Nuno’s Tenure: Bizarre Selections and Tactics
What have you made of Nuno’s start to life as West Ham manager?
Gary Pitty: Nuno began well in his first game at Everton and I could see more effort from the players and ultimately we got a decent result. You would expect to lose against Arsenal and we offered nothing in attack just defended for the majority of the game. Brentford and Leeds games were awful. The players need to take responsibility but Nuno set the team up to fail in both games with bizarre starting line-ups, tactics and substitutions.
Meirion Williams: I feel sorry for Nuno. He was well revered at wolves, was hung out to dry at Forest and now he’s managing a West Ham team completely lacking in belief. You could almost see him scratching his head at the end of every game wondering how on Earth he’s going to put this right. But he will not win the fans over by putting three defenders on at half time against teams like Brentford when we were crying out for goals. It is still early days for him but I fear that the transfer window will be make or break for him as a West Ham manager.
David Meagher: It’s been poor in terms of results but also organisationally shambolic. Yes, he needs to shake up the squad and have a deep dive looking for alternate options, but some of the selections have been bizarre. What is going on at full back, for example? Diouf and Wan Bissaka are obvious first choices but at times it feels like rolling the dice. And then there’s our static midfield.
Geoff Hillyer: Some puzzling decisions, certainly. The results, fairly obviously, have not been good. The problem he’s got though, as Meirion says, is that the players just completely lack belief and some of the recruitment over recent years has been an absolute shambles. There’s also a point where you have to go, is the problem really the manager? We’ve had a number of them in recent years…
West Ham Rambles: The Everton game showed some promise – a bit of grit, the disappearance of James Ward-Prowse, Magassa and Fernandes starting in midfield. Brentford and Leeds though, goodness me. Team selection all over the place, as were subs and formations. We don’t have time for him to tinker or be clever, he needs to find his best formation and stick with it. The inverted full-backs, false nine, Irving as a starter – it needs to stop.
The Brentford Defeat: Ranking the All-Time Worst
Where does the Brentford game rank in your all-time worst West Ham games?
GP: I’ve seen some dreadful games in my time as a West Ham supporter. Against Brentford I saw little fight. I’d say in recent history, maybe Burnley at home when we lost 3-0. The corner flag ended up on the pitch and the Directors’ Box was stormed. There was no fight in that game either and we looked dreadful and doomed. The protest was more peaceful, however, against Brentford.
MW: It was pretty awful being dominated by what many would see as a lesser London team. The team looked clueless and leaderless. Other than Summerville, every player should’ve hung their head in shame. Mind you, as a West Ham supporter for 50 years, they’ve probably been worse displays. Stoke on a Wednesday night, losing six nil at Reading on New Year’s Day, losing six nil at Old Trafford in the cup, being turned over by Oxford a few years ago all stand out. But times are different now. I expected to see some fight and sadly it was lacking. But then again games like this are always part of the West Ham Way.
DM: It was a clueless performance against only a half decent Brentford side that is rebuilding. There have been many games where we have been similarly poor but conceded tons of goals, so it’s not even in my top 10 stinkers.
GH: Oh, it was absolutely terrible, there’s no doubt about that. But not necessarily in terms of performance – as bad as that was – for me. It was more a complete reflection of where the club is right now. Apathy from some of the fan base, anger from others, no cohesion on the pitch, unpopular board, poor transfer policy, and a manager who is struggling to solve the problems. That’s the real issue.
WHR: I have seen many poor performances through the years, but the Brentford game was up there. No desire, no fight, no drive, no understanding of what the plan was, if indeed there was one. The Brentford game, and the Leeds game, were real chances to get some points and confidence on the board. If we can’t get anything against a Brentford team, who have been poor away from home, how will we fare against some of the teams we’ve got coming up before Christmas?
The Protest: Will David Sullivan Ever Budge?
Do you think the protest against Brentford will have had any impact on David Sullivan?
GP: Unfortunately I do not think the protest against Brentford will have any impact on David Sullivan. As mentioned above, having the Directors’ Box stormed did not see him budge an inch in how he runs the club. It will be interesting to see if we’re close to being relegated or indeed relegated whether he’ll try to cash in and sell the club.
MW: I would like to think so but the fact remains that unless someone comes in and offers Sullivan the money he wants, it will be irrelevant. I also fear the media have got bored with it all. Both the Brentford and Newcastle games were shown live on Sky. At the Brentford game, commentators had talked about the protest but at the Leeds game, I don’t think the cameras panned once on the away end to see the protest that was going on at that time. What needs to be done to force Sullivan out is for somebody to buy him out. We’ve seen these protests over and over. It does feel different this time but how different and what impact it will make depends on which person comes into the club and offers Sullivan the right amount of money.
