Within the past few moments, West Ham have officially confirmed that Nuno Espírito Santo will remain as the club’s head coach following relegation to the Championship.
The decision follows a series of meetings held at David Sullivan’s Essex mansion, with Daniel Křetínský attending remotely via Zoom.
After two days of internal wrangling, it appears Křetínský has ultimately won out over Sullivan, who was understood to favour dismissing Espírito Santo following relegation.
The club’s board released the following statement on the official website:
“We held meetings with Head Coach Nuno Espírito Santo early this week and are pleased to confirm that he has expressed his continued commitment to the Club – as we have to him.
“Nuno made it very clear that he is highly motivated for the challenge of guiding West Ham United back to the top flight at the first time of asking. That must be the unquestionable goal for next season.
“Nuno has spent one previous year in the EFL Championship and it was an outstanding success as he secured 99 points to win the title with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018.”
No Mention Of Director Of Football
Interestingly, there was no mention whatsoever of a Director of Football within the club statement despite growing expectation that West Ham would move towards a more structured football model following relegation.
It is still understood the Hammers are likely to pursue that route behind the scenes.
As Matt reported earlier today, Paco Jémez is also expected to remain at the club as part of Nuno’s coaching staff, although there has been no confirmation.
Kretinsky Influence Growing Behind The Scenes
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the entire situation is what the outcome says about the balance of power inside West Ham.
For many years, Sullivan has largely operated the football club his own way.
However, this decision appears to represent a significant moment because Křetínský’s preference has seemingly prevailed despite Sullivan pushing for a managerial change.
Whether that points towards a genuine dilution of Sullivan’s control remains to be seen, but it is difficult not to view this as an important shift behind the scenes at the London Stadium.
In my opinion, this is the wrong decision. Rather than developing players like Scarles and Potts, we’ll likely see more Pablos. And lots of them.
Im not a fan of Nuno however he has to be a better pick than Parker or O’Neil surely. The championship is all about attacking the opposition. let’s just hope Nuno recognises that.
Back to walking defensive football it is then
That’s ruined the week if believed he doesn’t speak to players during games fiddled about most of his time here with the selections and to be honest can you comprehend what he talks about in interviews.. The titanic springs to mind ‘ the band played as the ship went down make way in Division one
how strange.
some people have been seduced by the cult of nuno.
if he didnt know his best team in the premiership or without having to experiment with it?
we cant afford to tinker for half of next season we have to be at it from day one.this is a huge mistake.its not about me being negative.oh where 2-0 up at millwall the goalscorer
has been taken off and a defender brought on.final score millwal 3 west ham 2.total madness.we are the next sheffield wednesday.the game is up.who said the sign of madness is continually doing the same thing and expecting a different result.only west ham could keep on the same manager and give him more money for being relegated.sheer lunacy.it took the great late john lyall to get us back up and boy the players he had.it all smacks of safety not ambition.i have been following west ham for 54 years and i have never seen such ineptitude as this.no nuno seems a decent man and its not all down to him.sullivan has mugged the west ham faithful.can you really see us going to wrexham one teaming down wednesdy night and come away with anything except the howling laughter of the steemed up wrexham fans.strap youselves in folks its going to be one hell of a ride.
if the directors cant find a tracksuited young and hungry for success manager anywhere the they need to close the place down and place a huge chain over the door.one thing i will say is if nuno fancies it then hes made of stronger stuff than i give him credit for but boy is he going to need i will be suprised if this gets printed because people have settled for safety over truth.im going to send a patches request now to my gp surgery.i was under the impression we where a serious outfit that had something about us.i need reasurance from the doctor that all will be well in the end.
Sullivan should now take on an advisory role, anything he advises do the opposite, how’s that for long term planning?
COYI
Fantastic news.
The worst news possible.
We give and reward the worst manager I can remember.
Absolute disaster.
The guy has no clue.
Bowen will be off who was our best chance of going up.
Simple rule is just do the opposite of what Sullivan thinks is a good idea. The interesting dynamic here will be the influence of Mendes over Salthouse- neither healthy !
This is by far the best news we could have had and all of those saying that it isn’t, well, who would you pick to get us out of this mess? A gamble with Parker, who can’t cut it in the Premiership, O’Neill, who i like but is untested in the Championship or at a club for any length of time, Bilic, who hasn’t coached anyone decent since he coached us YEARS ago. As someone else mentioned, Nuno knows the squad AND the U-21’s and who could likely step up from there once player sales are completed, has previous experience of getting out of the Championship and then stabilising a club once promoted and the player’s already know how he wants to play. He might also be a factor in some of the bigger names staying.
I see us winning the division and maybe even with a record points tally. All of those saying League 1 here we come, well, try to see things in a more positive light, this is exactly what we needed. The time for gambling isn’t now.
I think you may have Korsakoff syndrome, Saul, which includes symptoms such as severe, often irreversible memory loss, difficulty forming new memories, profound confusion, hallucinations, and confabulation. Plesse head down to your nearest A&E asap.
What and wait 12 hours to be seen? Rather sit with my hallucinations thanks, if that’s what they are, maybe they’re reality, I can’t remember now. Isn’t Korsakoff a chess player……?
Brilliant
Given how soon the season will start for us not a bad decision. I actually think that Mendes, the agent Nuno uses, is a good part of this decision. Kretinsky might see Mendes finding (or placing) players with us to get out of the Championship and then repeat in the Premier League. It worked at Wolves. None of us is likely thrilled with outsourcing player recruitment to an agent but it’s better than Sullivan and his agent mates.
