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Mike Dean was right as FA officially charge West Ham star Mohammed Kudus over incident

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Just when Julen Lopetegui and West Ham probably thought things can’t get much worse it looks like they are about to.

The last thing Julen Lopetegui needed in West Ham’s 4-1 humbling at Spurs was his best player being sent off.

But that’s what happened when Mohammed Kudus was shown a red card for a moment of madness which saw three Tottenham players left on the floor.

Kudus kicked the ball against Mickey van de Ven while he was on the floor.

West Ham’s star boy then reacted to the Spurs defender calling him crazy and pushing him by shoving the towering Dutchman in the face.

Van de Ven hit the deck and Kudus was then pushed into Richarlison, leaving the Brazilian floored too.

Dean right as FA officially charge West Ham star Kudus

Pape Matar Sarr was next. As the Tottenham midfielder confronted Kudus he took a shove to the face as well.

The referee tried to use common sense by giving both Kudus and Van de Ven yellow cards.

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It was only delaying the inevitable, though, as VAR intervened and a pitch-side review saw Kudus’ yellow cancelled and a red card produced instead.

That means the Ghanaian will now miss West Ham’s next three Premier League games against Man United, Forest and Everton before the November international break.

But in a shocking twist at the weekend, a top former referee claimed West Ham star Kudus faced being banned until the second week in December.

Hammers star boy Kudus now facing six-game FA ban

Now it seems Mike Dean will be proved right as the FA officially charge West Ham star Kudus over the incident AFTER his red card offence.

“When you see the footage back, the first one he could have got sent off for – which I’m hoping he has,” Dean said at the weekend.

“Then hopefully the second one, the FA will then take retrospective action so he’ll get done twice in my opinion.

“Because he’s hit two different players in the face on two occasions. He should do. I think he’ll get done twice.”

That would mean Kudus will miss West Ham’s games against Newcastle, Arsenal and Leicester too.

He would not be available again for the Hammers until Wolves at home on December 9th.

Now the Football Association have announced Kudus has been charged over the Sarr incident as well.

Charge relates to incident after Kudus’ sending off

The Hammers ace has until Thursday to respond.

With clear video evidence, it seems this process is also just delaying the inevitable with a further three-game ban for violent conduct looming large.

Spurs and West Ham have also been charged over their players’ conduct.

In an official Regulation and Discipline update, an FA spokesperson confirmed action against Kudus.

“Mohammed Kudus allegedly acted in an improper manner and/or used violent conduct after the offence that he was sent off for,” the statement reads.

“Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Mohammed Kudus have until Thursday, 24 October, to provide their responses.”

This is clearly terrible news for West Ham and – given the pressure he is under – Lopetegui too.

Julen Lopetegui slammed for what he did on final whistle of shambolic West Ham defeat to Spurs but it makes no sense

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West Ham’s performances and results mean Julen Lopetegui is there to be shot at and he is certainly under fire after the defeat to Tottenham.

There is a big difference between the appointments of Julen Lopetegui at West Ham and Ange Postecoglou at Spurs.

When it emerged Lopetegui was the man the Hammers were going to pick to succeed David Moyes, fans were seriously underwhelmed.

Whereas the vast majority of Tottenham Hotspur fans were excited by the arrival of Postecoglou.

No compensation was required for West Ham to appoint Lopetegui as he’d been out of work for a year.

Spurs had to pay Celtic £5m for Postecoglou – the man Hammers vice-chair Karren Brady had made it clear she wanted at the London Stadium.

West Ham were linked with sexier names in the summer.

Supporters were genuinely excited when the club met with Ruben Amorim.

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Lopetegui slammed for what he did on final whistle at Spurs

Paulo Fonseca was another in the mix while last week West Ham confirmed talks were held with Thomas Tuchel.

West Ham were also linked with Marco Silva but baulked at his £13m compensation.

Many supporters now feel West Ham have got what they paid for with Lopetegui.

The fact he was not a manager who excited fans means patience is already running out among some.

