The boos rang out at London Stadium last Saturday- partly aimed at the referee – no doubt, as West Ham failed to overcome their dreadful first half against a busy, lively Southampton side who simply took the chances on offer when they came, unlike their hosts who failed to get the rub of the green despite 26 chances on goal.
As the BBC suggested after the game, sometimes having one of the largest home crowds in the country can act as a millstone.
The supporter demands on Nuno’s men are enormous with West Ham ‘only’ sitting third within the Championship
And with a significant element in the fan base already calling for Nuno’s head on a plate. We’ve already joined the dots over why West Ham’s most successful run in recent years occurred in an empty stadium during the covid era: No disgruntled fans, free flowing counter-attacking football as a result without the weight of expectation of the Hammers faithful on their shoulders.
Huge weight of expectation can hang heavy on Hammers’ shoulders
The BBC, likewise, highlighted the huge weight of expectation which comes as part and parcel of the fall from grace of this club with an enormous fan base:
“Supporters had booed at half-time and did the same at the full-time whistle, partly in protest against the referee, but also due to the fact that they had just failed to win a third straight home game.
Prior to being beaten by Saints, the Irons drew with QPR and lost to Fulham in the Carabao Cup.
It appeared that this mood had also filtered down to the dugout, with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo quick to leave his press conference after the game having answered less than two minutes of questions from the written media.
Despite this, West Ham remain well in the hunt for automatic promotion after 12 Championship games.”
Do other sides suffer from home fans getting in their backs so rapidly? I’m sure they do. Old Trafford in recent weekends has showed only too well the harm which the weight of supporter expectation can inflict when a side is tentative or low on confidence.
It is when leaders step out of the shadows and go get their shorts dirty (as Billy Bonds used to say) with a few gutsy, gritty challenges to get the home fans on their side.
Overcoming this weight of expectation may well pose a bigger challenge than several of the visiting teams, ironically, for West Ham’s players and management this season. One wonders whether last season’s sports psychologist James Bell is still in situ. If so, he’s a busy, busy man.