West Ham have dropped to eighth in the Championship following Saturday’s 3-1 defeat against West Bromwich Albion, and the search for answers is becoming increasingly urgent. The Hammers are already losing ground in their attempt to secure an immediate return to the Premier League, with questions understandably being asked about Nuno Espírito Santo and his players.
There is clearly more than one factor behind West Ham’s problems, but one particular selection decision continues to baffle me. Arne Engels appears to have firmly established himself as a Nuno favourite, irrespective of how he performs. The Belgian midfielder remained on the pitch throughout yesterday’s defeat despite, in my opinion, being one of the worst players on it.
As West Ham’s biggest summer signing, costing £22million, Engels was always going to attract scrutiny. That doesn’t mean I have any particular axe to grind with him, but when a player commands that sort of fee and is repeatedly selected ahead of other options, surely we’re entitled to ask whether his performances justify it?
West Ham’s £22m Midfielder Appears Untouchable
Against West Brom, I thought Engels was truly awful. For large parts of the match, he was the worst player on the pitch.
Arne Engels has struggled in his Championship debut season
His passing was dreadful, he was repeatedly dispossessed by Ousmane Diakité, failed to follow players he was supposed to be marking and generally did an abysmal job with his set-piece deliveries.
In fact, aside from running around a bit, there was barely a facet of his game that he executed particularly well.
In short, Engels endured an absolutely dreadful afternoon, yet somehow managed to remain on the pitch until the final whistle.
While Nuno began withdrawing other players in an effort to fix whatever was broken, Engels appeared impervious to any repercussions.
And this is what I find increasingly difficult to understand.
Why Does Nuno Refuse To Rotate Engels?
West Ham have a wealth of options in central midfield, yet Engels appears to be the one player in the engine room guaranteed to start and finish matches.
Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with managers having favourites, but surely you have to earn that status?
Is Nuno seriously suggesting that Engels is so far ahead of Tomáš Souček, Divine Mukasa, Lewis Orford, Soungoutou Magassa, Edson Álvarez and Mohamadou Kanté that he deserves this preferential treatment?
We have already discussed the extraordinary number of midfield options available to Nuno, yet he seems unable to find a combination that consistently works.
Earlier in the season, there were encouraging signs that Engels and Mukasa could provide the midfield partnership West Ham needed. However, that understanding has hardly developed into the sort of consistency we should expect.
And while players such as Mukasa and Kanté find themselves moved around, substituted or deployed in unfamiliar positions, Engels seems immune to the same treatment.
Engels Is Not Being Helped By Nuno
As an isolated incident, Saturday’s performance would be fine. Players have bad games, and we all understand that.
But Engels seems to have established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet without really earning his stripes.
For me, the jury is still out on the player West Ham paid £22million to sign from Celtic. There is some ability there, and we’ve seen glimpses of what he can do, but that is not the same as consistently performing well enough to justify automatic selection.
I also don’t think the manager is doing him any favours.
Nuno’s reluctance to rotate Engels means there is little opportunity for other midfielders to establish themselves, while the Belgian is being asked to continue playing regardless of his form.
And that brings us back to the wider problem.
West Ham have assembled what should be an excellent collection of Championship midfielders, yet the manager seemingly cannot find a formula that suits any of his smorgasbord of midfield talent.
Engels may be receiving a free pass, but ultimately it is Nuno who keeps handing it to him.
Nuno is just a hopeless manager no motivational skills if anything they way he consistently falls out with players he is clearly a demotivating personality. No tactical skill – when playing against Lincoln who were down to 9 men he still defended corners with all 11 players in the penalty box. Criminal tactics at the best of times as it drags more attackers in means no one has space and players get in each others way. This team won’t get promoted with Nuno in charge.
There is a player inside Engels, however, yesterday he needed taking off and allowing Orford on to do his job, that was painfully obvious before the break, I wondered whether he had a bout of flu.
Substituting the lad would have allowed Engels to come back against Cardiff with determination to show the club he has it, rather than allow him to have all confidence drained out of him. But that would require a manager and all we have is Luno
One other point, I did admire the team who went around applauding the one or two fans still in the stands, where was Kilman and Hermansen?… long departed down the tunnel, that is disrespectful
It’s the team not him on his own. They all play the same way, slow passing, no ball over the top for teams to worry about and switch off about defence duties until its too late. This includes substitutes, so either we have bought 24 useless players which I doubt or we need a captain that leads shouts and organises and a manager who can get a game plan that works and put some fire into the players to win. I think I know which one it is what do you think Gonzo?