Nuno Espirito Santo has most definitely made a difference since taking over from the hapless Graham Potter and one West Ham star has benefited more than most.
- Hammers News exclusive
It is undeniable that West Ham have improved under Nuno Espirito Santo.
That is nothing to write home about given how bad the Hammers were under Graham Potter, who – along with the owners – has left the squad in a complete mess.
Nuno has, on the whole, made West Ham more resilient and competitive.
But relegation is still a very real and present danger with the Irons occupying 18th spot as things stand.
Only a 3-0 win at Man City can see West Ham climb out of the relegation zone before Christmas.
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Stranger things have happened in football. But it is fair to say that is highly unlikely.
And so West Ham will need results to go for them elsewhere and to drastically improve their own form in order to remain in the Premier League come what May.
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The good news for Nuno is that the Hammers then have their kindest run of fixtures, on paper at least, heading into the new year.
The January window also gives the Portuguese the chance to bolster his team in the bid to survive.
By and large, though, it will be the players already in the building who will be key to achieving that feat.
There have been a host of players who have improved under Nuno so far.
Jean-Clair Todibo is one of those.
But Alphonse Areola has felt the manager’s impact more than any other.
One of Potter’s most baffling calls in the summer revolved around the goalkeeper situation.
The world and its wife knew West Ham had a very limited transfer budget in the summer.
That is on the owners of course and the way they have run the club since the Hammers own a first major trophy since 1980 two years ago.
Potter publicly stated West Ham did not need to spend money on a new striker and instead spent £15m on signing Mads Hermansen from Leicester.
West Ham needed a new goalkeeper after Potter released Lukasz Fabianski before then going cap in hand to the Pole to bring him back when Wes Foderingham left.
Nuno responsible for Areola’s worrying new habit
Hermansen – who is among the smallest goalkeepers in the Premier League – was signed as West Ham’s new number one but endured a horror start, becoming a target for the opposition from set-pieces and free-kicks.
Potter dropped Areola, who had looked good in pre-season, for Hermansen despite the Dane having only trained for two days with his new side ahead of an opening weekend defeat at Sunderland.
Hermansen was at fault for at least two of the three goals and went on to make a number of other errors before being dropped for Areola to come back in.
When Potter was sacked Nuno kept Areola as number one and that is how it has remained since.
That was a big vote of confidence for the Frenchman given Nuno was a top level, Champions League winning goalkeeper himself in his playing days.
Since that backing, Areola’s confidence and form has returned to something like its best.
He is arguably West Ham’s most improved player under Nuno and it has begged the question whether the Hammers really needed to spend on Hermansen rather than bringing in a cheap alternative to be the clear number two.
There has been one element of Areola’s game that has been dividing opinion amongst supporters, though.
And Hammers News can reveal it is very much by design.
Nuno Espirito Santo is responsible for the West Ham star’s worrying new habit but it’s working.
Areola’s punching worries Hammers fans but it’s working
Every single time West Ham conceded a corner of free-kick remotely close to their area before – and in the initial games after – Nuno’s arrival, it was panic stations.
West Ham conceded eight goals from those situations in the opening three months of the season.
That was a new Premier League record for that time period and well on the way to beating the 16-goal record for an entire campaign.
Since the Portuguese took over, though, things have improved on that front, even if West Ham are still struggling to keep clean sheets.
And something Areola has been doing, which has been criticised by many fans, is actually key to the turnaround in West Ham’s set-piece defending.
When the ball has been coming near Areola he has been opting to punch it clear.
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In fact even when unopposed at times the £120k-per-week ace has been looking to get a fist on the ball rather than catch it.
Many supporters have been groaning at Areola’s new trait, feeling it is a sign of a lack of confidence or that it adds to the pressure on the backline.
But in actual fact it has had the opposite effect.
West Ham still have the joint-worst record defending set-pieces in the top flight with Bournemouth and one worse than Man United and Liverpool.
But they have only added three to their tally in Nuno’s 11 games at the helm. Two of those came in his opening matches, when he was still getting to grips with the team.
Areola has been keeping the ball well clear of his six-yard box with his punches rather than clawing at crosses trying to catch or tip them away.
Hammers News put it to a top source inside West Ham whether Areola’s change of style to punching almost every ball that comes near him was a conscious decision or through nerves.
The response was intriguing.
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Because Areola is doing it under instruction from the manager and new goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa.
“Obviously if Alphonse feels confident and comfortable making a catch unopposed then he is free to make that call, he is an experienced goalkeeper who has played for some top clubs and the occasional game for France after all,” the West Ham source told Hammers News.
“But Nuno and Rui have been keen for him to use his height and frame, he’s a powerful boy at 6ft 5in remember, to get a good fist on the ball and clear the lines.
“It may have gone unnoticed because we are still conceding too many goals from open play and not keeping clean sheets, but ‘Phonse punching the ball clear has dramatically improved our defending from set pieces.
“And has given the defenders some confidence too. They know if the ball is on the goalkeeper then he is not going to try and catch it but will be punching it away.
“It means they can focus on defending the second ball, something Nuno feels has been one of the team’s biggest issues. It has also given Alphonse confidence too as you can see from his personal performances.
“Another factor is Nuno’s style being to counter-attack and obviously punching the ball clear will increase the chances of setting the team off on the attack too if it lands to one of our players. A lot more thinking has gone into it than simply changing due to nerves or form.”
Clearly there may be the odd occasion where Areola gets a punch wrong and it may result in a goal but the alarming rate of goals has slowed to one every four games from one every game before Nuno’s arrival.
So next time Areola launches his fist at a ball from a corner when it looks like a catch may have been on, fans can rest assured there is method to the madness.
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