Danny Murphy suggests fallout between Nuno and West Ham player that goes beyond football
Nuno Espirito Santo has not quite had the start to life as West Ham United manager that he would have envisioned.
Nuno‘s first game ended well enough as West Ham drew 1-1 with Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium in a battling draw.
However, a 2-0 loss to Arsenal followed and West Ham were also beaten 2-0 by Brentford in their most recent match at the London Stadium on Monday.
One point from a possible nine under Nuno leaves West Ham in the Premier League relegation zone with eight matches played.
James Ward-Prowse continues to be snubbed by Nuno Espirito Santo
Nuno made five changes to West Ham’s starting lineup to face Brentford and it did not exactly pay off.
West Ham were particularly poor in the first half against Brentford, who wore a strange kit, as they looked suspect defensively and also struggling to offer much in attack.
As the game went on, Sam Matterface pointed out on talkSPORT that Nuno did not name James Ward-Prowse in his squad once again.
Matterface pointed out that Ward-Prowse remains West Ham’s most creative player in the Premier League this season statistically speaking, yet he is regularly overlooked by Nuno.
In reply to that, co-commentator Danny Murphy replied: “It sounds a bit more than football, doesn’t it.”
What happened between Nuno Espirito Santo and James Ward-Prowse?
Nuno was Nottingham Forest manager when Ward-Prowse’s loan spell at the City Ground was cut short last season.
Ward-Prowse was given limited playing time and it was eventually decided he was not required.
Nuno has since decided to leave Ward-Prowse out of his matchday squads at West Ham, which really is bizarre on the face of it.
| Game | Date | Mins played |
| Sunderland 3-0 West Ham | 16 August | 71 |
| West Ham 1-5 Chelsea | 22 August | 90 |
| Wolves 3-2 West Ham (EFL Cup) | 26 August | 90 |
| Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham | 31 August | 75 |
| West Ham 0-3 Tottenham | 13 September | 90 |
| West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace | 20 September | 90 |
Leaving Ward-Prowse out of the starting line-up is fair enough, but to not place him on the bench is where things get weird.
It may well be that Nuno is probed a little more on the matter, but it is harsh on Ward-Prowse that he is having to watch games from the stands.
It is an incredible fall from grace for a player that many expected a lot more from upon joining from Southampton two years ago.
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