Nuno Espírito Santo looks set to depart West Ham any day rather than play any part in the campaign to return the Hammers to the Premier League. Now that the season is over and the hugely disappointing outcome confirmed, insiders have been lifting the lid on Nuno’s regime. It does not make for comfortable reading.
Neither will it inspire other Premier League Chairmen or Sporting directors to leap in for the Portuguese manager whose tenure at West Ham is forensically examined in the NY Times, thanks to their ‘sources’ in the dressing room. In truth, these revelations go a long way in explaining the erratic performances of the team.
“Many believed the team better prepared under Graham Potter”
Dressing room bust-ups with Callum Wilson, James Ward Prowse and latterly Jean Clair Todibo illustrate a man for whom there was only lip service paid to modern man management techniques.
Todibo and Wilson – both fell out with the Hammers head coach according to the NY Times
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Espirito Santo’s training style comes in for particular scrutiny in the NYTimes:
“In the first two months of Nuno’s reign, concerns grew among the players about the lack of tactical preparation for games. Nuno was not hands-on in training, with responsibilities instead delegated to Robson, Potts and Prenderville.
Despite the struggles under Potter, many believed the team prepared better for matches under him when it came to video analysis and tactical team meetings.”
And incredibly, even at half time in some matches, Nuno refused to speak with his players:
“Wilson is not the only person that Nuno fell out with at the start of the year.
He often chose not to speak to the players during half-time and after games. At the interval against Wolves, Robson attempted to give the players a rollicking because of the poor performance. Nuno told his assistant coach to sit down and there was a heated exchange.”
Amidst it all Nuno continued as the highest paid manager in West Ham history, despite the dressing room disconnect which was contributing to dragging the Hammers towards the Championship.
David Sullivan’s third managerial pick turned out to be every bit as unsuccessful as Potter and Lopetegui before him and, if Roshane Thomas’ report is correct, proved even more inept at team building and man management. No wonder the January arrival of first team coach Paco Jemez had such an impact.
Feel for the players who had to endure four coaching styles inside two years – is it any wonder that the club slid to the foot of the table.
The worst part of this ‘reveal’ ? The same person who appointed the hapless trio of ‘calamity coaches’ gets to do it all over again in the next few days. Surely he has to get a managerial appointment right soon, if only on the balance of probability.