I would rather stick with Nuno than bring in some of the other names being mentioned like Scott Parker or Gary O’Neil. Nuno came into an extremely difficult situation and inherited an aging, unbalanced squad, so I don’t think he’s had a fair run at it yet. A full pre-season and the chance to build more of his own team could make a big difference.
He knows the squad inside out now as well, so if players are sold he’ll have a much better idea of what replacements are actually needed. I also like that he’s given academy players opportunities, which bodes well for the future. Hopefully we keep Pac man too because his influence since arriving has at least made us more competitive.
Has Nuno made some strange decisions since arriving? Absolutely. But every manager has moments where supporters are left scratching their head. No manager gets every decision right. I just think judging him properly after a difficult mid-season appointment with the squad he inherited would be harsh. Hopefully he will play on the front foot next season and get us back to where we belong.
The plot thickens! So if Nuno does indeed stay then I hope very much that his assistant Paco Jemez stays too. And it’ll be interesting to see how many players have enough confidence in them both that they commit to the Championship fight alongside Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek. It’s down to loyalty versus money/ambition. Come On You LIONS!
It’s got to be better than Sullivan hiring another completely unsuitable manager. He obviously failed in his attempt to throw Nuno under the bus, as with Karren Brady, in the attempt to deflect blame from himself. It would be good to see the back of Sullivan altogether. But any reduction in his ability to call all the shots just as he likes has to be a good thing. Nuno inherited a terrible situation and nearly pulled off a recovery, thwarted by other teams finding form in the last few games. We’re not going to get anyone better right now, and all the candidates mentioned have big doubts against their names. The squad was not of PL quality and other than Bowen their departure should not be lamented. We now need a rebuild which is not controlled by Sullivan and his agent friends.
Outcome of this will entirely depend on what he is left with after firesale.
He needs Paco as results improved with his arrival.
Has identified tinkering caused relegation and needs to avoid instincts which don’t work.
Due to split in fans and Sullivan/Kretinsky wil not be any leeway if things go wrong Nuno will be a scapegoat.
Sooner there’s an even split shares the better don’t need power struggles.
Is it a case of better the devil you know or just saving a few bob on compensation?
1st mistake, didn’t take long did it . Doesn’t motivate during games from sidelines
I look at that as positive, why would Nuno even think about staying if he didn’t think he could get us up again. Perhaps promises of a decent squad and keeping some key players were made.
The only problem is if the dreaded protests start up again in the new season together with the bad unpositive vibes it produces to the degradation of the team.
Good news. Nuno is a lovely bloke. Pleased for him. Can’t keep changing managers it doesn’t work. With Nuno I think we’ll be straight back up.
Wow, West Ham actually going for some continuity and stability? Someone’s seen the light! I think it’s probably what the club needs at this point in time. And if the Kretinsky vs Sullivan angle is true, that is even better news, because at least one senior personality in the club perhaps recognises the need creating a more settled and stable environment without all this clamour for yet another manager change. If Nuno is given the time and tools maybe we can follow in the footsteps of clubs like Bournemouth, Brentford et al. Let’s hope so anyway. COYI.
My only concern is that we rinse and repeat the Moyes situation, where many of our supporters decided the manager wasn’t for them and he had to go. The constant protests made matchdays fairly unbearable and arguably the useless owners folded under the pressure. I don’t want to live through that again.
Just glad Sullivan did not get his way.
Wether the correct decision or not.
Nuno did make some odd tactical decisions at times.
I think this is an early phase of the fundamental changes some fans have been talking about for a long time. I do not think you can expect DS to quit like Brady – the 2 situations/positions are not comparable and WHU will be a family heirloom to be passed on by him. Just my guess.
It is happening discreetly enough to save face (would not happen otherwise dur to ego & pride) and is the price of recent & calamitous failings by senior management. It is what people have been wanting, but not as clear cut and there will be times DS will win, but his recent record will undermine this.
To me, it is not a bad situation for the club, with Kretinsky’s empire and his current involvement as chairman of Sparta Prague, ability to bring in managerial teams to look after finances, marketing and so on. He feeds off turning bad business into profitable ones.
I’ll always be wary of selling up to US & other business vultures looking to propel teams up the PL at any price, throwing money at it rather than getting academy to work properly – ours is not, when you look at this past season.
I’m.70. I’ve been going since I was 4
I grew up in Humberstone rd half a mile from Upton Park and I’ve seen it all.
Sullivan and Brady have brought me to the point of really not giving a fork anymore. What will be will be
Sad isn’t it
It does that to you😊. They are cynical so and so’s. Like others, I do think there is a shift, but it will be gradual, could be long as a Tolkien saga.
Brady gone & less of a one man show now – might cheer you up?
For me, I wish WHU would play their own attractive style of attacking football, a blend of everything out there, so that you want to go and watch every Saturday and don’t care anymore who is a shareholder. Not so sure it’ll happen but good if Jemez is there, …if they listen to him.
see ya.
Gonzo
Fantastic news…NOT.
I predict Nuno will be gone by Xmas.
It’s good being a West Ham fan innit.
League One here we come. Nothing much else to say. How on earth can you keeep a manger who won’t even talk to his players at half time!!
And we’re choosing to believe that particular speculation? I’d prefer something more concrete than simple speculation personally.