What went wrong for West Ham United during Saturday’s heartbreaking 3-2 defeat by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge? Well, how long have you got?
And how long has Nuno Espirito Santo got?
That appears to be a question on the minds of many Hammers supporters as confidence trickles away like water down a plughole. Supporters who, after witnessing their head coach do his best Sideshow Bob impression by stepping onto rake after rake, have once again been united in bemusement; another lead tossed aside and another collection of managerial missteps to paw over.
A defeat very much of West Ham United’s – and Nuno’s – own making.
How did you FEEL when Kilman replaced Pablo?! This TalkingPoints subscriber isn’t very happy 👇
It felt like it was coming….
Going defensive too early cost us! 😡
Why did Nuno take off Pablo Felipe at 2-1 up? Pablo Felipe looked like namesake Pablo Fornals at times in West London; pressing prodigiously, forcing mistakes and buzzing around with enough chaotic energy that Chelsea struggled to make their superior quality count in the centre of the park.
More pertinently, why did Nuno bring Max Kilman on? Marc Cucurella would level the scores only three minutes after Kilman, ragdolled effortlessly by Liam Delap, entered the fray. If the Hammers boss wanted to freshen things up, well, he had Soungoutou Magassa and Freddie Potts raring to go.
A penny for their thoughts. Magassa has not played a Premier League minute since the 3-0 trouncing at Wolves. That was Potts’ last start, too. But as Fernandez, Caicedo and Palmer turned the screw, an extra body in the middle of the pitch would surely have been more useful than another centre-back? Especially a centre-back as passive as Kilman tends to be.
West Ham United fans baffled by Max Kilman arrival and Freddie Potts snub against Chelsea
Who knows, with Potts on the pitch, maybe Fernandez would not have been able to pop up so freely to shatter Hammers’ hearts in stoppage time.
We at Hammers News asked you to pinpoint the moment it all went wrong as West Ham lost yet more points from winning positions. Eighteen in total now, and 15 under Nuno.
Your response, beyond the obvious answer of ‘Kilman’s introduction’, suggests that the fans see more value in Potts right now than his manager does.
- Sign up for free here to give your view!
“Substitution of Kilman [was the turning point]. Potts could have played in front of centre-halves,” one fan wrote on our Facebook page.
“The subs…,” another agrees. “We went from defending from the front and looking threatening on the attack to sitting back and inviting pressure with no attacking threat. Kilman for Pablo when Potts was the obvious choice…”
“When he took Pablo off and put Kilman on. It should have been Potts to give cover in front of the defence.”
How many points do we NEED from these next five games?
And how many do you think we WILL get?
“Can’t understand the subs! Not bringing on Magassa or Potts to freshen up the middle and get legs in there. That defeat is on Nuno again!”
“I was fuming when he brought on Kilman. Terrible sub. Bringing on defenders just shows the opposition you are [fearing them]. Bring Potts for Soucek and [Callum] Wilson for Pablo. Don’t change the shape.”
“Bringing Kilman on and changing formation [was the big error], and putting Wilson on up top on his own. We needed fresh legs in midfield. Potts would have been my choice
“Two up front has worked [in the] last 3 games. First-half, we were fantastic. [But] Nuno has to learn we don’t have the players to see out a lead.”
Nuno bemoans a ‘bad second-half’ at Stamford Bridge
Nuno avoided mentioning individuals and instead pinned the blame on the collective following a result which leaves West Ham in danger of falling six points adrift of safety. Despite masterminding three successive wins in the lead up to Saturday’s London derby, though, the greatest doubts right now arguably belong with the man in the dugout as another lead is sacrificed.
“A good first half, and a bad second half. We played really well [early on]. We controlled the ball and every time we went up, we created danger and scored,” Nuno told Sky Sports.
“We played really well. We started well and that was the idea for the entire game, but it wasn’t enough.
“We need to defend, we need to do things properly, and keep the same ideas,” he added when asked to explain what he told his players in the dressing room at half-time. “Manage the momentum of the game.
“We knew that Chelsea would go and react, but we defended badly and we should have done better.
“I think we could have avoided [Pedro’s goal to spark the comeback], crosses into our box. Of course, they have numbers there, but we have the bodies to control it better.”
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