You know you are in the relegation mire when West Ham fans start the gallows humour and that’s exactly what happened in the defeat to Man City.
Very few teams take on Man City with any hope or expectation of getting a result, especially West Ham, who have won just one of the last 23 games against them.
It is a truly abysmal record which was easily stretched to one in 24 as the Hammers once again shipped goals far too easily in a resounding 3-0 defeat at the Etihad.
Manchester City delivered a commanding performance of ruthless attacking which underlined their title credentials as they replaced Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has very different worries and problems as the defeat left West Ham with plenty to ponder in their battle to avoid relegation.
Gallows humour begins after West Ham defeat to Man City
That fight will now undoubtedly go down to the wire with West Ham stuck in the bottom three and potentially cut adrift depending on Leeds’ result against Crystal Palace.
Nuno has made West Ham a lot more competitive than they were under his hapless predecessor Graham Potter.
But the Hammers have not really had the new manager bounce many were hoping for or expecting.
West Ham struggled to assert themselves in a terrible first half, with Manchester City dominating possession and territory throughout.
The breakthrough came early when Erling Haaland – who else? – opened the scoring after just five minutes, calmly finishing from close range to put the hosts ahead and set the tone for the afternoon.
City’s control of the game continued unabated, with West Ham barely able to get the ball let alone keep it or apply any pressure to the Man City goal.
Nuno’s tactics have always divided opinion as he plays a David Moyes-esque defensive style and looks to hit the opposition on the counter.
But Man City just kept West Ham pinned back, restricting the visitors to only a handful of half-chances.
Despite the visitors’ best efforts to press and counter, their limited possession yielded little in terms of real threat.
Tijjani Reijnders added a second before the break after some typically inept defending.
Hammers fans aim chant at Nuno tactics in Man City loss
There was more of that on show to spoil what was an improved second half performance from West Ham.
A comedy of errors between Jean-Clair Todibo, Max Kilman and Kyle Walker-Peters gift-wrapped Haaland yet another goal against the Hammers – his 11th in seven games facing the east Londoners.
West Ham’s best player of recent weeks, Alphonse Areola, was excellent again and kept the score down.
Three and easy for Man City 🙁
Give us your immediate reaction following West Ham's latest defeat
West Ham head back to London with their goal difference worsened considerably after a tough afternoon where they were second best in virtually every department, as you expect, but most disappointingly in terms of effort levels.
As Nuno and his side return south, they will do so with one particular chant from the crowd ringing in their ears.
The gallows humour has begun as West Ham fans aim a chant at Nuno’s tactics in the Man City loss.
West Ham’s travelling support is among the best in the country.
Loyal to a fault, over 3,000 packed out the Etihad away end despite the inevitability of the defeat.
As good – and unplayable – as Man City clearly are, though, the travelling support could feel short-changed by the team’s woeful first half performance in particular.
West Ham supporters want to see their team have a go.
The Hammers did that in the second half to a degree, but Nuno-ball was so bad in the first half West Ham fans started to belt out a sarcastic take on a Man City chant which essentially derided the tactics of the head coach.
Man City fans sing “We’ve seen it all, we’ve won the lot, We’re Man City, and we’re never gonna stop!” or simply “We’ve won the lot!” or “We’ve won it all”.
West Ham fans reduced to celebrating possession
Hammers fans are famed for their wit and being self-deprecating.
And they did not disappoint in the first half as they took the Man City chant and flipped it during a rare moment of possession.
West Ham fans sang: “We’ve got the ball, we’ve got the ball, we’ve got the ball, we’ve got the ball, we’ve got the ball”.
Is it any wonder when City ended the game with nearly 70 per cent possession.
When the gallows humour comes out it usually means the team has hit rock bottom.
West Ham are not far off that.
Now it is up to Nuno to prove he is not a one-trick pony and adjust his tactics during West Ham’s most winnable run of fixtures of the season, starting with Fulham at home on December 27th.
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