Forum | General Discussion

West Ham United have officially announced the backroom staff under Nuno Espirito Santo for his tenure at the club, with the Portuguese manager finalising his decision on the temporary staff given to him, and shockingly, he's taken on Mark Robson, Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine.

Mark, Steve Gerrard will be a first-team coaches, whilst Billy will be the goalkeeping coach.

Upon the confirmation of a permanent position, Nuno commented: "I am very happy that Mark, Steve, Gerard and Billy have agreed to continue in their positions permanently. They are a great asset: people who, beyond their knowledge and effort, feel for West Ham United".

Utilising a group of people for their knowledge about the club and the ideas about upcoming youth prospects will all come into play for the Hammers.

There are two sides to the situation, Nuno's hand that he was dealt ultimately ended up being as successful as he imagined it, and their first impact was enough for them to gain a full-time position, or perhaps Sully informed Nuno that he won't be buying any of his staff, seeing as it's too expensive, and ultimately was forced to use the youth srtaff.

However, despite whichever situation is the truth, having the academy coaching staff is a new angle that West Ham have never completely utilised and seeing the staff confirmed brings in a fresh feeling and thought process as to what Nuno could be doing for the Hammers

Within the past four seasons, the Hammers have had four managers, and upon analysing the dismissal of David Moyes, Graham Potter and Julien Lopetegui, you can see a clear pattern that has occurred within the way their tenures at the club ended.

Upon the decision of David Moyes not to renew his contract on his own accord, contrary to what other pundits suggested about him being sacked, Moyes decided not to renew his contract due to his own decision, but why was the dismissal an ugly one?

Dithering Dave offered Moyes a new contract upon the club’s performance in the League, but three matches later, this was taken away due to the results achieved in just those three games alone. An action which doesn’t just demonstrate a lack of character, but more the way the club have no morality when it comes to concluding business and considering the origins of Dave, that goes hand in hand.

David Moyes was then offered a contract once again later on in the season, but after the initial behaviour from Sully as well as the accumulation of other events, he decided to move elsewhere.

The manager to follow after him was Julien Lopetegui. It was a rough stint for the Spaniard, and once again was an internal issue that was communicated appallingly. He was sacked in early January by Sullivan in he found out through the announcement by Sky Sports.

Whilst Football is a cruel game, Lopetegui was supposed to be ‘protected’ by the club whilst he suffered personal issues with his father, in which the so-called ‘care’ he received saw him suffer throughout his stint and was ruthlessly berated by the media through the club’s stubbornness to keep the Spaniard despite truly knowing it would result in his departure.

Graham Potter would also fall victim to the owners. Whether he did or didn’t deserve to be sacked, the manner in which it was conducted was nothing short of appalling, and despite being promised two further fixtures, after a mockery of a press conference that the Englishman had to endure, he was sacked in under 24 hours and replaced in under 6 hours.

Joe Cole also commented on Potter’s departure, suggesting “I don't believe the way that the club handled or treated Graham Potter was correct”

Pundits, fans, ex-managers and players all understand that managers are dismissed in an ugly and cowardly manner when it comes to West Ham, and it can only be suspected that it’ll never change under the PD.

Files, announcements and statements can all be kept, read and posted.

But as the clock ticks and the bells chime, who wishes to fight must first count the cost.

West Ham’s defeat to Arsenal marked the end of the Premier League, with a two-week international break upcoming.

Whilst the international break is frowned upon, the positives are that it allows Nuno to have more time with certain players, training with those who haven’t travelled to their respective countries, as well as potentially bringing in some of his staff members who are his own.

However, most notably, across the two Premier League games that Nuno has been in charge of with the Irons, he’s given both Potts and Marshall valuable minutes to develop. Across both games, Potts played a total of 74 minutes, and Callum Marshall made his Premier League debut, playing 37 minutes.

Nuno commented after the game “What l've been seeing in training sessions, his energy, he's a good finisher, good mobility, he can recognise the gaps in the space, he has a good chance, even though he's not a strong boy against a very tough centre-half, he managed to get the header [from a corner], so I think we have something that we can use."

A positive sign for fans who have been bellowing out for someone to truly utilise the talent that the club owns, and from two matches, to see the array of players used is a hopeful sign.

The likes of Guilherme and Magassa have also been handed minutes on the pitch, with the Frenchman having two starts in a row since Nuno’s arrival.

The likes of Josh Landers and Preston Fearson have also been players who have been knocking on the door of the first team, and as time passes, perhaps a breakthrough could happen.

Only time will tell with the future of the youth; events such as AFCON will see the Hammers without AWB and Diouf, so the likes of Ollie Scarles returning to the first squad could also be reignited.

Once the Hammers return from a much-needed international break, they’re set to have four fixtures before the next and final break of the year, those fixtures being Brentford (H), Leeds (A), Newcastle (H), Burnley (H). Three home fixtures in the space of a month is what Nuno is hoping can put the mighty Irons on the right foot and guide them out of the dreaded relegation zone.

West Ham: Areola, Diouf, Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Mavropanos, Fernandes, Magassa, Bowen (C), Paqueta, Summerville, Fullkrug
Subs: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Igor, Wilson, Guilherme, Rodriguez, Scarles, Potts, Marshall

Arsenal: Raya, Saliba, Timber, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Eze, Odegaard (C), Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres
Subs: Kepa, Mosquera, White, Martinelli, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Merino, Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly