By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Nuno Espírito Santo marks one year as West Ham manager today, 27 September. It is a difficult anniversary to celebrate.
He took charge of a Premier League club and now has the job of getting us out of the Championship at the first time of asking. West Ham’s relegation was confirmed on the final day, despite beating Leeds 3–0.
Some supporters still place the blame on Graham Potter. I understand why, but Nuno had most of a Premier League season to turn things around. For me, he took far too long to hit the ground running.
Potter struggled at West Ham
Nuno cannot escape his share of the blame
The games against Brentford, Leeds and Newcastle stand out when I think about his tendency to over-tweak and experiment with the team. We needed points, and the margin between West Ham and Tottenham was small enough that every missed opportunity mattered.
Then there were the leads we failed to protect. We went two up at Bournemouth and drew 2–2; at Chelsea, a 2–0 half-time lead became a 3–2 defeat.
My view is that Nuno’s instinct to sit back when we were in a healthy position contributed to those lost points. He more than played his part in our relegation.
That said, he was handed something of a poisoned chalice. Potter was absolutely useless and never should have been appointed. Before him came another dreadful stint under Julen Lopetegui.
Which brings me to the main culprit: David Sullivan. West Ham’s current plight reflects years of poor managerial decisions. Sullivan even sacked the one decent appointment in David Moyes, rehired him, and then parted ways with him again.
NES Statistics
| Competition | P | W | D | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | 54 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 63.0% |
| Premier League | 219 | 83 | 54 | 82 | 37.9% |
Promotion could change the story
I am more than happy to change my mind on Nuno. If he takes us straight back to the Premier League, I will give him the credit he deserves.
I want more than an unchallengeable goal difference, though. I want a side that wins promotion and entertains us along the way.
There are at least signs that things are beginning to change. Whilst the Hammers defending still leaves much to be desired, we’re scoring goals and lots of them.
People wondered whether Nuno could repeat what he did with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2017/18. That team won the Championship with 99 points, nine clear of second place.
West Ham’s own board specifically pointed to that record when confirming Nuno would remain in charge following relegation. They described an immediate return to the Premier League as the club’s unquestionable goal.
Early signs suggest he is capable of building another promotion side here.
If he does it, I think we will have witnessed an excellent redemption story.
But the anniversary itself is no cause for celebration.
Nuno’s second year needs to answer for his first.
I really did try to give Luno a chance last season, he inherited a team in a bad place. For weeks I looked forward to Fulham Brighton & Forest at home over the Xmas/New Year period with the 3 point banker every other side had had with Wolves away.
One point — I was devasted and accepted we were going down, but ….NO….. Paqueta left, Disasi, Taty and Pablo arrived, and even though we threw that Chelsea game, it had been a pleasure to have been at Stamford Bridge
Luno seemed to have something going and even Dinos became a star…. and then came Newcastle, the one team doing worse than everyone else, and Luno sends out a defensive side, and we were relegated, for that i wont ever forgive him.
I’ll accept Luno should give us a good chance of promotion this season, but if and when we do get promoted, the first thing Kretinsky needs to do is relieve Luno of his job and hire a Premiership manager.
The jury is still out on Nuno, he is very good at survival football like Moyes and Allardyce are, they can have good seasons and compete, then they get found out and are predictable which equates to boring.
A leopard can’t change its spots so this is what we are stuck with, I was hopeful with Potter and he was a disappointment, I think the perfect manager for us would be Eddie Howe, his teams work hard and play football because if we are honest the attacking managers haven’t done well to say the least because they don’t work hard enough off the ball.
I would rather have Nuno than a punt at something else and I would rather have Howe or an Iraola type than Nuno.
Nothing Nuno does from here on changes any decision he made last season, and there was no shortage of naive, rookie mistakes made. Curious for someone who was alleged to have in depth experience of relegation battles and who was paid £millions to deliver. No doubt there were contributing factors, but most of those existed before he accepted the job. Never mind the excuses, his decisions took us down. Just like the back five, West Ham should be looking for Nuno’s successor now, even if it takes a few months to find the right one. Hopefully, the board will have reviewed their contract writing skills before then.
Numo did inherit a team that had never truly recovered from selling Declan Rice .
The midfield and Cente forwards were all getting old .
Potter was the true disaster for the club and hence why Brady should have left earlier as she apparently appointed him …
His team was always doomed . Everyone could see it apart from him !
Playing teams with no centre forward ….
Numo is lucky to have kept his job but the football this season has been a pleasure to watch ….. and it’s been a long time since I have said that
Many people on this site lamented the fact that we didn’t keep Paco as assistant manager
We instead got back Nuno’s main man Rui
So the question is why didn’t he come with Nuno in the first place?
Agree on the blame for Sullivan – remember that Avram Grant was also his choice
For this season let us hope we keep winning games and get promoted
One question. Why did we sack Lopetegui and Potter for failure but never sacked Nuno?
Potter sacked. Team in 19th
Lopetegui sacked. Team in 14th
Nuno relegated but kept job. Team in 18th place
Overlap from not wanting to pay remaining contract cost apparently 2 years at £8m per year.
Debts already running high also may still be paying Potter not sure.
Need 56pts at end of December to get anywhere near 100pts at end of season.