"COMMON SENSE!" Simon Jordan REACTS to Nuno Espirito Santo STAYING at West Ham!

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]They have confirmed that Nuno espirto Santo continues as head coach. Uh this time though he's going to be head coach to West Ham whilst they're in the championship. Um they went down at the weekend. West Ham say the football operation always has to be our first priority and the planning for next season started as soon as the final whistle sounded Sunday. We held meetings with the head coach earlier this week and we are pleased to confirm he's expressed his continued commitment to the club as we have to him. Talk Sports chief football correspondent Alex Krook joins us live this morning. Alex, were they always going to come to this decision? Was he always going to stay?

[00:00:39]Certainly wouldn't go that far, Jim.

[00:00:41]Obviously, when Sam, myself, and Scott Mento were on air covering for you guys on Bank Holiday Monday. We heard there was a meeting uh between David Sullivan and Nunas Spirto Santo. I think that meeting actually took place at Sullivan's house and it looked at that stage like the direction of travel would be a change of manager but as so often seems to be the case at West Ham. You have people pulling in different directions. I think as of Monday, David Sullivan was more inclined to park company with Nuno. Scott Parker was very much a talking horse as a potential replacement given his strong links with West Ham and his record of getting teams out the championship. And I think actually it was the intervention of the Czech minority owner Daniel Katinsky that has led us to this point. There's a lot of whispers that Katinsky is going to buy more of a shareholding in the club. He's going to buy more of those shares from the the gold family and perhaps potentially even David Tullivan himself. But ultimately the upshot is that Nuno stays. I think Gratinsky looks at his record in the Championship. maybe looked at his record at West Ham as well, which was top 10 since Nuno came in, but ultimately not enough to save them in the Premier League, and decided that actually rather than more managerial upheaval, let's stick with someone who's been there, got the t-shirt, having led Wolves to promotion to the Premier League, and let's try and build again. It's still going to be a massive uh summer of upheaval at West Ham with several star players moving on.

[00:01:57]But maybe that consistency in the dugout is perhaps the best thing in order to bounce back at the first time of asking as they did the last two times they were relegated from the Premier League.

[00:02:06]>> Yeah, very shortly we're going to get the fans to come to and we we'll be joined by a few of them no doubt who will give us their views on whether or not in their eyes it's the right decision. 03717234 Simon Danny Simon what do you think? I mean, Nuno, he seems popular as far as I see it in many quarters.

[00:02:24]>> I was going to ask, is it another one of those inspired decisions from Sullivan that doesn't read the room because of the fans because they dislike most of the things he does and I wasn't sure.

[00:02:32]First of all, his form as West Ham manager was not top 10 at all. His form was actually quite poor up until the last 15 games where he pulled it together, but I think he got something like 36 points um out of the games that he was involved in, which was 33 cuz I was under the impression he came in much later. He didn't. He came in with 33 games to go. Yeah, he had a really bad start.

[00:02:50]>> Now, as far as as far as he's concerned, contractually he'd been obligated. The fact he rocked around to that gin palace that passes as David Sullivan's house in Then Boyce would have suggested to me that he wasn't going to um be leaving because if you're going to get rid of a manager, you don't run around to your house and tell him you you deal with him on the training ground.

[00:03:05]>> So, I would suspect that for whatever reason, they've aligned themselves with the reality that he's a capable manager that the end result, the end situation and ignored the beginning that it took him a long time to get started. And that was the probably the real problem that the longer the tale was too long at the beginning and of course the fact that he'd done better at the end and finished the season with a marginal strength in terms of they won the last game of season 3. They were dreadful against Newcastle. I think they threw it away against Palace in the game that they drew nil nil and settled for that nil nil draw when they were in decent form.

[00:03:34]But all of that probably lends itself to is who is best equipped? Who do we know?

[00:03:39]How has he worked with us at the back end of the season and what is his performances like in the championship with Wolves seven, eight, nine years ago? All of those probably make common sense to say if the fans aren't particularly offside about it, why would you change it? The manager must have accepted the premise of being involved in the relegation battle. That's why they brought in.

[00:03:57]>> True. Why would you change it, Danny? He was brought in to avoid relegation.

[00:04:01]They're relegated and he stays on. Does it make sense to you?

