Nuno Espirito Santo indicated that a few West Ham United fringe players may get a chance to impress against Burton Albion. George Earthy will be hoping Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber approaches the FA Cup fourth round in a similar vein.
The hope was that the England Under-21 international would immediately pick up where he left off during last season’s loan spell at Ashton Gate.
Earthy was Bristol City’s Young Player of the Year for 2024/25, after all.
What do YOU want to see in the FA Cup fourth round? 🏆
Or, 'who' do you want to see?
The early signs certainly looked good following a homecoming of sorts. Earthy grabbed an FA Cup assist on his second Robins debut in January’s 5-1 thrashing of Watford.
And although it was Liam Manning who helped hone the West Ham United youngster’s talents in the South West last season, current head coach Gerhard Struber could not wait to work with a ‘gegenpressing monster’ whose qualities out of possession intrigued the Austrian as much as his qualities with the ball at his feet.
That dismantling of Watford, though, is as good as it has got so far.
They say ‘never go back’. George Earthy will not want to suffer the same fate as, say, Joe Cole, Tony Cottee and Don Hutchison when they came back themselves to lofty expectations and relatively low returns.
George Earthy has started only once since re-joining Bristol City from West Ham United
Earthy has started only one of the five Championship matches he has been available for, playing just 122 minutes along the way.
That one start saw him make way at half-time when the score was 0-0 against rock-bottom Sheffield Wednesday. A game the Robins would go on to win 2-0 in his absence.
Daniel Carter, writing in the Bristol Post, was confident that ‘there is more to come from the 21-year-old this season’. With three months remaining, he could yet be proven correct.
But after he watched the 5-0 home drubbing by Derby and the shock 3-2 win at promotion-seeking Hull from the bench – no team epitomises the topsy-turvy unpredictability of the second-tier quite like Bristol City – those who felt that Earthy would stroll straight into Struber’s XI were very much wide of the mark.
The good news is that Robins boss Gerhrad Struber is an Earthy fan
Hence why Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Port Vale – Bristol City, like the Hammers, are taking on a team in League One’s bottom five – feels like such a big opportunity and such a big moment in Earthy’s second spell on the banks of the Severn.
This is not to say Struber doesn’t rate him. Far from it.
“[Earthy] makes us better. He gives us [some] different qualities,” the former Barnsley, New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Salzburg boss said a few weeks ago.
“A top ‘gegenpressing monster’. And also, in on-ball moments, I think with the centre of gravity that he has, with his turns, [he’s] a really interesting player. [Against Watford] he was in, every action, really, really good.”
Nuno Espirito Santo could switch up his XI against Burton Albion
A very good omen for Burton… 🏆 🍻
What message do you have for Nuno ahead of the FA Cup 4th round?
As for West Ham, Nuno has confirmed that Alphonse Areola will start at the Pirelli Stadium despite losing his place in the Premier League XI to Mads Hermansen.
Pablo Felipe faces a prolonged spell on the sidelines, though, ahead of a game in which the likes of Keiber Lamadrid and Mohamadou Kante will hope to make first starts.
“We haven’t decided [the line-up] yet. We still have tomorrow,” Nuno said during his pre-match press conference on Thursday.
“The FA Cup is a good opportunity for us because good results and performances always help. This is what we want at Burton. It’s a beautiful competition.
“The cup is [also] always a good chance for players who have not been having too many minutes to have a chance to play and to improve. We will need them further ahead.
“But it’s an important competition that we respect. We respect Burton. We are going to try and go through and take it day by day, to see where the FA Cup leads us.”
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
