If at first Igor Thiago doesn’t succeed, he tries, tries, and tries again. Eventually, with half-time looming during Monday’s victory at West Ham, the reward for Thiago’s endeavours arrived. As is the way at the oversized, underutilised bowl Olympic bowl, it took an age for the split-tier pocket of visiting Brentford fans to react. Eventually, they danced.
By then Thiago could have had several goals. Plenty of bustle and hustle had seen him strike the woodwork and force Alphonse Areola into smothering in a manic few minutes around the half hour. His strike, a fifth in eight Premier League appearances, proved decisive, Brentford’s second only arriving via Mathias Jensen with virtually the game’s last kick.
With the season barely a quarter gone, Thiago has already emphatically answered polite enquiries as to who will step up in Yoane Wissa’s absence.
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“Now who?”
The 24-year-old Brazilian was a threat throughout the game (Image credit: Getty Images)
But then that’s the thing about Brentford. The ‘now who?’ question has been asked and answered plenty of times before. They are always ready. They know that success will lead to a player moving on. Whether they view that as a feather to add to the cap or not, is debatable but they at least have the sense to brace themselves.
In goalscoring terms, Neal Maupay became Ollie Watkins, ranked at no.43 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best Premier League players of last season. Then it was Ivan Toney, who became Wissa. Now it is Thiago’s turn.
Unfixable? Nuno has a lot to ponder just three games into his tenure at the London Stadium (Image credit: Getty Images)
What might surprise a few is that Thiago was, in fact, Brentford’s record signing 16 months ago. £30 million quid was transferred to Club Brugge for a man they hoped would fill Ivan Toney’s boots. A meniscus injury, followed by an infection, ruined his season, though.
Thiago’s story is an endearing one, the type that makes you will him to do well. Having lost his dad aged just 13, he picked fruit in fields and laid bricks on building sites to support his family. He came to European football from Cruzerio, joining Ludogorets Razgrad and winning the Bulgarian title. He did likewise in Belgium before Brentford called.
Thiago blends the old-school bully forward approach with pace a plenty of quality. Into the sixth minute of first half of injury time, he thought he had doubled Brentford’s lead. As he celebrated, the cameras panned to Nuno Espirito Santo rubbing his hand furiously over his scalp. Eventually, a VAR check (a Cloud failure meant manual lines had to be drawn for the first time this season, with automated offside out of action) correctly deemed Thiago marginally offside.
By that point, the mass of white seats shone brighter than the floodlights. Barely enough folk remained to cheer when Andrew Madley created an imaginary square in the air. Still, those that were there let their feelings known with an admittedly half-hearted boo at the break.
“He’s been outstanding,” Brentford manager Keith Andrews said in his post-match press conference. “I’ve been a footballer – the worst part is when you’re injured. I felt for Thiago last season. The more we play together, the more the team connects, and we get that vibe and energy, the more he and the team will continue to get better.”
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Numbers can wear heavy, perhaps none more so than nine. Thiago is sporting it proudly and had a match-defining night. However, his opposite number had a bad one. Or maybe that isn’t true, actually. After all, can you have a bad night without getting on the pitch?
With his side trailing, Nuno made a trio of half-time changes. All three of those introduced were defenders. Callum Wilson, the only senior forward in the squad, remained in his tracksuit despite two of Nuno’s inductees being wingbacks. Remember, West Ham started the game without a recognised striker.
Just after the hour, some say they heard Nuno turn and shout, ‘get ready Callum lad, it’s your turn’. That cannot be confirmed given the size of the London Stadium’s technical area, but he certainly signalled to a centre forward to remove his tracksuit.
A sea of white plastic, West Ham fans make their exit after a dismal performance (Image credit: Getty Images)
Beneath it though, was not a claret shirt with nine on the back, but one with 50. Callum Marshall got the nod. Surely Wilson would get 20 minutes? Except, he didn’t. When Guido Rodriguez replaced Tomas Soucek – a not altogether popular decision amongst home supporters – Wilson’s race was destined not to be run. If not already, he may soon be questioning his decision to join in the summer.
Spare a thought for Nuno. He looked a lonely soul, rocking from one leg to the other throughout the game. There was talk of a boycott amongst West Ham fans, and while there were plenty of unoccupied seats, it is difficult to really know whether that was just the result of general apathy or a point being made.
The feeling inside the ground was strange. It felt broken, unfixable. West Ham barely mustered a forward movement. As four minutes of added time after the 90 were indicated, Lucas Paqueta swung the wildest of wide boots at a falling ball. The miscue was so bad that, had he been playing snooker, the tablecloth would have ripped. That was the cue for hundreds to depart.
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