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The Hammers are not a poor side, not by any means. There is skill in their roster, and desire. You can see it in every tackle, every gut-busting run and in the disappointed gestures when a pass fails to connect. This intensity is mirrored on the sideline, with Rehanne Skinner animated throughout their 2-0 defeat to the visitors – “maintain shape”, “tighten up”, “communicate” and “close the space” were part of the numerous commands from the technical area, as spectators behind the bench treated to the views of the manager while the action is under way. The coach is fully involved, she is focused, the squad are engaged, so what is not working?

Concerning Statistics Reveal the Tale

After five matches and they have zero points, have let in 16 goals and netted twice. They are capable of scoring though, five different goal scorers in a 5-1 defeat of Charlton in the cup competition on last month a brief respite from losses before Chelsea scored three in 15 minutes last Sunday to return them in their place. Facing Chelsea West Ham weren’t bad for large parts, that 15 minute calamitous spell was an outlier and, while many feared a total second half meltdown, they recovered, excelled with their under pressure, and only conceded one more to the champions.

Steadiness over 90-plus has been a consistent issue. The opening stages and after halftime against Chelsea were spells to be proud of, as was the opening 45 versus the Gunners and second period against Brighton.

Familiar Story Against Villa

Against Villa the narrative was repeated, the visiting team dominating possession in their home ground but West Ham creating opportunities too, nine shots to Villa’s 11. They were in it in the first half, challenging, performing adequately to be able to earn a result from the game, the distinction though was that West Ham had just one attempt on goal, as compared to the visitors’ four.

The team are not being let down by their approach, grit or coaching choices, they are failing by individuals not being clinical when they find scoring opportunities. This is that decision making in the attacking zone that requires improvement, the five goals scored against WSL2 side their cup foes perhaps points to the problem: when they have space and time they make the right moves, when they are under pressure and harried by top-tier opposition it’s almost as if they struggle to make rapid decisions.

“I don’t think we were sharp enough in the final third and we just lacked that decisive quality where the last pass was sometimes a bit too strong, not quite the right quality and then just needing to attempt efforts a sooner,” said Skinner.

“Considering the players, when I’m watching them one by one, I just feel like they’re somewhat reluctant compared to where we were before. The desire to run at people and be very direct was extremely high and we just must restore that aggression back where we’re a little bit more clinical in and around the penalty area, where we are a bit braver to go one-on-one and where we accept the outcome but we’re committing players and we’re attempting to generate chances. This is an area that we’ve just sort of taken our foot off the gas a little bit on and we’re looking for passes as instead of being a more direct and being a bit more confident in our own ability.”

Expensive Moments Lead to Defeat

During the match that was damaging again. Shortly after a forward directed a header wide, they were punished at the opposite goal, Kirsty Hanson collecting her short corner back from Lynn Wilms before driving the ball into the opposite side. Seven minutes later and Natalia Arroyo’s side had a larger lead, a player’s free-kick lobbed over the wall and in.

It was a further tough day for the Hammers and their absence of results on the board will inevitably lead to questions being asked about Skinner’s position. That would be completely unjust though. Much work to be made for sure, confidence and speed in choices must improve, and the players must bear a share of the blame for that, but they are a side that is struggling from a shortage of support and attention from the organization as a whole, and Skinner is a victim of that rather than the architect of the team’s struggles.

Broader Challenges at Work

During the off-season, nine players departed and just a handful arrived. The standard of those joining this time round was arguably better in general, but a limited funds has resulted in that season-on-season West Ham have lost their top talents to better teams. Before questions are asked about Skinner’s tenure, she merits a chance to show what she can do unhindered and that means the team upping its game – and the identical could be said for several WSL teams.