{"id":5210,"date":"2026-05-07T06:05:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T06:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=5210"},"modified":"2026-05-07T06:05:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T06:05:52","slug":"nunos-worst-defeat-may-have-ended-the-west-ham-careers-of-five-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=5210","title":{"rendered":"Nuno’s worst defeat may have ended the West Ham careers of five players"},"content":{"rendered":"


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West Ham United\u2019s abysmal, rock-bottom 3-0 defeat by Wolves back in January appeared, for a brief time, to leave Nuno Espirito Santo\u2019s future in serious doubt.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A spokesman for the club\u2019s board would tell Hammers News<\/strong>while the wounds were still fresh, that a Molineux mauling was a \u2018terrible\u2019 moment in a season of many low points.<\/p>\n

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Nuno Espirito Santo kept his job following clear the air talks behind the scenes. A handful of the West Ham United players tainted on that bitter January afternoon might not be quite so lucky; their reputations tainted and the stains difficult to scrub away.<\/p>\n

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If we are to get a RESULT vs Arsenal, how do you think we\u2019d do it? \ud83e\uddd0<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Max Kilman and Ollie Scarles were awful at the back, ripped to pieces by the division\u2019s worst frontline. Alphonse Areola allowed Matheus Mane\u2019s skimmer to skip past him at his near post; 3-0 down at half-time to a Wolves side who doubled their points tally in one 45 minute burst. <\/p>\n

Freddie Potts and Soungoutou Magassa were hauled off at half-time.<\/p>\n

Four months on, the Catastrophic Quintet have hardly been seen since on a Premier League stage since. And if West Ham were to put all five up for market this summer, the beginning of the end could probably be traced all the way back to January 4th.<\/p>\n

Wolves defeat was a disaster for some West Ham United players<\/h2>\n
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The toast of East London in the autumn, Potts wasn\u2019t even on the bench at Brentford as the Hammers lost by a margin of three or more goals for the seventh time in 2025\/26. <\/p>\n

The academy graduate has started only two of 15 league games since. He missed three of those due to a straight red picked up against Burton in the FA Cup. <\/p>\n

Serious doubts have emerged among a briefly-adoring West Ham fanbase. Of his last three league starts, Potts has been subbed off at half-time twice. <\/p>\n

As for Magassa, that gargantuan, goalscoring display at Old Trafford in December feels like years ago, rather than mere months.<\/p>\n

Magassa has struggled with the pace of the Premier League; often out of position, charging into tackles he was never going to win, and exposed by the division\u2019s wide array of nippy midfield operators. <\/p>\n

Magassa has also started only two of the last 15. His last three substitute appearances have totalled just 14 minutes of action. An ineffective display in that aforementioned Burton clash did last season\u2019s \u00a314 million from Monaco little good, either. <\/p>\n

He neither possesses the duel-winning aggression of Soucek, nor the dynamism of Mateus Fernandes. Would it really be a surprise if West Ham opted to cut their losses sooner rather than later?<\/p>\n

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What should our plan be with Potts and Magassa?<\/h3>\n

Both have barely featured in the last four months\u2026 \ud83d\ude15<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Nuno Espirito Santo was furious at Molineux<\/h2>\n

\u201cIt was a failure of many things, mistakes and not reacting to those mistakes, making mistakes and then a second mistake and over and over again not being able to control and create any situation of danger,\u201d Nuno fumed after a nightmarish return to his old Black Country stomping ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we didn\u2019t achieve one shot on goal, so that says a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scarles and Areola have made one top-flight appearance between them since February. Max Kilman was booed on his most recent London Stadium outing. <\/p>\n

Harry Maguire \u2013 Mr Remontada himself \u2013 may have bounced back better than ever following similar treatment at Manchester United, but there is surely no way back for Kilman. Nuno even admitted that introducing Kilman at Chelsea was a \u2018mistake\u2019 following February\u2019s 3-2 defeat. His introduction coincided with an almighty collapse, not for the first time.<\/p>\n

Whenever there is a footballing crime scene at West Ham, Kilman is often caught holding the weapon.<\/p>\n

This is not to say all five will leave the London Stadium come the summer, even if Kilman\u2019s exit is almost certain at this stage. Nobody wants to hear this of course, but Scarles and Potts could come in handy in the Championship. <\/p>\n

Though while Nuno walked away from that Wolves wreckage somewhat unscathed, a 3-0 defeat at one of the worst sides in Premier League history could still claim a few careers.<\/p>\n

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