To Paco Or Punch Hammers

For those who have lived under a rock for the past 24 hours, you wouldn’t have seen that West Ham have made an addition towards Nuno’s back room staff and have hired Paco Jemez as a first-team coach. Despite this initially seeming like a manager announcement, I can confirm that Nuno remains in charge.

But who is Paco? Could he make or break the struggling Hammers? Not only does he look like Nuno’s doppelgänger, but he’s an absolute ‘nutter’, and he screams ‘West Ham’. In his long career, he’s managed an array of clubs and has always stuck to his principles wherever he goes, despises defensive football, loves to maintain the ball and he wants his team to fight. It’s a very radical style towards Nuno, but it certainly could provide a twist in the picture.

His time across Spain earned him many warranted comments as well as negative criticism, for example his brief spell in Granada saw him be sacked after a stint of just 6 games, but in his other jobs, he was described hailed in compliments from Pep due to the way he played, as well as earning the nickname of ‘Mini Barcelona’ due to his playing style that he embraces. He was praised for the way his teams played de tú a tú: as equals.

He, as manager of Rayo Vallecano, managed one of the poorest teams in the league, a side that annually earned £7,000,000 at the time, to which he said, "If, as well as being small, you're a coward, you're going to get a beating from all sides”

He’s a previous manager who hasn’t played to the strength of his squad, but has more provided his players with the belief that they can win his way.

This appointment seems as if it could make the dressing room. Fans would be able to research and come to their own conclusion, but he looks like a nutter who’d trash the dressing room if he had to. He’s a very passionate manager who just wants his players to die for the club regardless of the scoreline.

Whilst his ideas are completely contrasting to Nuno’s, it’s not a surprise that he’s been hired, Nuno does actively like to have differing staff members - LN.