New West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo was clearly a man in a hurry to take the Hammers job before the trip to Everton.
As has been reported on numerous occasions, the West Ham board had considered leaving the appointment of the former Nottingham Forest coach until after the games against Everton and Arsenal.
The flawed thinking from Irons bosses was to give Nuno more winnable fixtures and an international break to work with his new players.
However, being the competitor Espirito Santo is, he was unwilling to write off six valuable points. The Portuguese coach was eager to get to work at Rush Green as soon as possible, despite not yet having lined up his full backroom staff.
Set-Piece Priority
Despite having only two training sessions with his new West Ham squad, it has now been revealed that Nuno prioritised set-piece organisation above all else. The Hammers have been horrific at defending corners this season, conceding a record number in the Premier League – a key reason for their poor start.
Nuno immediately got to work on West Ham’s set-pieces
But the new gaffer had clearly been keeping a close eye on his team and knew exactly what to do in his first training sessions.
Defend set-pieces, fight for every ball, and move the ball forward more quickly. Sounds simple, right? Nonetheless, it proved effective and highlighted just how many footballing basics West Ham had been getting wrong under Graham Potter.
I think if anything shows how the board need to be slinging their hooks then it’s the fact that we were considering keeping Potter on for the games against Everton and Arsenal as they were considered “unwinnable.”
That speaks volumes about the ambition and desire they have, really.
Obviously, Arsenal are going to be at least in contention for a league title push but to look at Everton and consider that a fair 3 points to drop is a shambolic mentality to have.
That’s an interesting theory except for the fact that Potter got a draw against Everton away last season and a win against Arsenal away. Four points from the two games.
Sounds simple and it is indeed simple. Coach the players to be aware of the basics and encourage a cohesive understanding of each other. Leave the flair and brilliance to the individuals and allow them to impress and enjoy.
Enable a sense of job satisfaction for all concerned with the team and drive forward as a unit celebrating each other’s efforts.
Simple – yes – COYI
Just throwing out there…..did Antonio start as a full back…..can see Diouf being our centre forward for years. He’d scare the living daylights out of centre half’s…..just a thought.
This is an Antonio myth – at Forest Antonio’s favorite position was an inverted left winger
After the Euros Slav tried to convert Antonio into a right back to mimic the role played for England by Nathaniel Clyne – this was a short-lived experiment that didn’t work and was abandoned
For me, Diouf is a left winger and Summerville would be attacking midfielder.