Forum | General Discussion

Over this past week, it seems that the Hammers have decided to ruthlessly go through the youth players, offering contracts to those who deserve them and ignoring the ones who don’t.

It’s convenient how under Graham Potter, all were firm believers that he would involve the youth academy, and though it weren’t no golden generation but treasure was there to be found. However, after his Aston Villa opener, it quickly became apparent that his principles and values of utilising the youth went out of the window as quickly as he was booted out of the door at Rush Green.

Though to every dim light remains a sparkle…not to maintain the hopes of fans and suggest that Nuno WILL utilise the plethora of youth players he has available, but it has been announced that he’s providing the youth players with experience, letting numerous names train with the first team.

A few days ago, Nuno decided to recall Fin Herrick and considering his immense seven clean sheets in ten matches, you’d presume he’d stay there and continue his form, but he’s been recalled to join up with the first team. Other players such as Preston Fearon, Josh Landers and Mo Kante have all been given new deals and have also been training with the first team.

So what does this entail for the future? It creates a world of unwanted conjecture but it would be only fair to assume that’s its preparation for the youngsters to bolster their confidence, and once having a quick glance at the first-team option we have, NES might decide to lift up his skirt and throw in one or two youth players to start or at least be involved. - LN

As the clock ticks and time moves onwards, it finally appears after years and years that he who shall not be named up there has finally realised how poor Will Salthouse has been for us. Whilst he may bring an odd gem for the fans, for every gem, it’s at the expense of 10 different players or managers!

This sudden realisation has miraculously occurred and was exaggerated through the fact that Nuno Espirito Santo likes to work with specific agents. Sully’s sour distaste will eventually benefit us in the long run, but the wankle squad we’ve accumulated across the years will need the same amount of time to be cured.

Nuno hasn’t been afraid to make his point, he’s shown David Sullivan that he simply won’t use someone if he’s given them and doesn’t want them, the best example of which is Callum Wilson, a freebee that was pawned off to us by Salthouse and even with the limited amount of strikers that we have, Nuno still refuses to play him because of the type of player he is and how he isn’t compatible to his playstyle. Sullivan also wouldn’t still purchase someone to prove a point, seeing as if they weren’t utilised… he’d just be wasting money! Almost nothing is worse than wasting money in DS’s eyes.

Santo’s stubbornness shall prevail!

The hardest lesson that Sullivan had to learn through Will was in recent times through Looney Lop, the Spaniards’ spending and lack of faith left Sully to sulk and form an everlasting hole of gloominess which still hasn’t been sealed up.

As the January window rolls around, there’ll now be a limited amount of winter hearsay, considering that the planned longlist of items to pawn off won’t have a shop to go to.

I’m afraid Salt & Pepper will have to set up shop somewhere for now and offer his clubcard prices to those who dare touch them…

Rob Green has vocalised his thoughts after the once again dismal performance against Leeds, as further worries start to kick in about where the Hammers will look to pick up points.

Rob, who was the pundit for Sky on Friday night, wasn’t afraid to comment on the truth whilst also sympathising and reiterating all of the fans’ worries at this moment in time.

“Where do we start? It was just a repeat of Monday night - Going out with a shape that we didn’t really understand from the start, inverted fall-backs on the wrong sides… it didn’t work on Monday, so they went out and did it again, they could’ve been 4-0 down at half-time.”

It does make everyone have to question Nuno whether we want to or not, considering that on Monday night, he tried out something new, in which you can say fair enough… but he did the same against Leeds! Feels like the times where we’d lose 5-0 to Fulham & then 5-2 Crystal Palace back in the 2023/24 season! We’re broken records with no change…

As some of the fellow Orgers have mentioned, how have we possibly ended the game with a better team than the one we started with? The Hammers looked ever so better once Potts and Fernandes came on, as well as Magassa and Wilson. The ‘broken’ midfield, which was plagued by the Scotsman, finally seemed coherent enough to string a few passes together.

Rob Green also agreed with the Orgers, “They just didn’t turn up. I don’t understand how you can make five substitutions and end up with a better XI and a better shape than what you started the game with. None of it’s making any sense. There’s no joined-up thinking. They’re not learning from their mistakes - you can go on and on!”

“Just turn up, perform the basics and the fundamentals, and you’ll have a chance. They’re not even doing that.”

NES need to put out the right team against Newcastle; the club simply cannot go on the route it’s been taking. A correct team in place as well as the basics being played to our strengths, we might finally see a performance that could suggest the Hammers could stay up.