Back in August Sunderland beat Graham Potter’s West Ham 3-0. What were the key factors that led to him losing his job just a month later?
An amalgamation of factors. I don’t think he was helped with the
squad he inherited, weak in different areas all over the pitch and the summer window compounded that. The biggest problem at West Ham is the lack of planning, our transfer approach is scattergun and we are always reactive rather than proactive.
We always try to sign names rather than profiles and properly address positions that we need and we are now seeing it come back to bite us. On Potter, he just wasn’t the right fit and didn’t help himself, he was quite insipid and uninspiring and other than that win away at Forest we were really poor. We got some batterings, looked really open defensively and were conceding far too many goals, some of that hasn’t changed, but it was clear that if we kept Potter in position we would have certainly been cut a drift by now.
The man to replace him was ex-Wolves, Spurs and Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo – how has he got on so far and how do fans view him?
It’s been a very mixed bag. In the first few games against Brentford & Leeds he experimented with the team, played some players out of position and we paid the price with two bad defeats that could be costly come the end of the season. He threw those games away.
We picked up a few good results after that and it looked like we turned a corner and were building some momentum, but to then go 10 Premier League games without a run was really difficult. A lot of those games came down to fine margins and not being good enough at both ends of the pitch, I think against Bournemouth away, Man United away, Brighton away, Villa at home we deserved to get more, but we dropped points and nothing was really going for us.
The alarm bells started ringing loudly after that defeat against Wolves, we were awful and it’s probably one of the worst performances I’ve seen from a Premier League team let alone West Ham. We were weak, second to every ball and made some bad mistakes and it wasn’t acceptable. Against Forest we improved, we saw some fight and desire and were unlucky not to go on and win the game, once our second goal was ruled out the game just turned on its head and we collapsed and conceded two really soft goals.
So, I think myself and the majority of the fans see it as he has a poor squad that needs rebalancing and that he still is the right man for the job. I don’t see any other manager coming in and doing any better than Nuno and sacking him for me would just be us accepting relegation. Spurs was a big improvement, that first-half was our best under Nuno, we defended really well (for a change) and he mixed it up going for a 4-4-2 with the new strikers starting and it worked well and got us a big result, so I’m sure we’ll go into this game with confidence.
Currently 18th in the Premier League table, are you confident that the Hammers will avoid relegation?
No, I’m not. I know it’s only 5 points and it can swing in our favour with a few wins and results going our way, but I think the damage has already been done for me.
This transfer window was a big one for us to strengthen areas and bring in players that could help, but I don’t think we’ll do enough. We need a centre-back or two and the names we are linked with don’t bring me much confidence. Nuno is obsessed with wanting Adama Traore too who doesn’t move the needle for me.
I think Leeds are out of it, they are a good side, I can’t see Bournemouth getting sucked in either. The only side I think could is Crystal Palace, they’ve lost some key players recently and aren’t on a good run, so the wheels could fall off there. With Forest, they will have to get to a point where they sacrifice the Europa League and prioritise the league. The next few weeks are key, they have Leeds away & Wolves at home, so by then we will have a better idea, but I do think it will be a shootout between us and Forest until the end of the season.
Ultimately, we’ve got to focus on ourselves and pick up results and let the rest fall into place. We have some winnable games coming up, but whether we have the fight and quality to get through them is a different conversation, I have my doubts.
West Ham’s last league win at the London Stadium came back in November – I imagine the atmosphere is quite difficult for the players at present?
Yes, it is. It’s not a great place to be at the minute and I think the players seem scared of playing there, we are much better away from home.
It just isn’t a football stadium, and when the chips are down it’s a very soulless place to play and I know there is another protest planned for this game, which Sunderland will have to try and feed off. I do think though better atmosphere comes with better performances, so hopefully the team give us something to shout about as we’ve not had much there.
West Ham have spent £47m on two strikers during the transfer window in Pablo and Taty Castellanos. Both unknown to most, what have they brought to the table?
Different qualities. I think first and foremost we have seen a bit of graft and energy from them which has helped the team. They were both Nuno’s choices through well-known agent Jorge Mendes. I was surprised during the links as our focus this window was on domestic based strikers who had experience of the Premier League, but I think that focus shifted when we discovered that our targets weren’t gettable.
I think they give us different options, at the start of the season we had Fullkrug and Wilson which wasn’t enough. With Taty, we’ve been linked with him previously. He is a bit of a maverick which us West Ham fans love, he is capable of the spectacular, works hard and is good in the air. He’s good technically and will sometimes drop deep to link up play with Pablo running in-behind or them both interchanging. He scored his first goal for us against QPR which was a great header, so I’m excited to see more of him.
Pablo was a bit of an unknown, scored 10 goals in his first 13 games at Gil Vicente this season. He’s only 22 so it’s a big ask for a young player to come in and hit the ground running straight away in the situation we are in.