That is the price on the ticket when your West Ham team loses 4-1 at bitter rivals Spurs.

Postecoglou made Lopetegui look amateurish in the second half as his Tottenham team breezed past the Hammers.

The Spaniard has been heavily criticised for his tactics, team selections and approach so far in east London.

Now Lopetegui has been slammed for what he did on the final whistle of the shambolic West Ham defeat to Spurs but it makes no sense.

Outrage over Lopetegui walk-off makes no sense

As usual West Ham packed out the away end.

But it was empty with 15 minutes still to play and not for the first time this season.

There have already been mass walkouts during defeats against Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Hardly what owners want to see when they’ve just appointed a new manager and spent £155m on nine players.

One criticism of Lopetegui at Spurs is very harsh, though.

Many West Ham fans have voiced anger at the fact Lopetegui went straight down the tunnel at the end of the defeat to Tottenham.

Supporters have been using that as a stick with which to beat their head coach.

But in defence of the 57-year-old what else was he meant to do?

Was Hammers boss really meant to applaud 3,000 empty seats?

Usually players and the manager will go over to the away end and applaud supporters.

So it makes a good headline that Lopetegui ‘went straight down the tunnel’.

However, there were no fans left in the away end at Tottenham for Lopetegui to applaud.

There may have been a handful at best. And yes perhaps he could and should have gone over to them to show his appreciation.

Lopetegui would have been furious with his players judging by the fact he laid the blame squarely at their feet afterwards.

And he would have seen long before the final whistle that the West Ham section had emptied.

Criticise him for his tactics, his team selection, his game management and substitutions or the way he is dealing with certain players like Mohammed Kudus.

But let’s not start a witch hunt over petty things like his failure to applaud 3,000 empty seats.

West Ham fans are better than that.

What Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou told in-house media team about West Ham is shameful

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If West Ham thought things couldn’t get much worse after the demoralising 4-1 defeat to Spurs, then think again.

West Ham have been left licking their wounds after the horror show against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Hammers have been seriously tough opposition for Spurs in recent years.

Given what the fixture means to both sets of fans, showing passion and being competitive should be a given.

Things started well for Julen Lopetegui’s side when Mohammed Kudus put them in front after 18 minutes.

What followed was simply unacceptable, though.

Tottenham levelled, deservedly, before the break. But West Ham were still in a good position for a positive result away from home.

What Postecoglou said about West Ham is shameful

However, the second half was an abomination as West Ham shipped three goals in eight minutes.

It could and should have been four goals in nine minutes but Tottenham captain Son Heung-min struck the inside of the post and it stayed out.

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West Ham had no chance of getting back in the match. But Kudus made sure of it when he “floored” three Tottenham players before being sent off.

Word from former referee Mike Dean after the game is that Kudus will be banned for six games over the incident.

The result and performance against West Ham’s fiercest Premier League rivals has piled the pressure back on Lopetegui.

As a result it has eased on Ange Postecoglou, who continued to play that controversial high line.

London derbies between West Ham and Tottenham should always be tight affairs.

Something is wrong if they aren’t.

Spurs boss rubs salt in the wound for Hammers

So what Spurs boss Postecoglou told his in-house media team about West Ham is just plain shameful.

Usually managers wheel out the usual platitudes about one another and the opposite team pre and post match.

They don’t tend to rub salt in the wound after a win.

But Postecoglou’s comments to Spurs’ media team after the victory should be played to Lopetegui and his players. Because if they don’t spark a reaction to restore some pride, nothing will.

Postecoglou said his team just ‘blew West Ham away’.

His assessment of what West Ham had to offer was nothing more than ‘a bit of an arm wrestle in the first half’.

And he added that it should have been 5 or 6-1 to Spurs.

Hang your heads in shame West Ham

“I thought the boys were good today,” Postecoglou told the Spurs media team.

