Nuno Espirito Santo, if he didn’t already, now knows how much of a broken club he has walked into at West Ham.
Three games without a win since replacing Graham Potter, the fourth manager in 16 months, beaten in his first home outing played in front of a ton of empty seats as part of a furious fan boycott and booed off by the handful of supporters who bothered to stay until the end.
Thiago’s first-half effort and substitute Mathias Jenson’s late second handed Keith Andrews his first away point of the season and leaves West Ham still without one at home. They remain second from bottom with no signs of changing their fate.
‘We are all concerned,’ said Nuno. ‘You can feel it from our own fans. The concern becomes silence, silence becomes anxiety. We have a problem.
‘I understand it. It is clear it is up to us to change it. Our fans must see something they like so they can support us and give us energy.
‘We try to ignore it, we try to make them feel they have to be comfortable so they can express themselves well but we cannot hide ourselves because it is there to see.’
Nuno Espirito Santo will now know how much of a broken club he has walked into at West Ham
West Ham were booed off by fans that bothered to stay until the end, with many opting to boycott the game
Brentford, meanwhile, have made a steady start under Keith Andrews and are five points off the bottom three
White seats littered the stands at the London Stadium. As expected, thousands of fans boycotted the game in the latest protest against the club’s ownership.
West Ham’s last match here against Crystal Palace, one that would prove to be Potter’s last, saw similar numbers gather outside the directors’ entrance to demand the resignation of owner David Sullivan and co-chair Karen Brady. Another march is planned for the home game against Burnley next month.
The boycott was noticeable but not the kind of mass exodus likely to strike fear into the hearts of Sullivan and co. Not enough either to overshadow Nuno Espirito Santo’s first home game in charge but West Ham’s football was enough to do that.
For all the signs that Nuno’s football will bring a bit more blood and thunder to West Ham than the pitter-patter under Potter, with Crysencio Summerville and Matheus Fernandes making early driving runs through the heart of the Brentford defence, he has still inherited a group of players seemingly incapable, or unwilling, to head clear simple balls into the box.
Every Brentford free-kick, corner or cross seemed to end with a free header. Nathan Collins nodded over from a Jordan Henderson free-kick. Dango Ouattara hit the bar with one of four headers he had in the first half alone. Mikkel Damsgaard saw one tipped wide by Alphonse Areola. Kevin Schade hit the bar with another just after the hour.
The only surprise when Brentford took the lead was that it didn’t come from a set-piece, instead a long ball through the middle, but there was no surprise it was Thiago who finished it off for his sixth goal of the season.
He ran towards manager Keith Andrews and jumped into his arms. Nuno stood with his arms folded, shaking his head.
The Brentford front man thought he’d bagged a second in first-half stoppage time only for VAR to rule it out for the tightest offside. The closest West Ham got was a long-range Jarrod Bowen effort tipped around the post.
Brentford had 15 attempts in the first half alone in comparison to the home side’s three
The only surprise about Igor Thiago’s opening goal was that it did not come from a set piece
Mathias Jensen finished high late on to finally deliver Brentford’s deserved second goal
Nuno chucked on three different defenders at half-time and switched to a back three but little changed. West Ham still created nothing. Summerville, Bowen and Lucas Paqueta all snatched half-chances into the empty seats.
For Brentford, there is much more to be enthused about. The end of the Thomas Frank era and the loss of key players like Yoane Wissa brought with it uncertainty and doom-mongering from those peering over the garden fence.
Yet under Andrews they have made a steady start, secured a famous win over Manchester United and another here that hauls them into midtable and five points clear of the drop. Thiago, who missed much of large chunk of last season through injury, has stepped into Wissa’s boots with ease.
‘He’s been outstanding,’ said Andrews. ‘I’ve been a footballer, the worst part is when you’re injured. I felt for Thiago last season. The more we play together, the more the team connects and we get that vibe and energy, the more he and the team will continue to get better.’
Amazing what a club can achieve when it’s run properly.
