Tough enough to take for West Ham supporters yesterday, seeing their team dismantled three times in a dismal first half display – without the added anguish of watching the player Nuno flogged off for a pitiful £800,000 run rings round West Ham’s own expensively assembled defence.
The only positive – clutching at straws here – was that James Ward Prowse didn’t bang in a free kick to top off a pretty admirable return to east London.
As quoted in the dailyecho.co.uk, Ward-Prowse has admitted, of course, his delight in getting one over his former manager – the boss who ended his career at West Ham:
‘Ward-Prowse made no secret of his satisfaction at helping Saints claim a statement victory against a West Ham side tipped for promotion.
Be thankful for small mercies- Irons fans were spared the JWP goal celebration
“Yeah, I’m not gonna lie, of course it does,” he said, when asked whether beating his former manager added extra satisfaction….I think personally it’s always a big game because you’re coming back to a team you used to play for and you want to do well and equip yourself well.
And in a barbed, final dig, Ward Prowse twists the knife, describing how his own manager’s set up differed from “negative Nuno’s” set up and mindset throughout the game, as West Ham’s Portuguese manager played tactical catch up:
“We’ve got an unbelievable manager that’s instilled such belief in us. It wasn’t coming here and trying to respect them and settle for a point.
“It was to come here and win, and we executed that from minute one.”
Minute two, to be exact. By which time West Ham had already started on their road to capitulation.
Love him or hate him, but is NES a negative manager as he is often accused of on this site? He is one of the few managers who plays an attacking 4-2-4 formation (personally I think a 4-3-3 suits our squad better) and we have scored 32 league goals and 10 League Cup goals this season?
Think JWP said acquit yourself well rather than equip yourself well.
Makes a lot more sense.
JWP’s performance yesterday, and Fullkrug ripping it up in Germany, proves beyond doubt, that Nuno is either too stubborn, or more likely doesn’t have a clue how to use players correctly. And as for our inability to start a game on the front foot, coupled with strange inconsistent team selection, is all down to the gaffer, who acknowledges the problem, but doesn’t seem able to do anything about it. Stubbornness raising its ugly head again possibly? And it doesn’t matter how many goal scoring chances you create in a game, a proper striker is needed to score them. There are a couple of very good coaches still unemployed out there. So if we put in any more dodgy performances like this, the board should bite the bullet, and sack Nuno before it’s too late for this season. But where West Ham’s clown car is concerned, anything is possible I guess.
We’ll live to regret keeping this ex-reserve ‘keeper multiple-sacked clueless cagey football loser manager having relegated the club after managing 33 of last season’s 38 league matches.
How he was able to keep his job is staggering. The man’s a fraud with no character or personality and his man-management skills are shocking.
He froze players out like Ward-Prowse without having the decency of speaking to him or offering an explanation.
I’d go as far as to say that we couldn’t have a bigger and more clueless plum managing us than Nuno.
I’m absolutely confident that I could pick better teams and tactics than this utter cowardly loser and have us sitting at the top of the table with the talent we have in our squad.
This league really isn’t that great and even the likes of Southampton and ‘Boro are nothing special.
If we had a manager who instilled confidence and set us up properly, we’d be beating these sort of teams comfortably despite our shambles of a defence.
He deserved it, they deserved it – well done to them.
Also, NES did not cover himself in glory in his treatment of JWB, going by what was written. Problem is, you keep reading how he might be doing the same now, with other players. True or false, who knows.
Feel sorry for the lads, coming up short against a team that played decent, quick, skillful football and this is what made the difference – that is not a nice feeling to have, especially when you have quite a bit of talent in your own team.