“They (West Ham) gave us a bit of an arm wrestle in the first half – they’re a tough team to play against (because) they’ve got some physicality that you have to deal with. Disappointing goal we let in but I thought the response to that was good…

“Second half we were really, really dominant and showing all the facets of our game that we needed to…

“We could tell if we went up a gear (we could win the game). We scored the goals, probably could have had a couple more. Sometimes we haven’t capitalised on those moments and kept the opposition in it but we kind of blew them away.”

Hang your heads is shame West Ham.

For a Tottenham manager to be able to come out and saw his team blew West Ham away and should have won 5 or 6-1 is utterly embarrassing.

Lopetegui has to put this right.

West Ham folded like a house of cards and not for the first time under the Spaniard.

He is meant to be getting more out of the players not less.

Smile Hammers fans, after Tottenham humiliation, it's clear West Ham spent the best £15m of all

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There’s a lot of doom and gloom surrounding West Ham United right now, especially after our 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

West Ham were embarrassed by our fiercest Premier League rivals on Saturday, and the performance on the whole was quite simply not good enough.

The fact that we didn’t hear from our club captain Jarrod Bowen after the game made matters worse in my opinion.

Julen Lopetegui has been panned by fans and pundits alike for his disastrous start to life in charge at the London Stadium, with numerous top tier journalists such as Jacob Steinberg going in hard on him.

And rightly so. The Spaniard hasn’t done enough as far as I’m concerned, but it’s still very early days, and he deserves to be given more time as far as I’m concerned.

Also, if we are going to criticise him, it’s only fair that we praise him for the good things he’s done as well.

They may well be few and far between, but it’s only right that we give Lopetegui his flowers for one decision in particular

Aaron Wan-Bissaka an outstanding signing for West Ham

West Ham paid £15 million to bring the 26-year-old full-back to the London Stadium from Manchester United in the summer (Sky Sports).

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I can’t think of many players who have proven to be better value for money for us than Wan-Bissaka for £15 million.

He has already been one of our two standout performers this season, alongside Max Kilman.

The only reason why Man United sold him was to balance the books financially.

They probably will be wishing they had kept hold of him now, after his sensational performance for the Hammers against Spurs.

He made five tackles, four interceptions, four clearances and completed four dribbles. He made 47 passes and recorded a completion rate of 83% (Who Scored).

Those numbers are seriously impressive, and Wan-Bissaka’s performance got me thinking.

What on earth would the score have been had Vladimir Coufal been starting?

I’m not knocking Vlad, he’s a great professional and has been a very solid performer for us over the past four years.

However, Wan-Bissaka is quite clearly on another level entirely to the Czech Republic international.

I think there is a genuine argument to be made that the money we laid out on the 26-year-old is the best £15 million we’ve ever spent.

His pace and power offers us so much down the right hand flank, and I fully expect him to get better and better now over the next few weeks and months.

All we need now is for the rest of the West Ham squad to raise their performances up to Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s levels.

And whilst there is plenty of doom and gloom at the London Stadium, Wan-Bissaka’s performances have been the silver lining.

Michail Antonio made truly bizarre claim before Tottenham game that will rile up the West Ham fans

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West Ham United forward Michail Antonio spoke to a reporter before our clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

And something he said actually defied belief.

Michail Antonio put in a display that typified West Ham overall – he was nowhere near good enough and made things far too easy for his opponents.

Antonio spoke about his desire to reach 100 Premier League goals for the Hammers last week, but after yesterday’s showing, he’ll be lucky to reach 70.

I’m not singling him out for criticism here – pretty much every West Ham player was terrible, aside from Guido Rodriguez, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jarrod Bowen.

Mohammed Kudus would have joined those three players on that list, if he didn’t let us down by getting sent off late on in the game.

We defended atrociously as a team, and Spurs cut through us like a hot knife through butter, time and time again.

It’s been that way at the London Stadium for two years now, and Julen Lopetegui has to find a way of turning it around.

The 34-year-old discussed the Hammers’ defence before the game against Tottenham, and highighted the porous nature of our back-line.

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However, he seems to think this is a new phenomenon that has only occurred since Lopetegui took over.

