Jamie Carragher has defended West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo amid criticism from fans over his tactics in the 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.
The Hammers had the chance to pull four points clear of bitter rivals Spurs in the battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
Palace’s stars had been partying abroad three days prior, Oliver Glasner was without several key players including Adam Wharton and the Eagles had more than one eye on their European semi-final next week.
As a result West Ham fans felt the game was there for the taking and represented a chance to pile more pressure on Tottenham.
Carragher says West Ham fans will see Nuno tactics were right call
West Ham were on top in the first half but could not get the all-important opening goal.
However, Nuno Espirito Santo directed his side to sit back and play purely on the counter-attack in a second half performance which had many fans furious.
Do you feel BETTER or WORSE about West Ham’s survival chances after gameweek 33? 🤔
The Hammers stayed two points clear of Spurs…
Supporters saw it as two crucial points surrendered, accusing Nuno of being negative with his game plan – and not for the first time this season.
While the majority of Hammers fans feel Nuno has done a good job to revive the team in the second half of the season, there have been a handful of games where his tactics and team selection have been questionable – and costly.
The fact Nuno only made two late substitutions also angered fans with the likes of Adama Traore, who has played well of late, left on the bench.
But Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has defended Nuno from West Ham fans angry about his tactics.
Carragher said he understands that some West Ham fans will be frustrated by the manager’s approach.
But he believes as the week goes on, they will see it as a good point and that the manager did the right thing given the precarious circumstances the Irons find themselves in.
Carragher: West Ham will see Palace point as a positive in time
“It felt like one of those games, and sometimes supporters might be sat at home – you’re a West Ham supporter and you’re thinking you know ‘go for it’,” Carragher said on Monday Night Football.
“But sometimes your team aren’t playing well enough and you actually (think to yourself) ‘What’s the strength of our team tonight?’
Pick your Man of the Match after Palace 0-0 West Ham!
“When you listen to his interview he said they just couldn’t quite get the connections going forward, you know the interplay between the front four.
“And I think sometimes as a manager, if they were playing well you think ‘No we’ve got to go for it, we’ve got to take the chance because we fancy ourselves to go and get the goal’.
“Once they weren’t having those connections and the back four were playing well and the two centre-backs, you’ve just got to go ‘You know what, hopefully we can nick it (but) make sure we don’t concede a goal’.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to make that judgement as a manager and I think that was the case the longer the game went on.”
Dean Ashton agreed with Carragher and pointed to Palace’s superior strength in depth off the bench as another factor.
Glasner brought on Jean-Philippe Mateta, Ismaïla Sarr and Daichi Kamada and Ashton feels Nuno responded to that by accepting West Ham had to be grateful for a point.
Nuno’s thinking may have also been influenced by the fact Jarrod Bowen put in his worst ever performance for West Ham.
When your talisman is not at the races, it never bodes well so perhaps Carragher and Ashton are right and in the fullness of time this will be seen as a point gained rather than two dropped.
If the Hammers remain in the Premier League come what May then it will definitely be the latter.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
