‘It’s outrageous’ – Michael Dawson shellshocked by West Ham scenes vs Fulham
Michael Dawson was left baffled at how West Ham ended up taking no points from their game against Fulham on Saturday.
West Ham lost 1-0 to Fulham at a disgruntled London Stadium, which has further enhanced the Hammers’ chances of relegation from the Premier League.
Raul Jimenez scored an 85th-minute header to punish the Irons for their missed chances during the match, with the loss keeping West Ham rooted to 18th place.
Nuno Espirito Santo was already under pressure before the defeat, as the Hammers boss could now be relieved of his duties before the January transfer window opens.
Dawson was quick to comment on Fulham’s late winner and explained how the goal only came about through West Ham’s own doing.
Michael Dawson believed that West Ham didn’t deserve to lose
Nuno has had to deal with absences due to the African Cup of Nations tournament, with both full-backs, Malick Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, unavailable.
The 51-year-old head coach has been forced to use youngster Ollie Scarles recently, and the latter may have been at fault for Fulham’s late winner.
- Scarles played 64 minutes in West Ham’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City last time out in the Premier League
- He started against Fulham and played the entirety of the contest
- Scarles made one error that led to a Fulham goal
The Hammers missed big chances versus the Cottagers, particularly in the second half, before Fulham snatched all three points.
While speaking live on Sky Sports’ Gillette Labs Soccer Saturday, Dawson broke down Jimenez’s goal for the visitors, and suggested it was against the run of play.
“It’s outrageous, outrageous, West Ham do not deserve to be behind, but they are, and it’s a mistake. They defended so well all game – it comes down the right-hand side, Harry Wilson puts a ball into the box, it’s headed out, Ollie Scarles goes to clear it but misses.
“It comes back to Wilson, who puts the ball back in, and Raul Jimenez is there. West Ham do not deserve this, but it sums them up where they are in the Premier League; they had enough chances to win, yet they trail.”
At the end of the day, it’s Nuno‘s team selection and tactics that have the biggest influence over results, and he will have to take responsibility, but can he do much more?
Not many would do better than Nuno right now
Performances have been underwhelming since Nuno arrived, but the Portuguese’s track record suggests that time is always needed for success.
It was never going to be a quick fix for the West Ham boss, and it would be hard to argue that any other head coach would be doing a better job than Nuno right now.
He is limited to quality within the squad, and AFCON has only further damaged the Hammers in key areas, as Nuno is restricted to using his five-at-the-back formation.
The least that the former Nottingham Forest boss deserves is to be given at least one transfer window, but the current situation may make the hierarchy impatient.
A change in the hot seat will not improve off the field problems.
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