WEST HAM FANS THOUGHT THEY HAD SEEN IT ALL.
IN FACT, MOST HAMMERS SUPPORTERS BELIEVED THEY HAD HIT ROCK BOTTOM UNDER GRAHAM POTTER — ESPECIALLY WHEN NUNO ESPIRITO SANTO BROUGHT A MUCH-NEEDED UPTURN IN PERFORMANCE LEVELS AND SOME CLARITY IN TEAM SELECTION DURING HIS FIRST TWO GAMES.
NOT TO MENTION, THERE WAS SOME LONG-OVERDUE PASSION ON DISPLAY ON THE SIDELINES.
BUT NOBODY — NOT EVEN THE MOST PESSIMISTIC AND CYNICAL OF WEST HAM FANS — COULD HAVE SEEN THIS LAST WEEK COMING.
NUNO CHANGES SEE HAMMERS HIT ROCK BOTTOM
GIVEN THE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCES AND TEAM SELECTION IN THE DRAWS AGAINST EVERTON AND ARSENAL, HOPES WERE HIGH AFTER NUNO SPENT 16 DAYS WORKING WITH MOST OF HIS SQUAD DURING THE INTERNATIONAL BREAK.
WHAT HAS FOLLOWED SINCE HAS BEEN NOTHING SHORT OF A COMPLETE AND UTTER ABOMINATION — RIVALLING ANYTHING UNDER DAVID MOYES, JULEN LOPETEGUI, OR POTTER.
NUNO’S TEAM SELECTION AND TACTICS FOR THE MUST-WIN PREMIER LEAGUE CLASH WITH BRENTFORD AT THE LONDON STADIUM WERE MIND-BOGGLING.
HE PLAYED WITH NO STRIKER AT HOME AND SNUBBED HIS ONLY FIT SENIOR FORWARD, CALLUM WILSON.
THEN HE OPTED FOR ANDY IRVING INSTEAD OF SOUNGOUTOU MAGASSA.
YES — WEST HAM HAVE GONE FROM DECLAN RICE PATROLLING MIDFIELD TO ANDY IRVING IN JUST TWO YEARS.
SOMEHOW, THAT WASN’T EVEN THE WORST OF IT.
NUNO INEXPLICABLY BROUGHT YOUNG OLLIE SCARLES BACK IN FROM THE COLD — DESPITE THE LEFT-BACK BEING FROZEN OUT EVER SINCE HE WAS BRUTALLY SCHOOLED BY MO SALAH AT ANFIELD LAST SEASON.
WORSE STILL, HE STARTED HIM OUT OF POSITION AT RIGHT-BACK.
WITH DIOUF AND WAN-BISSAKA ON THE BENCH, KYLE WALKER-PETERS WAS THEN PLAYED AT LEFT-BACK.
NUNO HOLDS HANDS UP ON BAFFLING WEST HAM DECISIONS
THE CHANGES WERE A DISASTER, AND IT SAID EVERYTHING THAT NUNO HAD TO MAKE SWEEPING ADJUSTMENTS AT HALF-TIME.
BUT THE HAMMERS STILL WENT ON TO LOSE 2-0.
SUPPORTERS WERE LEFT PUZZLED BY THE BIZARRE EXPERIMENT, AS NUNO FACED HIS FIRST WAVE OF CRITICISM AS HAMMERS BOSS.
MOST ASSUMED LESSONS WOULD BE LEARNT AND THAT NUNO WOULD RETURN TO PICKING HIS BEST AND MOST ATHLETIC PLAYERS FOR THE TRIP TO LEEDS.
INSTEAD, HE ONCE AGAIN NAMED SCARLES AT RIGHT-BACK, IRVING IN MIDFIELD, AND PLAYED WITH NO STRIKER.
THIS TIME, HE EVEN DROPPED MATEUS FERNANDES TO THE BENCH SO THAT HE COULD PLAY WAN-BISSAKA AS AN EXTRA CENTRE-BACK.
WEST HAM FOUND THEMSELVES 2-0 DOWN AFTER JUST 13 MINUTES, AND NUNO ONCE AGAIN HAD TO MAKE WHOLESALE CHANGES MID-GAME.
ROB GREEN SAID IT BEST:
“HOW DO YOU MAKE FIVE SUBSTITUTIONS AND END UP WITH A BETTER TEAM AND SHAPE THAN YOU STARTED WITH? NONE OF IT MAKES SENSE.”
THE GOOD NEWS?
THE PENNY FINALLY APPEARS TO HAVE DROPPED FOR NUNO.
THE HAMMERS MANAGER HAS ADMITTED HE GOT THINGS BADLY WRONG AND VOWED TO MAKE BIG CHANGES TO TRY AND SAVE THE CLUB AND WIN BACK THE FANS.
AFTER SQUANDERING CHANCES TO GAIN POINTS AGAINST BRENTFORD AND LEEDS, WEST HAM NOW FACE EDDIE HOWE’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE-CHASING NEWCASTLE NEXT WEEKEND.
NUNO VOWS TO MAKE BIG WEST HAM CHANGES
THE HAMMERS SIMPLY MUST START PRODUCING SHOCK RESULTS IF THEY ARE TO TURN THINGS AROUND.
BUT IF NUNO CONTINUES WITH THE SAME KIND OF TEAM SELECTIONS SEEN IN THE LAST TWO GAMES, WEST HAM COULD BE ROLLED OVER BY THE MAGPIES.
THANKFULLY, NUNO APPEARS TO HAVE COME TO HIS SENSES AFTER A CHAOTIC WEEK.
WHILE HE STILL BELIEVES INDIVIDUAL LAPSES IN CONCENTRATION HAVE COST HIS SIDE, NUNO HAS HELD HIS HANDS UP AND TAKEN THE BLAME FOR HIS FAILED EXPERIMENTS.
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