One of the worst things about West Ham’s defeat to Aston Villa today was that, as a team, we actually looked okay.
And yet, despite some decent individual performances and leading the game twice, West Ham still managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
For large spells, Alphonse Areola had very little to do, but somehow the Hammers still conceded three goals. The result leaves us starting to drift dangerously close to being cut adrift at the bottom of the Premier League — made even worse by Nottingham Forest beating Tottenham, pushing Nuno Espírito Santo’s former club five points clear of us.
Improved Performances, Same Brutal Outcome
Perhaps the most troubling aspect is that Nuno does appear to have improved the team since his arrival. There is more structure, more cohesion and, at times, more control — but unfortunately West Ham are still not good enough.
That is the brutal reality.
Ultimately, the club’s current predicament stems from mismanagement at the very top. The appointments of Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter, combined with botched recruitment, have left West Ham paying the price. It’s sobering to remember that Aston Villa were in the Championship as recently as 2019. Since then, they have completely eclipsed West Ham in almost every measurable way — because they are simply better run.
Today, there wasn’t a huge gulf between the two sides. But realistically, this wasn’t a game West Ham could afford to lose.
And that’s the real worry.
We’re bang in trouble.
Very sad for hammers fans
I am usually very optimistic but as hard as we try, we just can’t get that win
I think unless we can get a descent striker or 2 and a couple of descent defenders we might stand a small chance of beating the drop
Such a shame Sullivan and Brady have destroyed this club which from winning the europa cup should have gone on from there.We have a tremendous fan base and the stadium although not perfect, fill it every week, but have noticed empty seats over the last few home games.
We are a massive club and should be playing in Europe
We need a take over and quick to repair the damage and if Sullivan and Brady really care about the club they will sell
The upside is that we are playing as a team and we can thank Nuno for that although he does make some bizzare substitutions. It is common knowledge that we need a striker but I’m equally sure we need two centre backs,Kilman is a waste of money and we are 1-0 down from the start every time Mavropanos plays. This is a very important transfer window coming up and we need to buy shrewdly without making offensive lowball offers.
I think we’ve improved a lot under Nuno, however, those immediately above us have too.
It’s stating the obvious to say we need wins (several!), but already it looks as though we might need those around us to drop points.
Worst case scenario is we get relegated.
Sullivan’s relegation clause can become a double edged sword. How many players will want away because of a drop in wages (I don’t blame Sullivan for being cautious though).
But using you’re example of Villa, would you Gonzo, trust our current boardroom to competent enough to carry out a deep dive and restructure of the entire operation, looking to emulate Villas example?
I certainly don’t.
Nothing from their past suggests an improvement from them in the future.
I’d like to think we have no worries about relegation as long as they continue the way they played against Villa but then the more I think about it we still have a defence that can’t concentrate or isnt fit enough to defend for a full 90 minutes. We’re still shipping goals. Our centre backs simply aren’t good enough and Paqueta and Summerville simply arent good enough either. They are all mouth and trousers in a football sense. No end product.
Aston Villa sold Grealish and built a team with the money. We sold Rice and are playing a false 9 as often as not.
Ridiculous.
Disagree – can’t keep blaming the owners …
We need to defend better all over the pitch starting with holding the ball up front …
We lose the ball too easily as it isn’t Paqueta’s game to hold a ball up and take pressure off .
Why Numo didn’t start Wilson I truly don’t understand ?
Paqueta is becoming a liability and shouldn’t have started today . He was responsible for 2 of our goals in my opinion.
Areola starting position was also poor for the final goal too .
Nothing between the teams today and we aren’t really getting the rub of the Green ….
Finally Numo’s 3 substitution’seith 10 mins to go were shocking and made no sense .
He took off our 2 most creative players and replaced them with 2 midfielders in Kante and Souchek !!
And he took off Potts for Rodrigous ??
Why ?? Surely he should have left Summerville on the left wing , Bowen on the right with Wilson and Souchek upfront ?
Why replace Potts who was playing well with Rodrigous ….
These substitutions really worried me as they made no sense especially when we were chasing the game ….
Made no sense at all and this isn’t the first time ….
Nano and c&h recognise it but does Sullivan & Brady?
If they do they don’t want to admit it.
The penny needs to drop_17 days to go before trading starts!!!!
Let’s hope the scouts (not Sullivan) have been as busy as predicted.
The wanted striker with 12-15 goals, ready to go, for £17m, is not going to be available.
Low ball bid for Josh Sargent club want £20m, no surprise.
Agreed, we are in trouble but I woldnt read too much into losing to a team like Villa who are bang in form. Most pundits had tipped us to lose this one and the fact that we could have got something from this game barring a flukey own goal and a wonder strike from Rodgers is a reason to be optimistic.
We’re unlikely to get anything out of the City games but after that it’s Fulham, Brighton, Wolves and Forrest. Points to be gained there…
Only if they sign a decent striker.
Nano needs to stick to his best team but with two of the team disappearing for 6 weeks tinkering will happen.
Nice to see all the Moyes out ranters celebrating. Championship awaits. Sadly possibly no Millwall as they may take our place in the PL… the irony.