DM: I am not as convinced as others that our current woes are completely down to the board. When Moyes departed, we were seeking a more expansive style to move to the next level up and in all honesty things looked OK. Three managers on and we are in chaos despite multiple signings. Rice was always going to leave and we haven’t come close to replacing him. I think Sullivan and Brady have taken us as far as they can – as canny business folk they simply won’t splash the cash in what is a ludicrously inflated transfer market. It’s time for the mysterious Mr Kretinsky to step up and take a majority share. He’ll also need to dig deep in the January market if we are to avoid relegation.
GH: No, I don’t. David Sullivan might be considered foolish – and I agree that I don’t think everything rests with the board – but he’s not a fool. He’ll be aware of the noise, but I’m struggling to see his motivation to go anywhere. Why does he need to? Just because he’s unpopular and people protest, doesn’t mean he’s going to do anything about it. And is anyone seriously going to magically stump up the millions to buy him out? Why hasn’t that already happened?
WHR: The stadium was half empty, but that won’t have any financial impact as most of those not attending had already paid for their season ticket. Sullivan doesn’t like looking silly in the media, and his name is currently mud. People in the media, who had previously protected Sullivan, or at least defended him, are turning. That said, he has skin thicker than a reptile, and there appears to be no one waiting in the wings to buy him out – who wants to buy a club in the relegation zone with no real assets?
The Festive Fixture Gauntlet: Zero Point Prediction?
We’ve got Bournemouth, Liverpool, United, Brighton, Villa & City in the six games building up to Christmas – Do you think we’ll get anything from these games?
GP: Looking at the fixture list, it’s going to be incredibly tough to pick up many points. Bournemouth are flying – what a manager they have by the way – Liverpool are struggling but against us they could run riot. United are stabilising so that’ll be tough. Maybe Brighton and Villa will give us a chance of points. City will beat us as they usually do.
MW: Bournemouth are flying and full of confidence, United have started winning games and Brighton is always difficult. Villa and City are inconsistent but on their day can impact us significantly. Oddly, I see the Liverpool game as one we could get something out of. Again, they are inconsistent and we have a reasonably good record against them at home. So at best I think a five point return will sadly be the best we can accumulate.
DM: I really cannot see anything other than a draw or two in those six games. It seems inevitable that we will be bottom at Christmas. Has Tevez fully retired?
GH: That is a very tough fixture list. We might get something somewhere, but right now, it’s really hard to see any wins at all. Then again, maybe something will happen that will surprise us. That could happen, but I think it is very unlikely.
WHR: Crikey, those are a tough set of fixtures. Maybe two points – from Bournemouth and Brighton? Hopefully we can pull one of those West Ham results out of the bag, against one of the so-called bigger clubs, but at the moment, I just can’t see it. That is a grim run-in to the festive season.
The Relegation Threat: Will West Ham Stay Up?
Right now, do you think we will be a Premier League club come August 2026?
GP: I’m usually positive and the majority of times I think there are worse teams than us. However, we have been struggling since the start of 2024 & it’s got increasingly worse. This could be the season where we are relegated. At the moment there is no fight and from what I’ve seen of the manager, he’s not got much idea tactically and selects bizarre line ups. I hope I’m wrong.
MW: The worry this year, unlike previous seasons, is that there has always been three teams worse than us and mainly those were newly-promoted teams from the Championship but looking at them now – Sunderland are defying all expectations, Burnley and Leeds are picking up points so that issue of Championship teams not making the grade might not be the case this season. Talking to Wolves fans, they are absolutely convinced they are down. It’s who else gets relegated with them. I feel unless we can turn something around quickly, we’ll be down by Easter which won’t be a bad thing as the last time we went into the Championship, it was one of the best seasons I’ve had as a West Ham fan. I saw us win 13 times away from home. It will also give us the opportunity to rebuild. However, the concern is the valuation of the club will drop which means Sullivan will remain. Sack the board? I don’t think so. It’s not exactly as if Sullivan is going to sack himself, is it?
DM: I agree with Meirion, what happens will be dictated by valuation. Sullivan is unlikely to be swayed by fan protest but the loss of value if we go down will cause him concern and I think it is Kretinsky’s moment to take over. From a football perspective, given results so far involving the usual relegation suspects, we are likely to need 40 points to stay up this year. Without a host of good signings in January, we simply won’t make that cut off. Also I love Championship football.
GH: If it looks like a relegation season, and it smells like a relegation season, there’s a good chance it is a relegation season. Who are the three teams that are going to be worse than us come season’s end? One or two maybe, but three? A lot hinges on the January recruitment, but that will be very tough.
WHR: Are there three worse teams than us? Not at the moment. Burnley and Wolves will be thereabouts, but Sunderland and Leeds look better than us. Not sure “hanging on” until the January window will work, either. Firstly, we could be cut adrift by then, and secondly will anyone decent want to come, and will Sullivan want to spend any money anyway? Very worrying times.
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