FROM BEING A SIDE that seemingly couldn’t score – to six goals in two games- along with six points gained at home in under a week. That’s pretty transformative stuff at West Ham after the most dismal nine months under Graham Potter and the crazy Lopetegui chaos which went before.
Starting with a settled eleven was a big help – but more than the side picked, it was the attitude which has accounted for West Ham’s apparent turnaround. Not the time for premature congratulatory articles after all, the Hammers are still in the relegation zone: But something fundamental does appear to have ‘clicked’ at West Ham.
Nuno’sWest Ham transformation summed up:
Football365.com describes perfectly the moment that sums up perfectly the shift in mentality:
“If a single sight can capture the transformation of a team, few could possibly be more effective and conclusive than West Ham’s third goal in a second successive comeback home win.
As Tomas Soucek advanced, Burnley retreated in the knowledge that the Czech international is only the most potent attacking threat in world football from roughly three yards out rather than 30. The midfielder struck an eminently saveable shot which Martin Dubravka spilled….
The Burnley keeper and Axel Tuanzebe scrambled to clear but such was West Ham’s renewed hunger and invigorated energy that a small queue had formed to force the ball over the line. From barely able to score to Kyle Walker-Peters and Jarrod Bowen actively falling over each other to force the ball over the line, it has been quite the week for West Ham.”
Indeed. Kyle Walker Peters – no less – out sprinting his skipper to force the ball over the line was a sight for sore eyes and a perfect indicator of a renewed hunger and determination to win by sheer force of will.
Which had been lacking from the Hammers’ squad as game after game was meekly surrendered. It isn’t perfect, and sometimes it isn’t pretty, but there does appear to be the emergence of a team with a bit of back bone – that’ll be the Nuno difference.
Delighted with the last two wins but even today, Nuno was making some baffling choices.
Playing Kilman as a right CB with Todibo as a left CB and claiming he was doing it to see if they’d “unlock different qualities” was a dumb decision. You seen with Burnley’s first goal that Todibo and Kilman were doing a perfect artistic interpretation of Moses parting the Red Sea so if that was the quality he wanted then give him the Turner Prize.
But definitely right that the team are at least showing a bit of fight and the rest (which played in their usual positions) are at least looking like something to get behind. So hopefully things remain on the up.
Would this constitute the formation of an ‘identity’ for this team?
Play poorly, with limited enthusiasm to chase the ball until the last 15 minutes of a game and score multiple goals in extra time….? Does it sound a bit like David Moyes version of West Ham….?
Effective nevertheless. Lest we forget Moyes took us to Europe thrice and brought us back a trophy…