West Ham’s manager made some intriguing comments in his Friday afternoon press grilling. Confirming that the Hammers will be without Niclas Fullkrug for several weeks and was awaiting the result of an updated scan on his thigh muscle injury, the Portuguese head coach then confirmed young George Earthy would be absent, similarly, his hamstring injury still keeping him out.
The manager did offers an insight into his thinking regarding attacking options, and it may have raised a few eyebrows: In particular I suspect his comments would have been music to the ears of youngster Callum Marshall, desperate for gamete and hungry for a goal after his Arsenal debut.
The Manager’s comments would seem to blow out of the water any concept of seniority – 33 year old Callum Wilson with 89 Premier League goals will be bursting to get a game to notch the extra magic eleven: Considering also his ‘pay per play’ deal he’ll be distinctly unhappy sitting on the bench.
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Callum Marshall on the other hand was playing in the third tier of English football just a few months ago. Reputations don’t seem to matter to Nuno, however, who declared:
“It’s a healthy fight for the position: They’re different players but it’s a good situation”
Which would suggest there is parity in the manager’s mind and both offer different solutions: No more the natural selection based on reputation that was maddening in Potter’s era, which saw Marshall miss out on a starting eleven opportunity completely after an impressive preseason – this season in Potter’s truncated tenure, sometimes the younger striker didn’t even make it on to the bench.
Worrying, though, from Callum Wilson’s perspective: in the Nuno era, all is up for grabs – is this a ‘tap on the shoulder’, perhaps, telling him he’s about to be usurped by a 20 year old.