Another “Good Source” Of Income Unveiled At West Ham United And There Is A Big Chance Of…

Another “Good Source” Of Income Unveiled At West Ham United And There Is A Big Chance Of…

No, don’t worry, this isn’t a political argument on behalf of ‘drill baby, drill’ policy…rather a view on Julen Lopetegui’s analogy that he recently used in the article published in the Guardian.

The analogy that Julen used in his comments were very effective in communicating the main point of those made during his interview. Our ex-gaffer puts forward the idea that instilling new ideas and philosophies with a team is like installing a new rig and drilling for oil.

You keep going and going whilst getting nothing in return for a period of time but then you hit the well and the oil starts to flow.

Simplistic as it is the comparison is a very effective one at communicating how Lopetegui saw his progress, or lack thereof if you focus on the heavy defeats and atrocious defending that we suffered under him, moving towards a well oiled (pun intended) machine. He goes on to suggest that his sacking was akin to giving up and starting to drill somewhere else from scratch again.

When you look at the likes of Manchester United it could be argued that they have been guilty of drilling several, unproductive, holes in the ground since Alex Ferguson left. Many a red devil might contest that they have been drilling in barren areas, and may also contest that they drilled there for too long in some cases, on several occasions.

Compared to West Ham’s dismissal of JL Jim Ratcliffe, and his predecessors, have been patient but it can be argued that our needs were greater having suffered so many big defeats and woeful defending.

It’s always going to be debatable whether it was the right time to move the Basque boss on or not but it’s history now. He exists in the tough world of elite professional football, where results are the only yardstick that one can be measured by, and knew the possible repercussions of sustained underperformance. More important to West Ham now is the future.

All the noises coming out of the club, and the new manager, are those of longer-term thinking. Sticking with the drilling until the well is tapped. Interestingly ‘gushers’ are considered something of a disaster nowadays and drilling is about being in total control.

You no longer strike oil in the same way as the gushers of old. You use pressure control with weighted drilling fluids to hold back formation pressure so you don’t get gushers. Seismic prospecting and computer mapping take the drill to a target depth where it stops. Further research goes in and the identification of vertical ‘pay zones’ are identified. A more scientific approach compared to ‘striking oil’. Is the equivalent happening at West Ham? It would appear so however you get the feeling that time will test the resolve of the board to resist the same pressures that Manchester United have experienced on multiple occasions by, proverbially, shifting the rig to a new site.

For me the signs of improvement are showing. Teams, nowadays, need to be able to compete in all departments and not just specialise in particular areas of the pitch or phases of play. Against Arsenal we saw a much improved, although not perfect, defensive performance that played a huge part in the smash and grab for the three points on Saturday. Could that be seen as proof that another segment of the drill has been added in the form of progress on the pitch?

At the very least the players seem to be understanding the manager’s instructions. Communication, or lack thereof, was one of the perceived deficiencies of the former head coach that led to his sacking. No such issues, it would seem, from Graham Potter.

There was an international break in the WSL this weekend with several of the Ironesses in action across the globe. One of our brightest shining stars this season has been Riko Ueki and the Japanese international featured for her country against team-mate Manuela Pavi of Columbia. The competition doesn’t include any European teams this time around, due to the clash with Nation’s League fixtures that have to be played, with the four team tournament taking place between the twentieth and twenty-seventh of this month.

Ueki’s side, having already overcome Katrina Gorry’s Australia four-nil in the first round of games, ran out four-one victors with both of our players seeing first half action before being replaced. Our skipper was an unused substitute in the other game which saw the USA overcome the Aussies two-one…setting up a straight shootout for the title on Thursday. Best of luck to Riko and here compatriots for that.

Elsewhere Shekiera Martinez continues to impress. The forward netted for the German under twenty-threes in a friendly against the under twenty-threes from the Netherlands. Young striker Princess Ademiluyi didn’t see action as the Lionesses saw off their under nineteen counterparts from the USA two-nil.

Overall there are eighteen West Ham ladies on international duty this break. Verena Hanshaw, Kirsty Smith, Saraina Piubel, Dagny Brynjarsdottir, Eva Nystrom, Oona Siren, Amber Tysiak, Kinga Szemik, Jessie Stapleton, Katrina Gorry, Riko Ueki, Manuela Pavi, Shelina Zadorski and Li Mengwen have all been called up at full international level while Princess Ademiluyi, Anouk Denton, Shekiera Martinez and Camila Saez join up with their countries at youth level.

Best of luck to all the ladies…may they return fit and firing in readiness for the trip to Arsenal this coming Sunday.

Have a great week all &…