Gary Neville questioned Nuno Espirito Santo’s ‘strange’ decision to halt substitutions against Manchester United in their 1-1 draw in Old Trafford on Thursday night.
According to a report from WestHamZone, Gary Neville described West Ham’s decision-making under Nuno Espirito Santo in the draw at Manchester United as “strange,” criticising the delayed substitutions that many believe could have snatched a victory.
In the 1–1 draw at Old Trafford, West Ham found themselves trailing until a late strike from Soungoutou Magassa rescued a point.
But pundit Gary Neville was left perplexed by what he called a bizarre tactical move by manager Nuno Espirito Santo: substitutions were readied — players stripped, sat on the bench, prepared to come on — then told to “sit down” again and wait.
Neville, commenting on Sky Sports, remarked: “A change of mind, strange — they were stripped for two or three minutes.”
He argued that after a disjointed first half and limited offensive threat, West Ham needed fresh energy early.
Instead, Nuno opted for conservative changes later, including bringing on Andy Irving and Mohamadou Kante — moves which did spark momentum, but were preceded by a puzzling delay.
Despite the point being a “positive result” at such a difficult venue, Neville’s criticism underscores concerns that more proactive substitutions might have turned the draw into a win.