While Sam Allardyce appeared largely in favour of West Ham United appointing Nuno Espirito Santo, there was one aspect of the former Tottenham and Nottingham Forest boss’ Premier League return that did not sit well.
By Allardyce’s own admission, West Ham sacking Graham Potter ‘had to be done’.
Things had reached such a nadir at the London Stadium that a relegation battle, only six matches into the season and with a grand total of three points on the board, already seemed inevitable.
Yes, the West Ham United hierarchy tend to put plenty of faith in their managers. But, after the Hammers sleepwalked into the Championship under Avram Grant in 2011, history appeared destined to repeat itself the longer Potter stayed in the job.
One point from two matches, albeit two very difficult away matches at Everton and Arsenal, is hardly the most dramatic case of ‘new manager bounce’.
Yet, West Ham already look so much more organised under Nuno Espirito Santo. A team which shipped three against Wolves, Sunderland and Tottenham, plus five against Chelsea, were beaten only by a rebound and a controversial penalty at title-chasing Arsenal.
Allardyce, though, does have one, lingering complaint with the manner of Potter’s departure and Nuno’s arrival.
Sam Allardyce reflects on Nuno replacing Graham Potter at West Ham United
While accusations of ‘tapping up’ feel a little antiquated in this modern era, top-flight clubs are broadly not supposed to approach managerial targets when they have a head coach already in situ.
Yet, Hammers News can confirm that vice-chair Karren Brady held talks with Nuno and his agent Jorge Mendes in mid-September.
Potter would only lose his job in the final days of the month, however.
The sight of Nuno arriving within hours of Potter’s dismissal on that very same Saturday, then, left a somewhat sour taste in Allardyce’s mouth.
“You know, there’s too many cut-throat deals done today like that, that go on in the game and continue to go on in the game. So, in the rules, it’s not supposed to happen,” Allardyce argues on the No Toppy Tappy Football podcast.
“So I don’t know why we have the rules!
“Like Nuno going into West Ham. You’re not supposed to contact another manager while you’ve got a manager in place.
“It’s a nonsense rule. It’s a nonsense rule, but it’s still there.”
Nuno hopes for a first London Stadium win against Brentford
Nuno Espirito Santo had mixed feelings after watching his new charges fight back to claim a draw at Everton before losing 2-0 at Arsenal. West Ham are making progress fixing their ‘big problem’ defending set-pieces, but their in-possession play has left a lot to be desired so far.
Allardyce feels Nuno must mark his London Stadium debut with a first home win against Brentford after the October international break, meanwhile.
Potter won only two home matches across eight months. Something which only exacerbated the cavernous divide between a disgruntled fanbase and an underperforming manager.
“[Sacking Potter] had to be done,” Allardyce said recently.
“It doesn’t take long before everybody starts to question it [if you are performing below expectations]. Their performances and results have been so poor. Most importantly, at home.
“If you are going to survive, survive by winning at home. It’s lovely winning away, and it’s very difficult to win away, but you are sending your home fans home happy.
“It’s not an easy place for your players to play, or your manager, when it’s not going well at West Ham. As much as they like to get behind the team, they will show their disapproval as well.”
Former Nottingham Forest boss sees positives and negatives of West Ham start
During spells at Wolves, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest, Nuno won a respectable 54 per cent of his home matches. Potter’s own return at the Hammers was a miserable 22 per cent, in contrast.
“We spent hours and hours talking about what we have to address; to create unity more, more togetherness, knowledge on both sides. [We need] hard sessions on the training ground, trying to correct and improve the things that we do,” Nuno said at the Emirates.
“Today, for example, it is hard to pick conclusions and really address and be truthful because we are frustrated. We are disappointed. But we were organised, compact, we improved slightly on our positioning in set-pieces against a tough opponent.
“At the same time, there is a lot of negatives, [especially] in possession. We lack a bit of mobility. But it was two tough opponents we faced away from home.”
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