Even the perennially silver-lining seeking Graham Potter would have struggled to find many positives as Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham United suffered a woeful 2-0 home defeat by Brentford on Monday night.
Nuno described West Ham’s display as ‘not good enough’, himself.
A ‘disappointing evening’ and an even more ‘disappointing performance’ from a team who would have been expected to put up much more of a fight on their manager’s London Stadium debut.
An underperforming squad are not the only ones with a point to prove heading into Friday’s trip to Leeds, however. Nuno ‘lost the plot’ leaving Freddie Potts out. He also benched Soungoutou Magassa and West Ham United’s only fit, senior centre-forward in Callum Wilson, while starting Ollie Scarles at right-back and Andy Irving in the middle of the park.
But if there was anything even remotely approaching a positive, it was perhaps the performance of Crysencio Summerville.
Nuno Espirito Santo impressed by Crysencio Summerville in West Ham United’s Brentford loss
While Alphonse Areola did his best to keep the scoreline somewhat respectable, Summerville was far and away West Ham’s standout performer at the other end of the pitch.
With Lucas Paqueta anonymous and Jarrod Bowen heavily marked, it was those trademark surging bursts from the ex-Leeds winger which looked like the home side’s most likely route to goal.
Nuno has spoken about Summerville’s importance a few times since taking over a month ago. A wideman who brings real aggression and speed to West Ham’s game, as well as the ability to create something out of nothing.
And ahead of an emotional Elland Road homecoming, Nuno highlighted Summerville once again as a man who won the Championship’s Player of the Year award in a Leeds shirt last year prepares to return to the club where he scored 25 goals in 89 games.
“I think he can be really important,” Nuno said, via ESPN. “Against Brentford, he started really well. In terms of distance, in terms of work rate, it was a good 90 minutes for him.
“So we expect, as time goes by, to elevate his fitness. Because, to produce all of the actions, he has to be on his top level.”
Summerville loves working under Nuno at the London Stadium
Nuno feels that both Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen are capable of more in a West Ham shirt, too. Particularly the former.
He also admits that, while Portugal Under-21 captain Mateus Fernandes is a ‘special’ talent, he and the coaching staff must work out his most effective role on the pitch.
Away to a Leeds side who can go seven points clear of the Hammers would be a good time for Summerville, Paqueta, Fernandes and Bowen to start clicking.
“It was my first big injury last season, and it was hard,” Summerville tells the official West Ham website, reflecting on the hamstring issue which kept him out for eight months. “But I always try to be positive, and I tried to see it as a bump in the road. I worked hard to get back, and I’m enjoying every moment now.
“I was happy with what happened against Nottingham Forest in August [Summerville came off the bench and turned the tide in a 3-0 win], because it helped show me that all the hard work was worth it. It made me feel like I was really back.
“Since then, I’ve stayed fit. And now I just want to keep improving and have a big impact in the rest of the season. It’s been nearly a year since I scored for the club, so it would be great to get on the scoresheet soon, too.
“Working with Nuno has been brilliant so far. He wants me to just do my thing, and be free in the final third while doing the basics well in defence. That’s what a winger wants to hear, and that’s what I’m trying to do.
“He understands my strengths, and he wants me to make the most of those, so let’s hope I can do that in the weeks and months ahead!”