Before the game against Spurs, Antonio spoke to Darren Fletcher on TNT Sports (October 19th, 11:37 am).

In response to a question asking him what it’s been like since Lopetegui came into the club, Antonio came out with a shocking answer.

He said, “Obviously it’s a completely new way of playing. We’re trying to be a possession-based team now, so we’re more expansive rather than being compact. So we’ve been conceding more goals lately than we normally do.”

Wow. Did the Jamaica international forget that we conceded 74 Premier League goals last season?

That was the worst tally aside from the three teams that got relegated by the way.

Sure, we’ve conceded 15 goals so far in the league this season, and that’s not good enough. But that’s still a better rate than the amount we let in last term.

I can’t actually believe that Michail Antonio highlighted our defending as something that has got worse. Sure, we’re not great, but there’s no way we’ve regressed from last season’s shambolic efforts.

Also, the Hammers forward inferred that the Hammers were tight and compact last season? I don’t think we were at all.

We got ripped through so many times, I’ve almost lost count of the hammerings we were on the end of.

It’s fine to criticise Lopetegui, his methods and the players’ performances. However, let’s not pretend that we were in any way shape or form at the races last season, because we quite simply weren’t.

Videos debunk myth Spurs don’t care about West Ham rivalry after thrashing

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When West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur play one another there is always plenty riding on the result.

The Premier League is back with a bang and Hammers fans probably wish it wasn’t.

Spurs and West Ham fans live and work amongst one another.

There are even families with divided loyalties when it comes this particular London rivalry.

West Ham have bigger rivals in the shape of Millwall and Tottenham have Arsenal.

But beyond that West Ham and Spurs is right up there.

There’s no love lost between the two clubs on or off the pitch.

From pitch to terraces to boardroom.

West Ham defeat to Spurs will sting more than most

That was evident as Mohammed Kudus was sent off for flooring three Tottenham players towards the end of a chastening 4-1 defeat.

The fact some of the Hammers fanbase have applauded Kudus’ actions tells you much about the strength of feeling in this particular fixture.

West Ham have enjoyed goading Tottenham in recent years, especially after their European trophy win.

So the Hammers have to suck this one up and take it on the chin.

While West Ham supporters openly admit they see Tottenham as their biggest Prem rivals in the absence of Millwall, there is an element of denial from north London.

Many Spurs fans patronisingly claim the rivalry is one-sided and that they don’t care about West Ham.

Chants of “4-1 in your cup final” from the home end providing evidence of that.

But videos have debunked the myth Spurs don’t care about the West Ham rivalry after the thrashing.

Videos debunk myth Spurs don’t care about West Ham rivalry

Social media has been awash with videos from Tottenham fans that disprove claims they don’t care about the Hammers.

Thousands stayed on the concourses after the game for a sing-song about the club that apparently aren’t their rivals.

‘West Ham get battered everywhere they go’ rang out as Tottenham rejoiced in the victory.

The scenes are reminiscent of a fanbase that had just watched their side win a trophy.

Anyone watching might have thought Ange Postecoglou had been true to his promise of delivering silverware in his second season.

Except no trophies are handed out for this particular cup final.

Tottenham have the latest bragging rights firmly in their grasp, though.

There’s not a lot the Hammers can do about that now until they meet again in the final month of the season.

Revenge will be on the cards at the London Stadium.

But make no mistake Spurs do care about West Ham and this proved it.

Comments in the videos from West Ham fans shared a common theme – asking ‘We thought you didn’t care about us’.

Credit where it is due, though, Spurs were and are the better side and have a better, braver manager in charge.

It is that kind of humility from the Hammers which sets them and Tottenham apart.

And one of the big reasons for the intense dislike between the two fanbases in the first place.

While West Ham fans sing about being massive with an element of self-deprecation, Spurs fans actually believe it.

West Ham fans didn’t stick around to be goaded with the 3,000 plus strong claret and blue army leaving long before the final whistle.

