Once a Dream, Now a Nightmare: The Struggle to Revive a Lost Identity

Once a Dream, Now a Nightmare: The Struggle to Revive a Lost Identity

Cast your mind back to the 23rd of May 2021, and many will recall what was a special day for West Ham United Football Club. A magical 3-0 win at home meant that Europa League football was secured for the first time in five years. Although the 2020/21 season was largely played in front of reduced crowds, hundreds of thousands of supporters around the world celebrated at home - and this was just the beginning of a string of fond memories that everyone in the Irons family would enjoy over the next two years.

Europa League qualification CONFIRMED ✅🤩 pic.twitter.com/FaqAW0mRmo

— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 23, 2021

Just 10 months prior, the Hammers had narrowly escaped relegation due to a run of one loss in their final seven matches of the 2019/20 season. The pandemic survival story was very much down to David Moyes, who had returned to East London partway through the season and revived his managerial career.

Fast forward to the present day, and West Ham find themselves in a relegation scrap once again, as if the last five years were just a dream. From Julen Lopetegui to Graham Potter, the club have struggled to settle with a manager since Moyes departed in the summer of 2024. Nuno Espirito Santo might be the answer to the so far unsolved question: who can build on the legacy and foundations left by Moyes?

Last night’s 1-1 draw with Everton marked a strong start to Nuno’s life as West Ham boss, but what does the former Forest manager have to implement at the London Stadium to return to the modern glory days?

The Glorious Post-COVID Days

As a Hammer myself, I could recall the classic 2020/21 starting eleven in an instant. A blend of seasoned pros like Lukasz Fabianski, Angelo Ogbonna, Craig Dawson, Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell, mixed with emerging talents such as Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek, and Jarrod Bowen.

What made this squad even more unique was how little it had changed from the team that was so nearly sent down to the Championship. To really put it into perspective, eight of the eleven men who started in West Ham’s 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in February 2021 (which saw the club break into the top four) also started in a 1-0 defeat to Burnley seven months prior, when the club was three points above the drop zone.

From Jesse Lingard’s unforgettable loan spell to Manuel Lanzini’s 94th-minute equaliser against Spurs, David Moyes had revolutionised and revitalised a club that, under Manuel Pellegrini, had turned a similar shade to the Argentinian’s hair.

On this day in 2020, Lanzini scored THAT special goal against Spurs ⚒️#WHUFC | @Heineken_UK pic.twitter.com/GSrOaKEVwp

— West Ham United (@WestHam) October 18, 2023

What Needs to Change?

The most vital change that needs to occur if the Hammers are to get back to their old ways is at the back. In the 2020/21 season, West Ham conceded 45 goals in 38 Premier League games; only the top four and Arsenal (known for their steely defence under Mikel Arteta) let in fewer goals. Often lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Moyes’ West Ham did not have a lightning-fast defence, but instead a tough and experienced backline that could lie deep and resist waves of opposing attacks.

Midfield Makeover

In front of the defence was a double pivot of Rice and Soucek, who would run a half marathon each game, and act as an extra defensive wall that could push opponents out to the wing and simultaneously contribute going forward. Whilst Soucek has continued to consistently cover over 12km per 90 (ranking 2nd in the 2024/25 PL season in this field), the club have struggled to find a partner for the Czech international since Rice’s departure two years ago.

Soungoutou Magassa might be the individual to fill this role. The summer signing was relatively unused by Graham Potter, but was thrust straight into the starting eleven by Nuno last night, and it paid off. The Frenchman delivered a well-rounded defensive midfield display, winning four ground duels and making two accurate long balls in the 59 minutes he played. It was a performance that brought energy and physicality to West Ham’s midfield. Once the midfielder is adjusted to the league, his presence could spell trouble for any opponent looking to take him on in the centre of the pitch.

Nuno on his decision to give Soungoutou Magassa his first start:

"Physicality. He can bring physicality in the middle of the park. He can help with the build up, we want to know the players out there."

👊🏻⚒️ #WHUFC #COYI pic.twitter.com/HuCdI0Xbai

— West Ham News & Views (@WestHamViews_) September 29, 2025

Freddie Potts could also be the next young English defensive midfielder to follow in the footsteps of Rice. After proving himself in the EFL at Wycombe Wanderers and Portsmouth, Potts replaced Magassa last night to make his second Premier League appearance. The midfielder featured heavily in the Hammers' preseason and looks like he will be given a chance to star under Nuno.

As an academy graduate, it is one thing coming into a PL game and looking up to standard… but changing the game is a whole different ballpark. I thought Freddie Potts genuinely increased our tempo last night. Incredible cameo. pic.twitter.com/qvZmS09qfG

— Joe Davis (@whujoe) September 30, 2025

Defensive Shifts

Konstantinos Mavropanos, Max Kilman, and Jean-Clair Todibo have been the central defenders in rotation this season, and will have to buck up their ideas under Nuno after some recent defensive displays illustrated the opposite of what attracted the club to sign them.

