West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo really had just one mandate when accepting the West Ham job: keep the club in the Premier League.
During initial meetings at David Sullivan’s Essex mansion, January transfer window recruitment would have been discussed. However, Nuno’s immediate task was to keep the Hammers in touch with the rest of the pack while everyone waited for the window to open.
The reasoning behind that was obvious from a Premier League points perspective. But it was also about perception — persuading players to join a club that had not been cut adrift from the division.
That is why tomorrow’s game against Brighton & Hove Albion, followed by the fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers, ARE must-win matches. In short, if West Ham are within touching distance of at least one team in the safety zone, it becomes far easier to persuade players to sign.
Nuno has an over reliance of Lucas Paqueta
The Numbers Tell an Uncomfortable Story
I am quite certain in my own mind that Espírito Santo is a better coach than Graham Potter, but I cannot back that up with evidence — because his numbers at West Ham simply do not support it.
Has Nuno been handed a poisoned chalice and an almost impossible job? Yes. Was the damage done by the club’s ownership long before he arrived? Absolutely.
That said, I do believe the Portuguese coach was at fault for the defeats against Leeds and Brentford, as well as the failure to turn a 2–0 lead into a win against Bournemouth. I cannot pretend to know whether any other manager would have won those games, and it may well be that this West Ham squad is so imbalanced that success is impossible regardless.
The truth is that Nuno could be the right manager at the wrong time. He was always going to need a transfer window to shape the team in his image. Unfortunately, his poor results in the build-up to January mean he is now unlikely to get many of the players he has earmarked to fix this side — possibly aside from Adama Traoré.
Ok so Traore comes in, with who
Brentford and Leeds represented match 3 and 4 of Nuno’s tenure . Most people accept that it takes 6-10 matches for a coach to understand his squad and so although every Westham fan knew that his team selections for Brentford and Leeds were poor he didn’t . Fans keep moaning about Nuno not always playing a striker to start , but Wilson literally can only be played for an hour a week and so a midweek match like the upcoming Brighton match warrants just half an hour play time verses Fulham to allow for half an hour play time verses Braighton as a sub . Nuno needs both a new competent CF and a new CB to have any chance of success .
Sullivan and Brady have ruined this club with the pathtic stadium and the old usless sigings
Pep Guardiola could do nothing with this squad. Stop blaming the manager. T quote another Iron’s fan, can’t polish a turd.
The reason he is unlikely to get whi he wants is the in ambitious Sullivan . I think Nuno is doing better than those before he was handed the team
Mostly agree with everything, but I think there is evidence he is a better coach than Potter and Lopetegui we which isn’t saying much though.
Relatively quick he sorted out the defence to stop conceding so many set piece and cross goals. Despite 3 really poor CBs, and has even made Tobido look reasonable.
The midfield is raw and not really doing the full job but it’s competitive and transformed from the slow useless not offensive or defensive previous midfield.
Summerville and Pacqueta are not performing and we have no other options. Wilson is better no no CF but NES doesn’t trust him probably at all but certainly not for a full game.
Bowen is the only undroppable serious front player doing everything he can every game.
So as we all know it’s the tiny squad of players at the level that is ther problem which is not NES’s fault.
We have to back him and trust he has vision to get results. If we had a fit mobile CF that scores and Summerville +Pacqueta or other player in their place influencing games with goals and assists we would not be struggling.
Sullivan has one last roll of the dice and it isn’t sacking NES it’s backing him.
Are you sure it’s as simple as that Gonzo. Look at all the cheap poor quality players we have had in the last few years. There is only one factor that stays the same. Sulivan! I’ve been saying for weeks we wouldn’t get any decent players in although I was hoping for a good centre forward. We won’t win any of the next 3 games as far as I can see a draw against Wolverhampton is the best that will happen and it’s all down to Sulivan. Have you forgotten about Birmingham?
There is never a right time for a manager at West Ham. We have not been in a position where a manager can experiment and build a squad that they have faith in and can introduce a player to see how they fair in a game day match. When we can get to 2 or 3 goals ahead and take risks then a new player or youth player can get a chance. With no stability then any risk is the wrong decision, removing any creativity or chance for the manager. Couple this with poor late recruitment, then no preseason can help either.
We can’t control games and we definitely can’t get the best out of any manager while Sullivan rules every decision in recruitment and expenditure to improve infrastructure.
If we go down, and the likelihood is we will, then we should pull from our youth setup, trim our wage bill and grow a squad with proper calculated investment in the odd player that brings some extra attribute to the squad. And if we go down then hopefully Sullivan will finally sell and at a price that is not super inflated.