While Tottenham fans partied off the pitch, on it there a number of Hammers stars who didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.

Pathetic Lucas Paqueta and awful Alphonse Areola took the shine off their 8/10 quartet.

The result piles the pressure back on West Ham’s head coach.

Julen Lopetegui puts blame on West Ham players for Spurs humbling and criticises Mohammed Kudus

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Julen Lopetegui is in no mood to take the fall for West Ham’s dire capitulation in the 4-1 defeat to Premier League rivals Spurs.

When the Hammers were beaten out of sight by Chelsea at home a month ago, Julen Lopetegui held his hands up.

The West Ham boss admitted he had got his strange tactics all wrong.

The 57-year-old played Edson Alvarez as a libero grande centre-back tasked with man-marking Chelsea’s fastest player Nicolas Jackson.

West Ham were 1-0 down a couple of minutes in and 2-0 down shortly after as Alvarez’s lack of pace was brutally exposed.

Lopetegui subbed off Guido Rodriguez with half an hour played.

And after the game the former Spain boss apologised to the player and fans, saying it was his fault as he had got the tactics wrong.

Fast forward to West Ham’s game at their biggest Premier League rivals and it was more of the same.

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Lopetegui blames West Ham players for Spurs humbling

The Hammers took a lead through Mohammed Kudus and looked ok. They were pegged back and went in at half-time 1-1.

But the second half collapse was as alarming and chastening as Spurs scored three and could have scored six.

The manner in which West Ham concede shots at their goal so easily has been prevalent all season.

It means against quality opposition, it is almost impossible for the Hammers to keep a clean sheet let alone win.

Hammers fans are seething after the Tottenham shambles.

Thousands left 15 minutes before the final whistle for the third time already under the new manager.

Except this time he was not willing to take the bullets for his team.

Lopetegui has put the blame on West Ham’s players for the Spurs humbling and has criticised Kudus.

The Spaniard made it perfectly clear he and his staff had the players well drilled on what they needed to do.

But they failed to execute and let down the fans according to Lopetegui.

Some have been critical of the Hammers boss for failing to make changes sooner. However, while he conceded he wanted to get subs on before the killer third goal, the players on the pitch were to blame for the mess which unfolded.

Hammers boss takes new pop at star boy Kudus

“In the second half, after the second goal, we can do much better than we did to avoid these moments for sure because all our players knew what their players were going to do,” Lopetegui told West Ham’s website.

“We didn’t defend well. After the second goal, we had a lot of time to be competitive and to draw or even win the match, and I think the worst thing today was the eight minutes when we were not competitive…

“We wanted to make the substitutions at 2-1, but everything happened very fast. It’s true that even before it went 2-1 that we were thinking about changing the players, but things in football can happen very fast, and it was a bad moment for us.

“Despite not getting the substitutes on, I think we can do better with the players on the pitch. It’s about keeping the focus and the right mentality.”

The head coach also took a pop at ill-disciplined Kudus for his late red card, despite being West Ham’s most dangerous player.

His comments will undoubtedly make headlines after the pair had a bust-up at Brentford recently after which Lopetegui accused Kudus of not playing for the team.

“You’ve got to control frustration in these moments,” Lopetegui added about Kudus.

“I think that Mo had a good match in the first half above all. It was a pity that he didn’t stay on the pitch until the end because, despite that one moment happening, we have to avoid these kinds of moments.

“It is understandable to be hurt in this moment, but the players have to control this situation because the red card is not a good thing for him, for us, or for the club.”

Radio silence from West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen is unacceptable

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Jarrod Bowen was named as the new West Ham United club captain back in the summer.

West Ham signed Jarrod Bowen from Hull City in the 2020 January transfer window, for around £20 million.

What a signing he has proven to be for us, and Julen Lopetegui named him the new Hammers captain in the summer after seeing him as someone who leads by example with his performances.

In my opinion, that was a horrendous decision at the time – Bowen is a lot of things but he’s definitely not a leader of men.