The East London outfit were known for their compact formation when off the ball under Moyes, and that is something Nuno will look to replicate. Six games into the Premier League season, West Ham ranks second-to-last in the total of tackles and interceptions completed (112). As the victims of a coach who does not prioritise his defence, not all the blame can be placed on Kilman and co. However, they will have to learn quickly if they are to save what has been a sinking ship so far.

Aaron Cresswell was a key part of Moyes’ most successful times at the London Stadium due to his progressive passing. The Scotsman’s style did not fuss over building from the back, but instead was comfortable with playing long balls up to Michail Antonio, the focal point of West Ham’s attack (more on this later).

🚨🔻 West Ham have conceded 8 goals in their first two games of a top-flight campaign for the first time ever. 🤯 (Sky Sports) pic.twitter.com/Djmc76bFUt

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) August 22, 2025

Played as a left-back and left centre-back depending on the formation, Cresswell often moved into the midfield going forward, creating space as opponents often targeted Rice and Soucek instead. The five-foot-seven Scouser was amongst the highest in the squad for progressive passes and passes into the final third.

Whether in a back four or five, West Ham’s current defence will need to uncover a way of driving the ball forward with long balls. We already saw signs of this style in Nuno’s first game against Everton; Mavropanos and Malick Diouf made 15 passes into the final third between them, with Diouf already having three assists to his name.

The Senegalese full-back missed Cresswell’s decade-long spell at the club by a matter of months but, without doubt, will be looking to play in a similar style – another ready-made replacement if we are recreating the team that flew so close to Champions League football a few years ago.

The cross from Malick Diouf.

The finish from Jarrod Bowen.

Pure quality from West Ham ⚒️pic.twitter.com/d8dfYMxEVG

— Bet9ja: The home of #betBOOM! 💣 (@Bet9jaOfficial) September 30, 2025

The Target Man

Whether it was Antonio or Sebastien Haller, West Ham’s long-ball system worked like clockwork. Fabianski would pelt the ball up the pitch to the target man up top; the wingers would move narrower to look for the potential knockdown, and this created space on the wings for the fullbacks to push up, leaving plenty of running options and avoiding losing the ball before it got out of West Ham’s half.

Haller is long gone, and Antonio too, albeit more recently, but fear not, as Niclas Fullkrug is set to thrive in Nuno’s system. The club’s striker problems are no secret; in fact, it's a curse that has haunted the club for years, from Jordan Hugill to Gianluca Scamacca, but might Füllkrug be the one to subvert the norm? Whether it was Raul Jimenez at Wolves or Chris Wood at Nottingham Forest, Nuno has always loved his target men up top.

To thrive in a Moyes-esque system, Füllkrug will not only have to improve his aerial duel success rate but also his hold-up play so that he can wrestle opponents off the ball whilst runners look to get beyond him. If the German forward can become the feared fox in the box he was at Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen, that would also help a great deal.

However, there is never a Batman without a Robin, nor would there be a Jimenez without a Diogo Jota, or a Wood without an Elanga to partner them. Bowen or even Crysencio Summerville might become Fullkrug’s partner in crime up top under Nuno, replicating the partnerships we have seen in the past. Even under Moyes in 2020/21, Antonio could rely on Bowen or Lingard to link up and play around him up top. The classic big and small forward duo has often worked a dream under the right coach, and should do so in this new-look West Ham.

It seems that at Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espírito Santo is playing Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood the same way he played Raúl Jiménez and Diogo Jota at Wolves.

In a short space of time as well, respect to that 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZcqgQFA6Qg

— NC✨ (@MyClubLiverpool) December 26, 2023

A New Era

Moyes and Nuno are both pragmatic and defensively focused coaches who favour a counter-attacking style. The recently appointed manager is the first of the three who succeeded Moyes to show any coaching similarities to the Scot. Therefore, it is the first opportunity for the Hammers to revive a long-buried identity that Lopetegui and Potter failed spectacularly to uncover.

Ironically we played our best football this season on the counter-attack in the final 15 min vs Nunos Forest side

The pace and directness of Bowen, Summerville, Diouf & KWP/AWB will be key in attacking transitions

Big game tonight, I hope to see character & commitment - COYI ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/Sest4WdLYQ

— West Ham News Hub (@westhamnewshub) September 29, 2025

Eighteen months ago, the fanbase was divided over whether to keep Moyes’ old-school style of play or move onto ‘sexier football’. The latter option was chosen, but things have not worked out at all since. "Nuno Ball" is effective in the current Premier League era, which was quickly proven at Forest, and it stems from a similar ethos that brought so much success in the early 2020s. The season is still young, and the chance to rid East London of the nightmares that have circled above Stratford for the last year is starting to loom large.