Callum Wilson to blame as Nuno Espirito Santo surely next Premier League manager to be sacked
Nuno Espirito Santo is seriously under pressure at West Ham and could be the next Premier League manager to be relieved of his duties.
Nottingham Forest have parted ways with Sean Dyche after a goalless draw against Wolves on Wednesday, 11 February, following Nuno and Ange Postecoglou out the exit doors.
After the latest round of fixtures, Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler is the favourite to be sacked next, with Oliver Glasner, Arne Slot and Eddie Howe all under the cosh at their respective clubs.
Despite what the bookies believe, it could be Nuno who is next to be sacked, given that the Hammers are 18th in the Premier League table, three points from safety with 12 games remaining.
West Ham edge closer to relegation after Man United slip-up
Had West Ham beaten Man United on Tuesday, 10 February, they would have been just one point behind Forest, but it was not to be as Benjamin Sesko fired home an equaliser in the sixth minute of added time.
It was a deft finish, one that Mads Hermansen could do absolutely nothing about, but just like the 3-2 defeat to Chelsea at the end of January, there were signs that a goal was coming.
After Tomas Soucek scored the opener at the London Stadium, it felt as though Nuno’s side could really kick on and secure three points for the fourth time in five games, but sadly not.
This is not to say that the Hammers didn’t have chances. In fact, the Irons finished the game with a much higher Expected Goals (xG), and much of that came from Callum Wilson.
Callum Wilson throws away chances for all three points
Coming on in the 69th minute, Wilson had two huge chances to put the game to bed, with one of them being importantly blocked by Leny Yoro, but even there, he could have done much better.
Soungoutou Magassa was all alone inside the 18-yard box, but instead of squaring the ball across, the former Newcastle United striker decided to go by himself, getting snuffed out at the final moment.
He had more than one chance to fire an effort past Senne Lammens, which is what made United’s equaliser all the more frustrating. It could be a key couple of moments in terms of Nuno’s future.
While the blame cannot land fully on Wilson’s shoulders, it is moments like this that can completely change a season, or in this case, change the course of a manager’s future at a club.