Both West Ham United and Nuno Espírito Santo himself have been keen to stress this morning that the arrivals of Valentín Castellanos and Pablo Felipe Pereira de Jesus were the manager’s decisions.
Earlier today, a top club source told Claret & Hugh directly:
“The strikers are 100% the manager’s picks.”
Quite frankly, that clarification is welcome, particularly after the summer signings were initially attributed to Kyle Macaulay, before Max Hahn was eventually given credit.
Earlier, in his pre-Nottingham Forest press conference, Nuno revealed he had been offered several forwards but made his stance clear:
“Taty and Pablo were the ones I wanted.”
Nuno Espirito Santo poses with Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe
Brave Players Only
On a day when West Ham supporters learned that Callum Wilson is now surplus to requirements, the Hammers boss also hinted at what he expects from new arrivals — and perhaps what he feels has been missing.
“Players who come in have to arrive with the intention to be brave.
We need to make sure they come with a purpose.”
Whether that comment was aimed at the lack of desire and application seen in the 3–0 humiliation against Wolverhampton Wanderers remains unclear. What is certain is that Nuno himself played a significant role in that dreadful performance.
There certainly appeared to be several players hiding and failing to give maximum effort at Molineux. Perhaps Castellanos and Pablo can inject the quality, intensity and belief so desperately needed — with what could be the most crucial match of the season looming.
Win, and West Ham move to within a single point of Forest. Lose, and the gap stretches to seven — which would surely feel like game over in the relegation fight.
Well Nuno try being brave yourself and try and play on the front foot instead of sitting back and defending all the time…leopards do not change there spots
When David Sullivan was asked if he was the one who picked Valentín Castellanos and Pablo Felipe Pereira de Jesus he said No No Nuno. Yes, yes, Come On You Irons!
When I watch our lot playing like proper deers in headlights – passing the ball sideways and backwards and doing nothing assertive or playing simply just back to the keeper, it reminds me of when things started to come apart under DM. Since we got shot of him we have continued on our spiral of going progressively backwards. The rot definitely set in during the last 18 months of his reign. With that said and all that we’ve had to witness on and off the pitch since then, I worry that we are so far gone as far as any real belief, let alone any semblance of conviction is concerned that the Championship is now looking like a reality – tomorrows game will either be the major turning point or confirmation of the seemingly inevitable. Gutted how we have got to this point.
Spot on Gonzo, You seem to right what the common man would say, well definitely what I’m thinking.
I hope we have a defender or two coming in.
They do look like good choices, despite recent poor record for Castellanos. He will bring a calm head in front of goal, which Wilson and Bowen also have. Looking forward to seeing Pedro play.
I think it is not about bravery but a blend of youth and inexperience. Manager had to foresee this possibility (always present with youth teams). He brought on Soucek perhaps for this.
He changed the system from the previous game, yet again, but with inexperienced players it is demanding to adapt all of a sudden. I’m guessing without Paqueta Potter was asked to become a provider (because he kept pressing forward something he never does). Yet it is impossible to expect him to become provider all of a sudden. So that left Fernandes. Good luck to him.
Also, there was nobody helping them by organizing them on the pitch until Soucek was on. Each is left to his own devices and if it is not working it can crumble.
You could say Magassa was not brave, but not true, he was overrun. The manager played his hand very poorly, got caught out and did not react quickly and later in the game, not at all. Best say nothing sometimes.
Getting rid of Wilson makes no sense at all. The two new strikers are unproven and I really feel we have bought a dud in Castellanos. Nothwithstanding that Nuno has bid for a goalkeeper ( presumably out of spite as Areola criticised him publicly) and needs to slacked immediately