A Club Unravelling: West Ham’s Relegation Fears Deepen After Nottingham Forest Defeat

A Club Unravelling: West Ham’s Relegation Fears Deepen After Nottingham Forest Defeat

When the final whistle blew after West Ham’s 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest, boo’s erupted around the London Stadium for the umpteenth time this season.

In a match that West Ham needed to win to close the gap to the side they faced, things seemed up when Crysencio Summerville doubled West Ham’s lead in the 51st minute, only for a VAR check to show a marginal offside against debutant Taty Castellanos in the build-up.

To make matters worse, just four minutes later, Nicolas Dominguez looped a header home from a corner to make it 1-1, before Morgan Gibbs-White earned Forest the win with his penalty in the 89th minute after the Nottingham Forest captain was fouled by West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.

This was more than a loss for fans of the Irons; it is a death sentence that they may not be able to escape from.

The context makes it harder to ignore. In their last two matches, West Ham have faced bottom club Wolves and 17th-placed Nottingham Forest. Two wins would have lifted them to 20 points, clear of the relegation zone and, crucially, with momentum restored.

But they didn’t. They put up an embarrassing performance against Wolves—losing 3-0 to a side whose last Premier League victory came last April—and put up yet another weak performance at home to a Nottingham Forest side that is a shadow of their last season's self.

They now sit seven points adrift of safety, with the cold grip of relegation tightening around West Ham’s throat.

West Ham's Struggles

The rot runs deep at West Ham. Fan protests have become the norm at the London Stadium, and it was clear last night as a large expanse of the seats was left unfilled with many fans opting to leave early after Gibb-White's penalty gave Forest the lead.

The West Ham fans have given up and you really can’t blame them… pic.twitter.com/oWRVq3md50

— george (@StokeyyG2) January 6, 2026

Chants of “sack the board” have become increasingly commonplace, and they surfaced again last night, this time just mere minutes after Murillo’s own-goal in the 13th minute.

A lot can change over the course of a year, and that can most definitely be said about Nuno Espirito Santo. The former Nottingham Forest manager was relieved of his duties earlier in the season following a breakdown in relations with owner Evangelos Marinakis.

A year prior, Nuno and Forest sat third in the Premier League table and were on the cusp of a historic seven-match winning streak—their best sequence of top division results since 1922.

Now, Nuno and his side resemble a team drifting towards the inevitable, while Nottingham Forest are still attempting to stabilise themselves after a shoddy first half to the Premier League season that has seen them already move onto their third manager.

Years of Frustration, Finally Boiling Over

For 23-year-old West Ham fan Charlee Sawkins, the blame lies with the board. “The negativity stems from them the owners, and it has for years.

“Change does not happen until it happens from the top.”

This is an opinion that the majority of West Ham fans share. In a poll conducted by The Athletic prior to the start of the season, just 39 per cent of West Ham supporters reported feeling optimistic, the third-lowest figure in the Premier League.

Never forget what they have done to our football club

Never forgive them for what they have done to our football club pic.twitter.com/dh5UBA8gRV

— WH Fan Place (@WestHamPlace) January 6, 2026

With the board under pressure to appease their fans, and to save the Hammer’s season, they turned to the transfer market.

Over the 22 games played in the EFL Cup and Premier League, fans have ridiculed Maximilian Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos, who have been regarded as one of the worst centre-back pairings in the league.

So it felt natural that the board would invest money into their defence to tighten the ship.

Instead, they spent a combined £45 million on strikers Valentin Castellanos and Pablo Felipe.

Our two new additions ✔️ pic.twitter.com/fUnOxSJWun

— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 5, 2026

Valentin Castellanos has spent his past three seasons at Italian side Lazio, where he has notched up just 22 goals in 98 appearances.

Pablo, meanwhile, is a 22-year-old striker with limited senior experience. Despite a career tally of 20 goals in 91 appearances and a valuation of around £1.6 million, West Ham committed £20 million to secure his signature.

Sawkins told me that whilst he has hope for these two signings, they were not “necessary” and that West Ham “lack ability in defence and that should have been our first means of purchase.”

West Ham have 17 games left of the Premier League season. Seventeen opportunities to redefine their season, to halt the drift, and to avoid relegation for the first time in 15 years.

The remaining months will not just decide their league position. Failure would not just send West Ham packing to the Championship; it would leave their squad dismembered.

The London Stadium—built to hold over 60,000 fans—would become empty in England’s second tier.

In the Championship, the margins tighten, players are more exposed, and a grandeur stadium is at risk of becoming a gaping cavern of despair.