Vladimir Coufal always had Tomas Soucek’s back on the pitch. And, while the Czech Republic right-back may no longer be a West Ham United player, he remains as quick as ever to come to his old friend’s aid.
As criticism regarding Tomas Soucek’s recent performances went into overdrive during Friday’s 2-1 defeat by Leeds – West Ham United’s third in a row under Nuno Espirito Santo – Vladimir Coufal obviously felt this was the right time to remind the claret and blue faithful that so many years of loyal service should not be forgotten so readily.
Criticism of Soucek’s form is one thing.
But those demanding that Nuno never again fields the club’s seventh-highest Premier League goalscorer, well, maybe this would be the time to consider binning your router and going off-grid.
“Oh my god, someone should ban you from internet access,” Coufal wrote on X in defence of a player he has shared a pitch with 281 times for club and country.
“[Players and fans must be] always together, even in bad times. Where is [the support]? When you give everything, [the fans should] stand by you.”
Yet, while there is never any excuse for abuse or personal insults, criticism of Soucek’s performances on the pitch – and how Nuno Espirito Santo tends to use him, for that matter – are justified.
Especially considering that, for reasons known only to himself, Nuno continues to persist with the long-serving giant while, as against Leeds, starting Freddie Potts, Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa on the bench.
Nuno Espirito Santo continues to overlook Soungoutou Magassa at West Ham United
In the build-up to their West Yorkshire sojourn, Hammers News made that case for Soungoutou Magassa to slot in at centre-half.
France Under-21 international Magassa made his name at Monaco as an athletic, aggressive, left-sided defender, after all. With Nuno seemingly considering a return to the three-at-the-back system Graham Potter trialled before his sacking, the £14 million summer signing at least possesses pedigree in such a role.
Then again, putting Magassa in defence when such obvious issues remain in midfield would be like boarding up the back door while burglars are smashing through their window.
West Ham signed the Paris-born 22-year-old as a direct response to those heavy defeats by Sunderland and Chelsea. Per Statsbomb, Magassa was one of Europe’s most efficient defensive midfielders last season. He was in the 99th percentile for the amount of times he won back possession for his side.
Now, former striker Carlton Cole has a theory about Freddie Potts’ absence from Nuno’s starting XI. Cole feels that the Hammers boss may be looking to protect Potts, a rookie without a single Premier League start, from the toxic atmosphere which has ripped the confidence away from many more experienced players.
Maybe the lack of game time afforded to Magassa of late can be explained in a similar vein.
By his own admission, Magassa found the Premier League’s intensity difficult to deal with initially. Nuno may have reservations about throwing him in at the deep end – the choppy waters of Elland Road, in particular – before he has even learned the doggy paddle.
But, in truth, this is not the time to shy away from bold decisions.
Magassa made the most tackles of any West Ham player at Leeds
Despite only playing the last 15 minutes at Leeds, Magassa still produced the most tackles of any West Ham player with three.
Soucek, by the way, did not complete even one during his 64 minutes on the pitch. His and Andy Irving’s evening was summed up best when Brendan Aaronson raced unchallenged from inside his own half to the edge of West Ham’s box, seeing his eventual shot deflect off the crossbar.
“Soucek was on his own. I’m watching Brendan Aaronson, he nearly scored a wondergoal on his own because he has run through the whole of the midfield,” former Chelsea, Aston Villa and Republic of Ireland striker Tony Cascarino told talkSPORT.
“I say ‘midfield’, it was basically one player at the time.”
Cascarino wonders if Nuno may be tempted to start Aaron Wan-Bissaka in a revamped defensive midfield role. Taking his telescopic slide tackling and shoving it into the area of the pitch where the Hammers look at their weakest.
“Do you know, one thing I would do immediately, and people might completely disagree with me on this, I would play Wan-Bissaka as a holding midfielder,” he adds. “I wouldn’t play him as a full-back.
“He can get around the pitch, he’s a good athlete, he’s a good defender one-v-one,” adds Cascarino. “Get him around the bodies so he can win the ball.”
Of all the strange selection decisions Nuno has made in the West Ham dugout, though, making Wan-Bissaka the latest square peg in his hodgepodge XI while leaving a specialist number six in Soungoutou Magassa on the sidelines may have some supporters going as far as to pine for Potter.
