news-engine

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X) West Ham’s 2-1 defeat to Charlton was worrying for plenty of reasons, but perhaps the biggest concern was just how leaderless Nuno Espírito Santo’s team looked. The Hammers once again started slowly and were punished after only six minutes. Konstantinos Mavropanos then produced a horrendous mistake to gift Tyreece Campbell Charlton’s second shortly after half-time. Joel Piroe’s debut goal eventually gave West Ham some hope and Lewis Orford’s introduction improved the midfield, but there was no disguising what had happened. Charlton wanted it more. They played with greater intensity, more pace and, for long periods, considerably more purpose. West Ham’s lack of pace exposed again I’ve been banging on about West Ham’s lack of pace for weeks and today demonstrated precisely why. Championship teams are going to arrive at the London Stadium with the scent of blood in their nostrils if they see a team unable to match their running and physicality. Once Charlton sat back and challenged West Ham to break them down, we didn’t really know how. That was particularly concerning given the arrival of £22million midfielder Arne Engels. The former Celtic man improved after Orford came on, but there was very little evidence of the creativity West Ham desperately need. I’m certainly not writing Engels off after one game. That would be ridiculous. But our Premier League experience and expensive signings mean very little if you can’t move the ball quickly enough to hurt Championship opposition. Manor Solomon provided occasional flashes and Jarrod Bowen became increasingly dangerous after half-time, but there simply wasn’t enough attacking quality around them. Where was the leadership? Nothing summed up the lack of leadership better than what happened in stoppage time. Orford won West Ham a penalty when former Hammer Conor Coventry handled the ball, presenting the Hammers with an unlikely opportunity to rescue a point. Somehow, Taty Castellanos took it. I find that astonishing. Castellanos had endured a dreadful afternoon. He’d been booked for diving when West Ham were in an excellent attacking position, looked increasingly frustrated and had already demonstrated that he wasn’t in the correct mindset. He’s a hothead. We know that. So where was the captain? Bowen should have taken the ball, taken responsibility and told Castellanos that this wasn’t his moment. Taty subsequently missed and West Ham lost 2-1. Perhaps an equaliser would only have papered over the cracks anyway, because there were some enormous ones on display. Nuno has plenty to fix Nuno got plenty wrong tactically, including the strange deployment of Piroe behind Castellanos during the first half, but this goes beyond the manager. As I wrote when looking at what Piroe would bring to West Ham, he is a penalty-box operator who needs the ammunition provided for him. Playing him in behind Castellanos seemed an odd use of his strengths. West Ham lack pace, creativity and, worryingly, leadership. Unless those problems are addressed quickly, Charlton won’t be the last supposedly lesser team to come to the London Stadium with the scent of blood in their nostrils and give the Hammers a footballing lesson.