[00:04:06]>> Yeah, I think there is some common sense around it. I think you can look at it both ways. Unfortunately, you're always going to have a certain section of this the fan base that isn't on board with it because of the style of football has been talked about. I was listening to a phone in yesterday where a lot of West Ham fans didn't want him to stay. Um, so there'll be a mixed bag. Damned if you do, you know, damned if you don't. And then I think probably with his experience in the Championship, he already knows the group.

[00:04:32]It may I can see the sense behind it.

[00:04:34]Yeah.

[00:04:34]>> Style of football is not going to be the question about West Ham in the Championship getting out of the bleeding division is. And if we're going to make the argument >> West Ham runs have always >> I know they are but they're big enough lucky enough to realize that getting out of the championship is bigger than what they have to play like once upon a time when they won the World Cup for us. But the fact is is that if you talk about Scott Parker then Scott Parker gets people relegated. So if you're going to bring Scott Parker in to manage your side you make the argument oh what you keeping Nun for he got you relegated.

[00:04:56]Well Scott Parker got B relegated. So you can't both ways in the same argument >> right. We're going to hear more from Nuno in the in the course of the close season. No doubt. Certainly postmatch at the weekend after they'd won and won.

[00:05:06]Well, he spoke about the prospect of imminent relegation.

[00:05:10]>> It's a moment of deep sadness for all of us at the club. Um was a tough day. Uh we had a tough mission. Uh we lost the privilege of of deciding our own future. We lost his privilege. We knew that um it was not only up to us. We did our part of the job. Um it didn't happen. So, it's a moment of deep sadness.

[00:05:34]>> So, sad as everybody is at West Ham United at the prospect of dropping down.

[00:05:39]Alex, is this going to in your view encourage the top players, some of these top players to stay?

[00:05:46]>> Well, there in lines another story. By the way, when I was talking about top 10 form from January, I think Scott Mento's just corrected me it was top eight form, but Simon's right. It did take a long time for Nuno to get going. But in terms of who stays and who goes, I don't think it was a particularly harmonious dressing room. Not a particularly harmonious relationship between Nuno and a lot of the players. Take John Clair to Debo for example. He was taken off very early in their final away game of the season. The one they lost at Newcastle that ultimately played a big part in their demise. It's our understanding at Talk Sport that he refused to play on the final day of the season. Told Nuno after he took him off at Newcastle, I won't play for you again. There were some issues with Callum Wilson earlier in the season when he was trying to terminate his contract. So I think he is quite an abrasive character. Do you know he doesn't always see eye to eye with his players but in terms of departures I think Somerville will definitely go to Debo who I've mentioned Maanos is pushing for a move. Jared Bowen is the fascinating one for me because I was told last week that if they go down he'll definitely leave. There's a a statement from him on social media suggesting that he's ready to stay and fight to get the club back up. Crookie, Crookie, can I just ask you? I read I listened to that statement. If you read it properly, there's nothing in there about him helping West Ham come back up.

[00:06:58]>> I think West Ham fans are reading into it that, you know, that suggests he may well say I I think he'll probably still go, but what the point I was going to make is he's 29. For the type of money that would make it worthwhile for West Ham to sell him, who's going to pay that? Who's going to pay 50 60 million quid for a 29 year old?

[00:07:15]>> Promoted clubs might do. I mean, maybe we'll get that plastic Ray Winston, Danny Dyier, whose daughter he dates to convince him to stay at West Ham.

[00:07:22]>> I I actually think I actually think he wouldn't cost that. They're not stupid West Ham. I'm not going to get 60 million for a 29y old. I reckon you'd get him out of there for 30, maybe 40 at the most.

[00:07:33]>> When when you look more closely at the West Ham statement this morning, we know we must also take steps to repair the club's relationship with its fan base.

[00:07:42]>> Good luck with that.

[00:07:43]>> Well done. A simple question, Simon. Is the relationship repairable?

[00:07:47]>> Alex and I just said the same thing at the same time. Good luck with that. No, I mean that is that it should be and people should have a wider set of eyes than just a general distaste for David Sullivan. You know, whatever he is and whatever he isn't, football clubs that David's been involved with, Birmingham City fans never had it so good. They might be getting them back on the road again with Brady and his gang, but it's taken them a long time. When Sullivan was there, they loathed him. They loved Karen. They love David Gold, God bless his soul, and they love David Sullivan, but they had a real period of decline after they left Carson Young and all those people that came in that made a holics of it. Careful what you wish for, but there is no way, we've heard them.