I’ve been impressed so far though, it makes such a difference now Nuno has a target man in his team that can win duels and help us get up the pitch, which we didn’t have before. He started his first PL game against Spurs and did well, worked hard out of possession and played a key part in the first goal by forcing them into a mistake and linking up play well. He still looks a bit raw technically and patience is needed with that, but he will come good and showed during his time in Portugal that he is a clean finisher who gets into good areas. He’s not had many clear chances in front of goal yet, but when that comes I think he will most likely take it. I think he’s a good long-term fit for the striker role.
I read that Lucas Paqueta has requested a move back to Brazil – do you think it’s likely he’ll leave before the end of the transfer window?
I think so. He’s trying to engineer a move and is desperate to go back there, he will be missing for the game this weekend too which isn’t great.
It’s a bit of an ugly situation, he’s an important player for us and the club don’t want to let him go, but it gets to a point where you are better to cut your losses and reinvest the money elsewhere. The problem is, I don’t have faith in the club to reinvest the money wisely.
Next week will be decisive, we need to sell him before the end of the window, but Brazil’s window doesn’t close until March and that means Flamengo hold the cards. It’s a shame it’s ended this way, but the club need players who are going to fight and get us out of this mess.
Which of the West Ham players have impressed you most this season and who has been underwhelming?
I’m clutching a bit here! I think Alphonse Areola has done well, he’s made some key saves and has kept us in some games, but other times he’s made some bad mistakes. I don’t think he’s had a lot of protection in some games though and some of the saves he’s pulled off have been outstanding.
I’ve been impressed with Mateus Fernandes too, he’s a quality player, all-action midfielder who has done well. He needs to work on the defensive side of his game a bit, but there is a player there with a lot of potential. I would probably throw Walker-Peters in there too, every time he’s featured he’s been solid. Jean-Clair Todibo has really stepped up under Nuno recently too, he looks like a different player compared to earlier in the season.
In terms of underwhelming, I don’t think Jarrod Bowen has been in the best of form. You can never question his effort, but he hasn’t been his usual self and I think he’s been affected by poor players around him, so hopefully the two strikers can help him and bring that spark back. Crysencio Summerville is another one too, has bags of pace and ability but hasn’t delivered enough this season and I expected more. He’s got a few goals recently though so hopefully that will help him to kick on.
Max Kilman has been the worst of the lot, I don’t like singling players out but he has been at the tip of the iceberg. He just never looks comfortable, gets bullied too easily and makes too many mistakes.
If you were Regis Le Bris, how would you set up to beat West Ham?
The simple answer, spam crosses into the box. West Ham have conceded the most headed goals in the league this season, we are very vulnerable from them and teams clearly target that.
You have good technicians and some very powerful players, so even if we clear the first delivery, the second phase is just as important and I’m sure RLB will emphasise that to his players. You have Ballard, Alderete, Brobbey who can all cause problems and will most likely look to target our full-backs who aren’t the strongest aerially.
I know out of possession you have been very adaptable, but I do think we are shaky when teams press us high when we are building from deep. Spurs were quite passive and gave us too much time which allowed us to play through, but I expect Sunderland to be much more compact when they sit off us. I think if you force us long, you are more than capable of winning those duels in the air and then gaining some control, so we have to look to go wide and look to get in-behind rather than play in front of you.
I think Brobbey will be key to your approach, he loves to drop deep and I think if he makes the right runs, engages defenders to pull out that can create space in-behind which we are vulnerable to, so it’s something we’ve got to manage.
What style of play can Sunderland expect to encounter?
I expect it to be quite a physical game, cagey and maybe a case of one team waiting for the other to make a mistake before the game becomes more open.
I think we will continue in our shape from Spurs, which was a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 in possession, the full-backs will push up high to support the attack, while you might see Summerville drift inside to get the ball and then also mainly stay wide. We will look to play through the thirds, but as I said maybe go long into wider areas and try to stretch your defence that way. I know when teams have settled possession Sunderland like to defend in a 5-4-1 at times and make it very difficult, and I worry without Paqueta we will struggle to break you down and create clear cut chances.
Off the ball, similar shape in a 4-4-2, funnel you wide and then look to lock on and be aggressive. I think we’ll look to start fast and take the game to you, so I think Sunderland will have to manage that.
Are any players missing and who do you think will start?
Paqueta and Fabianski are out, Diouf will hopefully return from AFCON to have a place on the bench. Other than that I’m expecting the same eleven that started against Spurs.
Areola (GK), Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Todibo, Scarles, Bowen, Soucek, Fernandes, Summerville, Pablo, Taty Castellanos.
It will be Sunderland’s first visit to the London Stadium – what is your prediction for the final score?
I think it’ll be a tight game, quite cagey too. I have been really impressed with Sunderland and it’s nice to see a team bridge that gap after getting promoted. You had a plan when you came up and have made some really smart signings.
I know you haven’t had the best of time away from the Stadium of Light, but I think apart from that Brentford result you have been in a lot of games and competed well, so it’s come down to fine margins and I don’t think you are far away from getting a win.
My optimistic side is saying a draw, so I’ll go with 1-1.
