West Ham United’s ongoing set-piece malaise is not the only problem Nuno Espirito Santo will be looking to solve as he settles into another Premier League dugout.
Nuno watched Michael Keane put Everton ahead just 18 minutes into his Hammers career on Monday night at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
This was technically the eighth set-piece goal West Ham United have conceded in six league matches already, his players failing to clear the ball adequately before Konstantinos Mavropanos’ non-existent marking gifted Keane a free header at the second phase.
“We have to learn so many things,” Nuno said in his post-match interview on Sky Sports. “There are some positives, some things that are negative.
“In terms of goal we conceded, we should have been more aggressive, [with] more contact close to Keane. Now, it’s about taking the steps forward.”
Clearly, West Ham’s issues when it comes to defending corner kicks go deeper than the man between the sticks.
While Mads Hermansen hardly helped matters – former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson feels there is a clear weakness in the Dane’s game when it comes to commanding his penalty box – Alphonse Areola was largely helpless as Keane did for Everton what Jean-Philippe Mateta did for Crystal Palace nine days earlier.
And with every stellar Robin Roefs performance, West Ham’s fleeting interest in the now-talismanic Sunderland shot-stopper feels ever-more like a missed opportunity.
West Ham United could have had Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs for £9m
According to Dutch publication Algemeen Dagblad, West Ham showed ‘serious interest’ in Robin Roefs back in July.
Then of NEC Nijmegen, and his reputation enhanced following an impressive Under-21 European Championships campaign with the Netherlands, Roefs appeared to emerge as a more affordable alternative to the aforementioned Mads Hermansen.
Yet, Hermansen was always West Ham’s number one choice. And with their sights firmly fixed on the Leicester City glovesman, Sunderland seized the opportunity to sign Roefs instead for just £9 million. A £9 million fee which ensured the 22-year-old would move to England for exactly half the fee Leicester eventually secured when selling Hermansen.
Two months later, on his first match in charge, there was one decision made by Graham Potter that Nuno clearly agreed with. Hermansen was again left on the bench. Dropped by Potter in favour of the more experienced Alphonse Areola, Nuno also settled upon the more experienced, more commanding yet occasionally error-prone Frenchman.
Of the 22 goalkeepers to feature in the Premier League so far this season, Hermansen ranks 18th in the ‘Expected Goals Prevented’ table. Of the 11 goals he has conceded, statistics show Hermansen realistically should have let in only nine.
In stark contrast, at the other end of the table sits Roefs. Statistically the best shot-stopper in the division right now, he has conceded only four goals from an XG of 6.6. Despite Matty Cash’s swerving strike for Aston Villa a week ago – the one and only moment when Roefs let himself down in a Sunderland shirt – the 22-year-old remains top of the pile.
“That’s the life of a professional footballer and goalkeeper. You can be the best one day then, not the worst, but it’s a problem if you concede a goal. And then you can be the best again!” Sunderland coach Regis Le Bris told the Northern Echo after Roefs bounced back from that Villa error with a supreme display during Saturday’s 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
“It’s about consistency.
“It helps our young squad because when the scenario is like that and there’s a lot of pressure, if you are not confident it’s contagious and the dynamic can change really quickly. [Roefs] showed this confidence. He is very mature.”
Roefs has been streets ahead of Mads Hermansen this season
Only Newcastle’s Nick Pope has more than Roefs three clean sheets. In contrast, Areola and Hermansen have just one between them. Roefs also sits third for saves made and save percentage. And if Hermansen’s biggest issue so far has been an inability to deal with crosses, Roefs showed at the City Ground that this is a particular strength of his.
The Sunderland hero has caught more than twice as many crosses [11 to five] as Hermansen so far.
Add in a penalty save against Brentford and a display of supreme shot-stopping against Crystal Palace, and West Ham’s goalkeeping issues are made all the more frustrating by suggestions that the Premier League’s stand-out glovesman so far could have been theirs. For just £9 million, no less.
“If you watch him, he is not one of these keepers that skips and jumps about when the ball is in motion. When the ball is going into a striker, he stays still so he can make his move when he’s ready, when he sees the body angle of the striker or where he thinks the ball is going to go,” Sunderland icon Marco Gabbiadini tells BBC Sport.
“He makes good reaction saves.
“It has been a great start for him. Defensively, the team are pretty solid. A fantastic start to the season and the fans must be delighted with how it is going.”
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