[00:08:22]>> We've heard the West Ham fans coming on here. They'll never forgive them for the stadium. They'll never forgive them for every misstep, whether it's selling P Dmitri Payet and buying Robert Snodgross or whether it's telling people they're going to do this and the other and the stadium is going to be fit for purpose.

[00:08:35]It's not fit for purpose in people's minds. And never going to get past that.

[00:08:38]So once once it's been seeded in people's minds, it's a bugger of a narrative to change. They don't like the chairman. They don't want him in the in the business. They think he's whatever they think of him. And so he's never going to change that. So the best he can do is not try to. His best his best focus in life is to try and get West Ham back to the Premier League >> cuz that establishes some value back in it for him because the only way he's going to get out of that football club with the money that he might think he wants to get out of it is by being in the Premier League. So there's a whole there's a there's a common goal without a common spirit.

[00:09:04]>> Yeah. Yeah. Alex, it seems like any mutterings that come out the club are met in some quarters with disdain. David Sullivan's partner, Ampa Pixton, uh I think she was pictured beside him at the weekend. Business owner, former star of Real Housewives of Cheshure, Uhhuh. has come in for criticism following her post on social media standing on the West Ham Club Crest at the London Stadium with the caption, "Time to reset, restructure, and rebuild. Only way is up." And yet, and if you're watching on YouTube, then you're seeing exactly what I'm describing. And yet, Alex, that was meant met with a a torrent of abuse in some some sections of the West Ham support. Does it surprise you that that in some in some quarters was the reaction?

[00:09:51]>> Not at all. And it shouldn't surprise her. It shouldn't have surprised David Sullivan, who, as we understand, it was advised by security to vacate his seat long before the final whistle at the weekend. There was a an instant after Jared Bowen scored the second goal. All the fans in the lower tier, which is the side of the ground where the press box is, they turned and started to abuse David Sullivan. And the next time the camera pan to his seat, he wasn't there.

[00:10:12]I don't know what she's got to achieve from this to be honest. It feels like attention seeking. She must know the reaction she's going to get. Why post it in the first place? You know that the partner of the owner saying the only way is up is not going to appease West Ham fans who've long been fed up with the way that the club is run. Alex, thank you very much indeed for joining us.

[00:10:31]Alex Krook, as always, right on the spot with the breaking news. Um, it's not advisable to involve another member of the family.

[00:10:40]>> What could what could have possibly have attracted this rather young and attractive desperate housewife to the two foot tall multi-millionaire David Sullivan. Um, I'm sure that awareness is not one of her fake wonderful traits.

[00:10:50]Um, but notwithstanding that, yeah, we shouldn't. People shouldn't get that kind of abuse, but notwithstanding it, they do. Yeah, we're reacting to the news that West Ham have confirmed this morning that Nuno Espiritto Santo continues as head coach. This time West Ham will be in the championship though.

[00:11:06]They dropped down at the weekend. Um they held meetings with his spirit to Santo earlier in the week and they are now pleased to confirm that he's expressed his continued commitment to the club as we have to him. So peace has broken out. Everybody's happy but are the fans happy? What do you think of it?

[00:11:20]03717234.

[00:11:24]Phil, big West Ham fan. First up, are you happy?

[00:11:28]>> Good morning, Jim. Good morning, Simon.

[00:11:30]Yes, I'm over the moon. Good morning, Danny. Sorry. Good morning.

[00:11:33]>> I'm over the moon because this is what we need now. You need continuity.

[00:11:37]We need continuity. This is a manager whose body of work is quite good. And this I think Simon alluded to it earlier. We're going to replace him with Scott Parker who go who's up and down more than a a yo-yo. I nearly said something else there.

[00:11:49]>> Well done. Well done. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:11:51]>> But he he No disrespect to him. great guy to West Ham, we love him at West Ham, Super Scott, but he's taken clubs down. Gary O'Neal, he's gone to League One. Yeah, >> you know, he's going to come back, but again, his body of work isn't great.

[00:12:03]Nuno has a body of work. And you know what? For me, what swayed it is when John Clair Tadivbo said, "I'll never play for you again." Great. Cuz you haven't pulled up any trees at all.

[00:12:14]Right.

[00:12:14]>> You haven't done anything. specifically on specifically on Nuno.

