‘They’re in trouble’ – West Ham make worst start in 52 years

West Ham’s miserable Premier League campaign was continued by their humiliating defeat at Leeds on Friday, which made for their worst season in 52 years.

Nuno Espirito Santo, who has lost three games since Graham Potter took over in September, led to their third consecutive defeat.

Ironically, the Hammers, who are 19th in the table, won just one game this year against Nottingham Forest when Nuno was in charge.

West Ham’s joint-worst league season is currently only four points away, which the team did in 1932-33 and 1973-74, when they finished bottom.

Nuno, who scored a point in his first game against Everton, is finding it difficult to come up with an answer after being given the task of keeping West Ham safe from a relegation that would leave them outside the top flight for the first time since 2011-12.

“Unfortunately, our club has a lot of issues. We can’t afford to hide behind the problems. The Portuguese argued that everyone must be alive, do much more, and be in the right place.

I felt like we needed a striker to hold the ball because we weren’t in our defensive situations, so maybe that’s not what I’m best at.

In the Premier League, these kinds of errors are unacceptable.

There is quality, there is time, but nothing will happen if we don’t change, Nuno, who is also the first West Ham manager to fail to win any of his first four Premier League games since Manuel Pellegrini in September 2018, said.

“We must change our mindset, change our approach to dealing with situations, change our commitments, improve our preparation, and work harder.

The Hammers biggest issue is at the other end of the pitch, where only Nottingham Forest and Wolves, two other teams in the bottom three, have scored less goals this term.

This season, the London club has conceded 20 goals, four more than bottom-placed Wolves.

The most conceded in that manner in the competition’s history at this point is that nine of those came from corners, which is triple the amount of any other team (Aston Villa, Fulham, and Leeds are all on three).

With Ollie Scarles and Aaron Wan-Bissaka starting on opposite sides of their preferred full-back positions, it was obvious that Nuno’s tactical approach was flawed. In addition, former West Ham and England goalkeeper Rob Green questioned Nuno’s decision to start them on the opposite sides of their favoured full-back positions.

According to Green, “It was a repeat form from Monday night [a loss to Brentford], a shape we didn’t understand, full-backs on the wrong side, and it didn’t work on Monday,” the statement read in Green’s statement to Sky Sports.

I don’t understand how you can replace five things with better XI and shape than you did when you first started out. Nothing about it makes sense.

On Friday night, West Ham collectively covered less than Leeds and a total of just over 6 km.

Their response to conceding two goals in 15 minutes was even more alarming.

The visitors appeared worn out as the confidence of Leeds increased, and they only recovered by too late to earn a point.

West Ham’s captain Jarrod Bowen told Sky Sports, “A dressing room when you’re second bottom of the league is low.”

“We can only show some fighting if we step up and show some.” More of that is required. It’s nearly easy to hide and be afraid. Sometimes it’s easier to say it and sometimes harder to do it.

“Dip your sleeves up and in,” you say. Nobody will give us this. We must accept that the reality of our situation is real. You must accept that our situation is serious and that we are currently at risk.