Say what you want about West Ham United’s squad depth, Graham Potter certainly has plenty of varying options at his disposal these days at the Premier League strugglers.
The quality of those options is up for debate, of course.
But as West Ham United’s 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest late last month demonstrated, at least Graham Potter can look at his bench and realise that he can occasionally trade out a blunt-force object for something a little more subtle.
While Nuno Espirito Santo highlighted Crysencio Summerville’s introduction as the moment which really turned the tide in the visitors’ favour, Potter’s decision to replace Niclas Fullkrug with Callum Wilson also proved to be a masterstroke.
Speaking on the latest edition of the Ironcast podcast, Wilson shed light on the mindset he brought with him onto the City Ground pitch.
Callum Wilson explains differences between he and West Ham United teammate Niclas Fullkrug
Fullkrug barely drew breath up against Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic, Forest’s imposing central defenders asphyxiating the big German from the first to his 64th minute removal.
While Wilson may lack Fullkrug’s brawn, he more than makes up for that in the brains department.
“It was a nice moment,” Wilson reminisces fondly. “Coming off the bench, you are watching the game go on thinking, ‘I am going to be the decisive person in this match today. I am going to get the goal’.
“So I came on with that mindset, getting shots away whenever I could, trying to help the team push forward up the pitch, add something different to what I was watching for 60 minutes.
“I’m not just sitting there watching the game pass me by. I am analysing the defence, analysing the striker who is playing in my position, what he’s doing and what is working, and offering something different.
“It was my game that suited [the situation] in terms of running in behind. I started threatening the backline and it helped the midfield get more space.”
Fullkrug’s tendency to drop deep ensured the Forest defence barely had anyone to mark during the first hour. Wilson, though, immediately set about giving Murillo and Milenkovic something to think about, spinning in behind, running the channels and providing a much-needed presence in the penalty area.
“I think obviously ‘Fulle’ is a different profile to me,” the 33-year-old explains. “What he was offering was not necessarily the wrong thing, but what the game needed in that moment was probably someone to stretch it a little bit more.
“I can come to feet but also run in behind. I thought, ‘It’s time to threaten in behind’. As soon as I got on the pitch, to let them know you’ve got a game on your hands.”
Wilson admits Karim Benzema helped inspire his Nottingham Forest goal
The former Newcastle, AFC Bournemouth and England poacher has outscored Fullkrug this season despite spending 88 fewer minutes on the Premier League turf.
Callum Wilson admits Real Madrid icon Karim Benzema taught him all he needed to know about the goal with which he opened his Hammers account, drawing Murillo to the near post before spinning away to the back and converting El Hadji Malick Diouf’s pinpoint cross.
“I sometimes watched Benzema and he does it quite often,” adds Wilson, who now has 89 Premier League goals on his CV. “Against someone like Murillo, he’s a strong character. If you run into the box and he grabs you, it’s difficult to get away from.
“So [the trick is] not letting a defender be touch-tight with you. As soon as they feel you, it’s going to stop your momentum into the box. Not letting him touch me was vital.
“Then, I can see the man and the ball at the same time and being on his blindside, faking it to go to the front-post.”
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