[00:12:19]>> What persuades you that he is the right man to take you forward?

[00:12:24]>> Because he has a vision. Because he has a plan and we saw that with W. We saw that with Nottingham Forest. If you give him time, he will build a team that will get us out of that division. But not only will it get us out the championship, but it will keep us back in the Premiership because we know how difficult it is regardless of your history and how many how many 10 years, 14 years, 40 years, however long you've been in the U Premier League. When you go down, there's no guarantee you're going to bounce straight back up and stay there. And that for us is more important than staying there. And and for the fans, and I'm a lifelong West Ham fan, Jim, I I I love them.

[00:13:06]going to stay where he is. He's he's he's he's doing it on he's going to stay there and it's like the ground. We ain't we going to get a fairy godmother to come along and just knock it all down and build us a purposebuilt 100,000 seater stadium where everyone can see the game.

[00:13:18]>> I'm pleased that you're pleased, Phil.

[00:13:19]Thank you very much. Indeed. Daniel's a big West Ham fan. Daniel, do you think this might lead to some of the key the top players at West Ham staying as well?

[00:13:26]Is that what you're looking at?

[00:13:29]>> I think it's going to make some of them stay. Uh, probably not. I think maybe a couple of the bigger names, but you know what? I'm not actually unhappy about some of the bigger names leaving. When some of the names are like Somerville, who I think's only performed for a few games and he probably wants to get out already. Do I think I'll probably be quite happy for him to go, people will think I'm mad, but I just think that's not West Ham. That isn't us. We need people that want to fight, that want to get us back up, that want to then stay in the Premier League, not ones that want to just use us as a stepping stone.

[00:13:58]What do you like about Nuno?

[00:14:00]>> What do you like about Nuno, Daniel?

[00:14:02]>> What do I like about him? Well, as as the last but guy just said, look at what he's done for Wolves. Look at what he's done for Forest. He's proven.

[00:14:11]>> Absolutely proven. There's not many proven managers. And in the Championship, in in fairness, a lot of it is about the manager. It's not everything, but you look a lot of the top managers generally get get the teams back up. This this year's probably a bit more of an anomaly.

[00:14:25]In general, I think the manager has a big big saying. I don't think Nuno would have stayed if there wasn't a bit of a plan either, which gives us a bit more confidence.

[00:14:32]>> I think he's got I think he's also ahead of the game in the fact he knows all the players.

[00:14:36]>> Yeah, >> he's been working with them. He knows who's who's got what characteristics.

[00:14:40]>> Is Nuno better than the championship, Danny?

[00:14:43]>> I think he probably thinks he is. Yeah, you know, the body of work, especially the Forest. So, are you surprised in some ways that he's sticking with them >> a little bit, but maybe depending on the reassurances he's got on budget and the players he thinks he's going to keep, he might think they could they could really be comfortable.

[00:15:00]>> Yeah.

[00:15:01]>> And have a have a season of winning a lot of games and flying high in the league. And obviously that's good for his CV anyway and get them back up. You know, it's it's it I don't know. I don't know him so it's hard to comment.

[00:15:10]>> He's I think he's an acquired taste. I think he's I think he's a difficult animal to manage. I remember listening to some of the Wolves conversation, you know, the hierarchy conversation about he's quite difficult to manage, but the Tottenham job would have hurt him.

[00:15:22]>> The fact that he managed a big side in in in well, whatever Tottenham artist moment in time, but at the time perceived to be a big side, >> can't really change your mind.

[00:15:28]>> I know, but people do and people will judge people, they'll judge Liam Minior, and Liam Rousin's situation will be dramatically damaged by his experiences at Chelsea because his reputation has been really, really sullied. So, you know, you look at Palace, Palace need a manager. I can't see I don't see Nino espto Santo as a fit for Palace. So when we say is he better than the championship, we then got to qualify it because I don't think Bournemouth would look at him. I don't think Palace would look at him and so then what who are we talking about?

[00:15:53]>> Exactly. When we say is he better than the champion, >> right?

[00:15:56]>> Sure. I hear you. Yeah.

[00:15:58]>> What we what is becoming evident is this morning ging by this reaction for the most part West Ham fans are happy that Nuno stays. Linda, are you big fan? Good morning.

[00:16:08]>> Good morning gentlemen. First time caller, absolutely delighted. For me, Pelleigrini and Potter has to take the majority responsibility. And I say to the players, you took us down. You owe us one year to bring us back up.