He is an exceptional player, and he’s done great things for the Hammers. That doesn’t mean he should have been given the armband though.

The left-footed right winger never speaks on the pitch, he doesn’t lift his teammates when they’re not playing well and you never see him getting in the referee’s ear when decisions are going against us.

Whilst he didn’t play too badly against Tottenham yesterday, the fact that he didn’t face up to the press after the game was pathetic if you ask me.

That might sound a little harsh but when things are going against you as a club, you need a proper captain to take on the responsibility that the role requires.

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Unacceptable radio silence from West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen

Following the embarrassing defeat at the hands of Spurs, Bowen was nowhere to be seen.

I expected him to talk to reporters after the game, apologies to the fans and promise that he and his teammates will be much better against Manchester United next weekend.

However, Bowen did something that proves his not captain material in my opinion.

As far as I’m concerned, when a team suffers such a heavy defeat to our biggest rivals in the league, the captain should face up the media.

Instead, Tomas Soucek was the sacrificial lamb chosen to speeak to the press straight after the game.

Max Kilman then spoke to the in-house media team alter on, but still no word from “captain” Bowen.

Mark Noble would have been the first player to speak to reporters after we lost games like the one against Tottenham on Saturday.

Shocking Bowen decision

As mentioned earlier, I love Jarrod Bowen, and I think he’s the best and most consistent player at West Ham.

However, there is one thing he’s not in my opinion, and that is a proper leader.

The 27-year-old never should’ve been made captain in the summer. I would have given the armband to Max Kilman or Tomas Soucek instead.

The problem now is that it’s almost impossible to strip someone of the captaincy during a season – it would cause too much controversy within the squad.

Bowen is not a leader in any way shape of form, nor is he comfortable with the position he’s been given in my view.

The Hammers are severely lacking players with real character now, right when we need someone to lift everyone in that dressing room.

There could be trouble ahead for West Ham, and Jarrod Bowen needs to man up and start taking some responsibility off the pitch.

Hooked West Ham star lifts lid on what was said in dressing room after Spurs drubbing

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A top West Ham star who was substituted in the 4-1 Premier League drubbing at bitter rivals Spurs has revealed what was said after the game.

West Ham United have been abysmal in 2024 and that continued at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Hammers have won just seven of 35 games in all competitions since the turn of the year.

That is relegation form.

Julen Lopetegui looked like he might have lift off when West Ham beat Ipswich 4-1 before the international break.

It was a false dawn, though, as the Hammers suffered another pitiful and painful defeat to a rival.

Deeply concerning 3-0 and 5-1 defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool were one thing.

Getting hammered by their biggest Premier League rivals sounds the alarm bells for West Ham after the 4-1 reverse at Spurs.

Make no mistake, it could and should have been by a greater margin too.

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West Ham’s insipid defeat to biggest Premier League rivals

West Ham fans packed out the away end as always.

But it was empty with 15 minutes to go as the Irons collapsed in spectacular style.

This is not the first time Hammers fans have left games early this season. That in itself is sending a grave message to the club’s owners about the manager.

West Ham lack fight, passion, togetherness and resilience. Especially when their backs are to the wall.

But this is not exclusive to the fledgling Lopetegui era, it was happening under David Moyes too.

West Ham’s midfield is broken. It simply does not function and has been thrown together with absolutely zero thought.

It is slow, immobile and lacking in any guile. The personnel do not complement each other at all.

The midfield gives little protection to the defence and offers nothing going forwards either.

One man at the heart of it saw himself substituted again by Lopetegui at Tottenham.

Hooked West Ham star lifts lid on what was said after Spurs

Now hooked West Ham star Tomas Soucek has lifted the lid on what was said in the dressing room after the Spurs drubbing.

Soucek has been one of the club’s most reliable players for years.

But he did not have a good day in north London – like too many of his teammates.

So what was said and how was the mood in the Hammers dressing room after the humbling?

Soucek says there is ‘anger, frustration and sadness’ in the dressing room.

