Many fans feel they saw the very best, and the worst of West Ham United in the ‘game of two halves’ that unfolded before our eyes on Wednesday night.
Cardiff City’s threadbare, increasingly tiring squad no doubt helped the Hammers along the way, but the starting mindset seemed to sum up everything that was wrong with Nuno Espírito Santo’s West Ham performances of late, and the second half recovery hopefully signposts what is to come under a less cautious Scott Parker.
One word stands out amongst all of the media interviews and comments made by the newly appointed head coach and his players after the game, which differentiates vividly the two managers’ styles. And hopefully points towards a fundamental shift now that Nuno is no longer.
High risk football: Nuno wasn’t capable of taking off the hand brake
As reported in the standard.co.uk, Scott Parker explained what he’d addressed at half time in the Cardiff dressing room.:
“Certainly out of possession, we needed to be more aggressive.“
There were tactical changes and substitutions, and we became more front-footed.
We took a few more risks.”
If any one word sums up the failure of the Nuno era it is that word: Risk. The cautious Portuguese manager cost the Hammers their Premier League place by trying to defend leads, throwing on defensive substitutes in frequent, vain hopes of keeping hold of a lead – and far too often set the team up to hang on rather than to score more.
Eighteen points lost from winning positions last season, don’t forget.
And it was his insistence on doing the same this season, rather than setting out to dominate the division, that was driving home supporters to distraction and in the end cost him his job.
Whatever else, if only from from the first, brief but encouraging impressions of one half of football and from his words after, Scott Parker seems more prepared for the higher-risk football that goes with winning and dominating a campaign in this division.
His arrival was heralded by the moaners as the landing of ‘another negative coach’: Its of course early days, but that might prove to be a long way from the truth.