number of shots on target, took more corners and completed 29 more passes. Our total completed passes was 377. We managed more than that in only 11 league games last season. Five of those were against teams who were relegated.
We more than matched Villa and, while it was admittedly frustrating at times, a 2-1 defeat doesn't really tell the whole story.
That should give us reason to be optimistic that Lopetegui's ideas are already getting through. Five of the club's eight new signings featured and only two started. It was always going to take time to adapt and get up to speed, while the entire squad has had to get used to a very different way of playing.
So while starting the season in defeat isn't ideal, it's by no means an indicator of what's to come. Once the new players have fully adapted and Edson Alvarez returns from injury, we should then be in a position to make judgment. Until then, we still need to be patient and trust the process.
Find more from James Jones at We Are West Ham, external
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