As early as August, after just two Premier League matchdays, Rob Green was already wondering if West Ham United had made a mistake letting Michail Antonio, Aaron Cresswell, Danny Ings, Lukasz Fabianski and Vladimir Coufal leave in the same summer.
Five players had amassed over 1,000 appearances for West Ham United in a combined 35 years of service. Five players who will forever be immortalised in Hammers history thanks to their role in the Europa Conference League triumph of 2023.
Just two years later, they were gone.
And while Graham Potter welcomed Lukasz Fabianski back to the London Stadium only a few months later – the goalkeeper signed a short-term deal until the summer of 2026 – this is a West Ham team badly lacking in leadership, experience, and, most worryingly of all, fighting spirit.
Say what you want about Vladimir Coufal’s technical ability, what the tough-tackling Czech veteran never shied away from was a battle. Close friend and long-time teammate Tomas Soucek said West Ham lost a ‘warrior’ when the 30-year-old right-back left upon the expiry of his contract.
And, predictably, Coufal became an immediate favourite at Hoffenheim after moving to Germany on a free transfer. Not only among the fans in Sinsheim, but for head coach Christian Ilzer too.
Vladimir Coufal has been ‘flawless’ since leaving West Ham United for Hoffenheim
Famously, the 33-year-old never scored a goal during half a decade in claret and blue. He needed only four matches, though, to open his account for Hoffenheim.
Vladimir Coufal opened his Bundesliga account against Bayern Munich, no less. A first goal at club level since he was playing for Slavia Prague in December 2019. And a first-ever free-kick.
Two months on, Coufal has since provided assists against both St Pauli and Freiburg. This means he is averaging a goal contribution once every three games at Hoffenheim, compared to once every nine at West Ham.
And for those who questioned whether he had the legs to last in the Premier League, that Coufal has adapted so effortlessly to the famously fast-paced Bundesliga is one in the eye for the doubters.
“He’s incredibly willing to run. There’s no question about his age,” Ilzer told Kicker after another fine Coufal display during Saturday’s 3-1 win over Heidenheim. “He’s in top shape and highly professional in everything he does.
“He’s an enormous asset to our game in both directions.
“Vlad does an excellent job of resolving difficult situations, controlling difficult balls, and making the right decisions. Defending in the last line and attacking in the first line is not an easy position, both tactically and physically. He does it truly flawlessly.”
Coufal’s attitude is something missing from Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham
Per SWR, Coufal has been an ‘absolute giant’ in the baby blue of Hoffenheim. Not literally, of course. He stands at a diminutive 5ft 9ins. But spiritually.
“My task here is clear,” Coufal said earlier in the campaign. “I want to fulfil my mission and help TSG succeed. I’m concentrating on that. Both the executives and the coach [Ilzer] showed me a clear plan and quickly convinced me.
“Many clubs now only rely on young players, but they also need experienced players to take these young players under their wing.”
It is exactly that attitude – a willingness to lead by example – which West Ham could do with right now.
“I look off the pitch as well as on it,” a worried Rob Green told Sky Sports after watching Chelsea tear Potter’s Coufal-less backline apart at the London Stadium. “And you look at the guys who have walked away from here. Danny Ings, Coufal, Fabianski, Antonio…
“Guys who weren’t going to play every week but they were part of a successful team here and they were part of what made the dressing room tick, and you need that.
“Right now, you’re looking around and going, ‘[Apart from] Jarrod Bowen, where are the leaders?
“You’re looking around the game, you’re looking around the dressing room, and it feels like there’s not that drive there. And it’s a horrible thing to say. It’s a horrible thing to say about a dressing room. [But] you just don’t feel like there’s the nastiness in there to turn it around.”
Two months and four Premier League points later, Green’s concerns feel particularly prophetic.