The big Czech says the players told each other in the changing room they cannot allow performances like the one at Spurs to happen anymore.

And there was a rallying call between them so say they have a full week to prepare for Man United and put things right.

Soucek: ‘We just said this can’t happen’

“Obviously, we are so angry, so frustrated, all of us,” Soucek told TNT Sports in an interview which you can see below.

“We just said this can’t happen because it’s a big derby, it’s for us, for our pride, for our fans, it’s a massive game, and we lost. And we lost in a big difference.

“We are just very sad, but we also said that this is one thing and we have the whole week to overcome and win the next game at home against United.

“One thing happened today and we have the whole week to do something with that.”

West Ham are already miles off the stated aim for the season – the European spots.

There are no signs performances or results are going to change dramatically anytime soon.

The jury is very much out on Lopetegui.

But the club’s summer transfers are also in the spotlight too, unfortunately for Tim Steidten.

One thing is certain. After spending £155m on nine new players, it will be easier for the club to change one man – Lopetegui – than half a squad yet again.

word response to big Julen Lopetegui question after Spurs shambles

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The pressure has piled back on Julen Lopetegui after West Ham’s shambolic 4-1 Premier League defeat to bitter rivals Tottenham.

The Hammers went into the October international break off the back of a much needed 4-1 win over Ipswich.

That cooled some of the heat on Julen Lopetegui after the hugely disappointing start to his West Ham tenure.

Media spotlight had shifted from the Spaniard to Tottenham Hotspur and Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs’ spectacular collapse from 2-0 up at half-time to lose 3-2 at Brighton making sure of that.

But as the Premier League got back underway with West Ham’s trip to Tottenham, the pressure has once again shifted to east London.

Things looked to be going well as the Hammers took a 1-0 lead through Mohammed Kudus with 18 minutes on the lock.

The Hammers star boy celebrated in trademark style by taking a seat at the side of the pitch.

He would end it taking a seat in the dressing room on his own after being sent off for catching Micky van de Ven with a push to the face.

The manner of West Ham’s defeat to their fiercest Premier League rivals is alarming.

After similarly insipid and spineless displays against Chelsea and Liverpool, questions are being asked of the manager yet again.

West Ham’s nine-word response to big Lopetegui question

Lopetegui has now lost his best player for at least three games.

Although top former referee Mike Dean has claimed Kudus will be banned for SIX games.

Hammers fans are far from happy with the result and performance.

And many are now raising serious doubts over their new head coach.

As speculation swirls yet again, Hammers News has spoken exclusively to the top source close to the owners.

Now West Ham have issued a nine-word response to the big Lopetegui question after the Spurs shambles.

It was put to the top senior London Stadium source that such a collapse against a big rival is unacceptable.

Hammers News also put it to the senior source that Lopetegui has his work cut out to win fans over.

Especially as supporters left in their thousands 15 minutes before the end. And not for the first time this season.

Hammers response is understatement after Spurs shambles

The top spokesman close to the owners told Hammers News: “It was a very bad day at the office.”

You can say that again.

If this was an office the manager would be on a warning that’s for sure.

Of course Lopetegui was always going to need time after a 21-player turnaround in the summer.

The simple fact of the matter is that things shouldn’t be this bad after such a promising and exciting summer.

You would expect players to be desperate to impress a new manager.

That alone can usually be enough to get a few results.

A new manager is supposed to get some sort of reaction.

Things shouldn’t be this bad at West Ham

But thus far there is little sign of that at all.

Beating Ipswich and Crystal Palace, two of the bottom four, is hardly anything to write home about.

And the Palace win was extremely fortunate as the hosts could and should have been out of sight in that game.

West Ham fans have seen no real signs of a clear identity as yet.

Managers at other clubs have made their mark in terms of style of play from the get go.

Look at Fabian Hurzeler at Brighton or Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth.

Manchester United next weekend now becomes massive.

If Lopetegui does not pick up some wins between now and the November international break, it could give the owners a major decision to make.