[00:16:23]>> Good call, Linda. What What do you like about Nuno? Linda, >> to be honest with you, his voice is just so soothing. I close my eyes and I just melt away.

[00:16:33]>> He is quite charismatic.

[00:16:35]>> Sure is. Yeah. his voice is just oh it's you know you can fall asleep just listening him talking to you and that's in a good way not a bad way >> that's what I find in here with these two Linda thank you very much indeed Robert's a big West Ham fan as well before we head to the 10:30 bulletin where do we go with this then Robert it's thumbs up all round for Nuno or is it >> no he's a keeper for me definitely >> yeah no he I like what he's done considering the car crash he picked up all right we went there we got to take on the tune but I reckon give him a year in the championship and let him stand on that. If he fails, well, t if he gets us through and back up, he's done his CV a well to good.

[00:17:15]>> Robert, fair point. Thanks for the call, Simon. Here's the thing.

[00:17:18]>> This is why you wanted Spurs relegated because, you know, West Ham, they're far too happy or contrite with it or accepting of it. Spurs fans would be outraged if their team had got relegated.

[00:17:27]>> We're going to get to Spurs very shortly. Am I Am I not getting something? Everybody keeps on saying, "Look at what he's done. He's got them relegated." Yes, but he didn't have a full season and also he had he had a long time in September.

[00:17:39]>> He had 90% of it.

[00:17:40]>> Yeah, he started three games.

[00:17:43]>> Well, actually, I remember the I did a few of the early games and some of his selections were bizarre, but um >> he was working it out, wasn't he?

[00:17:48]>> I think what he did done at Wolves in terms of getting them up and then thriving. He had a lot more time than Deserby.

[00:17:55]>> He did and that's why you have to fice that into the thinking, but I think Zerby had a lot more to work with than he did. I think it's it's undeniable that suppose have better players. There might be a bunch of cheats and then they might need to be dropped kicks out the door some of them but notwithstanding it they had better talent pool he didn't have that much to to to dial into certainly defensively he got the best from them I think >> also as well most recently you know if you look at players and managers you look at what they've done most recently what he achieved at forest was nothing short >> absolutely Simon we heard from Alex that maybe this wasn't Sullivan's first call that Nuner should stay but it certainly was being pushed reportedly by the Czech shareholder Daniel Katinsky who's said to have an everinccreasing influence on on the football club. Is that significant? This guy's coming to the for a bit more.

[00:18:37]>> Well, maybe. I mean, that's always I' I've always assumed that he would be the output deal for David Sullivan to exit stage left whenever he chose to or part of it.

[00:18:46]>> I mean, he hasn't done wonderful things for West Ham. He hasn't done wonderful things for the bleeding post office that he's bought either, but that's a different discussion. He's a very successful man with a very driven perspective, I understand. So whether he has had something to say to Sullivan, I I would imagine there's an element of cooperative thinking about it. David just won't sit there in the same way that he'd have conversations with David Golden to some extent. Maybe Garen.

[00:19:09]>> Yeah.

[00:19:09]>> Um he now has a shareholder that is watching his investment diminish. May well be an outcome for David. I can't really see David unless we can really beat them to a pulp metaphorically selling his shares now in West Ham because it's his lowest E and he will want to return irrespective of the disdain that people have toward him.

[00:19:27]David is about money and achieving outcomes. So he'll want to be getting the value that he can get for West Ham.

[00:19:32]So so all things being equal, I would imagine that it was a collective decision and his and his input was part of it >> because since he's reportedly got 27% stake in the football club, Sullivan's at 39.

[00:19:44]>> Yeah. So I mean he's not getting far away. If he acquires a bit more he's really going to start going places.

[00:19:50]>> I mean you if you want if you want if you want to control the football club you have to have 51%. If you want to control everything and all the aspects you need to have 76%. So there's he's a long way away from being able to dictate the tone and circumstance. But if he's the money in the room going forward because Sullivan doesn't want to put his in.

[00:20:04]>> Yeah.

[00:20:04]>> Then he will have an increasing say won't he? Okay. And he didn't buy a steak any more than Dragon Slovic bought a steak in Southampton to get relegated.

[00:20:11]And he's obviously he's got a whole different set of problems now. Exactly.

[00:20:14]Not withstanding that. Neither did this fell.