Opinion

The day West Ham went down as Leeds cut Nuno’s weak-willed Hammers adrift

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Mark the date down in your diary – December 20th 2025 – because it is the day West Ham may well have been consigned to relegation from the Premier League with a helping hand from Leeds United.

When West Ham’s Fan Advisory Board issued a vote of no confidence in the club’s owners at the start of the season, the response was very revealing.

When Hammers fans reluctantly left their beloved Upton Park for the London Stadium, they did so on the promise it was necessary in order to compete with the Premier League elite.

Yet in a 1,382-word response to the vote of no confidence, West Ham’s owners listed keeping the club in the top flight for the last 14 years among their biggest achievements.

It was telling that despite all the promises, West Ham’s hierarchy clearly still see survival as the main objective each season.

So is it any wonder supporters want new, more ambitious owners?

The day West Ham went down as Leeds cut Hammers adrift

A club like Leeds United would have killed for that kind of Premier League stability in the same time frame in which they have dropped as low as League One.

But then Leeds, unlike West Ham, have not been plucked from their spiritual home and thrust into an athletics stadium.

This is shocking! 😰 Relegation is going to be dire for West Ham…

What would YOU do to avoid this mess?

West Ham owner David Sullivan

Protests against West Ham’s owners continued during the club’s latest defeat as fans showed red cards to David Sullivan and the board during the 3-0 defeat to Man City.

The problem West Ham’s board have is that their big boast about keeping the club in the Premier League for 14 years continuously looks set to bite them on the backside.

Because Saturday December 20th 2025 could be the day West Ham went down as Leeds cut Nuno Espirito Santo’s weak-willed Hammers adrift.

Nuno Espirito Santo, Manager of West Ham looks dejected after the defeat to Manchester City
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images

West Ham did not have a hope in hell of a result at Man City.

West Ham’s fans knew it and so did the players if their dreadful first half surrender was anything to go by.

Behind after just five minutes, 2-0 down at half-time and an eventual 3-0 defeat.

The same scoreline would be awarded for a no-show in the Premier League and there is an argument West Ham would have been better served not turning up at all.

This Hammers team are so weak-willed and lacking in leadership it is untrue.

Nuno’s weak-willed West Ham staring into the abyss

The overriding feeling for fans trudging out of the Etihad was a sense of impending doom.

Leeds have hit good form of late and look like they’ve found their groove as a team.

How do YOU feel now about Nuno’s West Ham reign? 💡

Does he have a point or is he simply deluding himself?

Nuno Espirito Santo, head coach of West Ham United, during the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on December 20, 2025 in Manchester, England.

The big hope was that Daniel Farke’s side faced Crystal Palace, the Premier League’s best away side.

But West Ham fans knew what was coming next.

Leeds, backed by the noisy and positive energy of Elland Road under the lights, strode into a 3-0 lead before eventually winning 4-1.

After their 3-0 win over Spurs last week, many feel Nottingham Forest are not going to be involved in the relegation battle under Sean Dyche.

West Ham United v Newcastle United - Premier League
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

Forest are away at Fulham on Monday night where a win would essentially put them nine points clear of West Ham due to their vastly superior goal difference.

Goal difference also means Leeds now find themselves effectively seven points clear of the Hammers too.

That means West Ham would have to win two games and draw while Leeds lose three on the spin in order for Nuno’s side to climb above them.

Not impossible of course.

But improbable given West Ham have won just three games all season so far.

West Ham all but down unless drastic upturn starts now

In fact West Ham now have 21 games to save their Premier League lives.

This season always threatened to need 40 points to survive for the first time in many years.

And that has been proven by the points totals as we reach the halfway stage of the campaign.

To get to the magic 40-point mark, West Ham need another nine wins or the equivalent.

So the Hammers need to go from three wins in 17 games so far to winning one in every three of their last 21 matches in order to survive.

Not impossible but increasingly improbable.

Leeds have cut West Ham adrift in recent weeks and Forest could make that even worse on Monday night.

Leeds can win home games, score goals, defend, run and look organised.

Some fans feel there is no relegation battle and that it’s already over.

There is one last chance, the January window coinciding with the fact the Hammers embark on an eight-10 game run of mostly winnable fixtures – on paper at least – which will decide their Premier League relegation fate one way or another.

Should things not drastically improve and Nuno turn the sinking ship around, then Saturday December 20th 2025 will be remembered as the day West Ham really went down.

Then what will the owners use to blow their own trumpets?