By Louis Nixon
**Nuno Espirito Santo has been a rollercoaster when it comes to his decision-making this season, but unfortunately, tonight his decisions went West and resulted in Chelsea’s historic victory.**
Serious questions need to be asked tonight, and they need to be addressed. Whilst in a winning position at 2-1 where the game looked relatively comfortable, Nuno decided to substitute on a defender who has been persistently berated for his inability to defend, in an attempt to see out the game, which has ultimately cost us three points.
We didn’t just hand Chelsea three points on a silver platter, it was on a golden one. I cannot fathom as to why we thought bringing on Kilman would be a good decision. Nuno has worked so hard with the lads in training, he’s pushed the boundaries to try and get them into shapre and for the first 45 we seem to always do so. An excellent first half, no changes, no rash decisions, just performing what was done in the training ground and translating it onto the pitch.
Football fans have been known for their ludicrous opinions and often pathetic thoughts, but there’s no one, and I mean not a single soul in this fanbase, who seriously believes that if you need to defend a scoreline, Kilman is your man… absolutely not! So why does Nuno believe so?
If Nuno Espirito Santo believes that Kilman is the same Max he had at Wolves, he is mistaken. Max Kilman is not the £40 million player we all thought he would be, and he certainly isn’t anywhere near first-team ability. There’s no way that he can see out a game, it’s simply not possible.
I can understand as to why Nuno has been crying out for a central defender from the board, but there are so many other decisions that could’ve been done tonight, such as why not move Soucek into the defender role and bring on Potts or Magassa, or more logically, why not play Magassa there, where he played at for Monaco! He would’ve been a better fit than Kilman because it almost seems that anyone is better than him.
Tonight saw a set of appalling decisions, and that single decision Nuno made in bringing Kilman on ultimately spiralled towards Todibo and Adama Traore being involved in a fight, one which has seen Todibo face a straight red card and it means he’s now out for a minimum of three matches, rising to a possible five.
An initial perfect performance that was tainted by comedic managerial decisions. I’ve backed Nuno throughout, but it’s blatantly obvious that Kilman should never wear a West Ham shirt again and if Nuno acts otherwise, he won’t be met with a happy reaction.