West Ham Are In Trouble: Why Did Nuno Espírito Santo Take The Job?

West Ham Are In Trouble: Why Did Nuno Espírito Santo Take The Job?

You didn’t even need to watch West Ham’s performance against Leeds United last night to figure out they are in a hole - it was one of the rare games where the stats did in fact tell the whole story.

Managing nine shots on goal despite 59% possession against newly-promoted battlers with Leeds, nothing seems to have changed for the Hammers, even after Graham Potter was dismissed in favour of ex-Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

Thought to be the perfect candidate to turn a relegation-threatened side into top-half contenders, it appears the task facing the Portuguese coach is a considerably taller one than initially thought - his side are lacking imagination, consistency, and, more worryingly, motivation.

So why did Nuno, whose stock was arguably at an all-time high after his unfortunate departure from Forest, take a job at a side with virtually no silver linings to look for until at least the January transfer window? Can he somehow turn things around? Or will West Ham find themselves reacquainted with the Championship come the end of the season?

West Ham’s Managerial Struggles

In truth, this is not a new problem - the Irons have struggled to pinpoint a suitable managerial replacement since David Moyes departed at the end of the 2023/24 season, and Julen Lopetegui, Graham Potter and now Nuno have all failed to show that they can guide the team onto an upward trajectory.

16 - West Ham United have spent more time winning against Nuno Espírito Santo (16 minutes, 21 seconds vs Nottingham Forest in August) than they have in three games with him as manager in the Premier League this season (zero). Unusual. pic.twitter.com/ApLrQjyMu8

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 21, 2025

Lopetegui lasted just five months, and Potter managed to win just six of the 29 games he took charge of in his cursed spell - now, despite the appointment of another successful, reputable manager in the dugout, he is winless in four, as the Hammer’s rotten run threatens to continue.

Throughout the former two managers’ tenures, West Ham conceded 75 league goals and scored just 51 up the other end, a poor return from a side loaded with potential and quality both on the pitch and in the dugout.

So, despite the revolving door bringing in talented manager after talented manager, West Ham continue to struggle, and it raises questions over the team. Perhaps it isn’t a manager issue - perhaps it is the way the club is run, or more worryingly, perhaps it could be down to the players on the pitch.

We know West Ham’s squad is stacked with talent - Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Malick Diouf, and Lucas Paqueta are just a handful of names who frequently receive international call-ups, and individually, many of them could play for clubs far superior to the East London outfit.

However, the sluggish passing, disjointed attacking moves, and frequent mistakes on the pitch suggest that as a unit, they are simply incapable of gelling and creating chemistry between each other, a valuable, intangible trait present in all the best teams.

*ball floats into the box*

West Ham defenders: pic.twitter.com/DcXPSoPLkB

— G (@Gideoomatic) October 24, 2025

Of course, to an extent, the failure to unify the team is the responsibility of the manager, and it is a big worry that none of the last three head coaches have managed to create that squad togetherness seen at virtually every other Premier League team.

But some of the characters amongst the squad see themselves more as individuals, and as long as one player isn’t working for the team but instead for themselves, then progress will continue to be hindered until they either change their ways, or are forced out of the club entirely.

Why Did Nuno Take The Job?

Perhaps Nuno overestimated himself - after flipping a relegation-threatened Nottingham side on its head, he likely thought that he could produce similar results at any club he was appointed at afterwards.

The former Porto goalkeeper would have taken a look at the players the Hammers have in their ranks and seen a vast amount of untapped potential waiting to be met, and would have believed himself capable of fulfilling it, hence why he took the job at the London Stadium.

It's not all bad for West Ham. They'll have the biggest stadium in the Championship. No one can take that away from them.

— Paddy Power (@paddypower) October 24, 2025

However, the slope he needs to climb has proven considerably more slippery than he would have anticipated - his side have scored just twice, conceded seven, and across their last three games, have attempted just 19 shots, the second lowest in the league behind Burnley.

To be pitted against newly promoted sides in the statistics department is a yardstick of how far West Ham are from where they should be - remember, it was only back in the summer of 2023 that the club conquered Europe for the first time in their history by winning the Europa Conference League.

Even in the short period of just two years, those glory days are starting to appear very small in the rearview mirror; instead of building on that memorable victory and propelling the club to new heights, the three managers appointed since Moyes have instead seen the club regress, and this season, they are now fourth favourites to go down, with only Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Sunderland more heavily tipped to return to the Championship.

Can Nuno Turn Things Around?

Of course, it is still early days under Nuno - he illustrated just how good a coach he is at Nottingham Forest, with his devastating counter-attacking methods taking the Premier League by storm for much of the 2024/25 season.

However, early stumbles in his West Ham reign have quickly led him to overthink things - against Leeds last night, the Portuguese coach started a right back (Wan-Bissaka) at left-back, a left-back (Diouf) at left wing, two underperforming academy products in Andy Irvine and Oliver Scarles, and chose to omit Callum Wilson, Kyle Walker-Peters and goalscorer Mateus Fernandes.

Nuno Espirito Santo is winless in all four of his Premier League matches as West Ham manager so far ❌

The last manager to fail to win any of his first four in charge was Manuel Pellegrini back in 2018... 😳 pic.twitter.com/yftbfPnF2A

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 24, 2025

Pressure can do funny things to a man, but going off last night's lineup, it seems that Nuno has lost the plot already - of course, rotation is expected at a promoted side, but to rotate so heavily and mix and match things so randomly can only be a recipe for success.

Of the nine players on the bench, seven of them were regular starters, illustrating just how much Nuno decided to change things, and he paid the price for it in a big way. Now, it is not only the players who look like they have no idea what they’re doing - the manager has joined the.

Already, the club's own fanbase is all over social media saying they are more likely to get relegated than not, and it is hard to disagree with them - the lack of quality, the complete shortage of ideas and the mind-boggling managerial decision have seen an increasing number of the football-following population join this pool of thought.

No doubt Nuno is an exceptional manager, but he may have taken a step too far by accepting the Hammers’ job offer. There are so many problems at the club, and with less than a full season to rectify them, there is no guarantee that he can guide the wallowing Claret and Blues to safety.

•West ham are being chased down• pic.twitter.com/C4dtMauaqP

— SimpsonsEFL (@EflSimpsons) October 24, 2025

The outlook is bleak in East London, and with no apparent silver lining on the horizon, Nuno now has just two choices: he must either drastically change the way he operates, which will include making some very tough decisions surrounding important but underwhelming star players, or he starts to prepare for a season in the Championship. Neither is easy, and neither is a tempting prospect, but soon enough, we will know which way he is leaning.