Their performance against Brentford was, frankly, pathetic, and on another night the Bees could've easily walked away on the back of a four or five-goal win.
No EPL wins since March
March 10 is the last time that the East Londoners earned three points from a Premier League game, and with a home record in 2025/26 of three losses, 10 goals conceded and just two scored, it was always going to be another tough ask for Nuno Espirito Santo.
On a night when the manager and his squad really needed the backing of the fans, thousands stayed away as a protest against the ownership, and those in the ground barely raised their voices throughout.
Nuno certainly didn't help matters with his squad selection on the night, which included benching El Hadji Malick Diouf, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Soungoutou Magassa and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
It was a night in which Lucas Paqueta was making his 100th appearance for the Irons. An appalling 63.4% pass completion rate from the Brazilian and a loss of possession on 23 separate occasions gave the impression that he just didn't have the stomach for the fight.
Early exchanges set the tone
Three corners conceded and three shots from Kevin Schade in the first eight minutes certainly didn't bode well for the hosts, and the onslaught continued throughout the opening 45.
Matheus Fernandes' off-target effort on 10 minutes was all West Ham had to show for their first-half endeavours, whilst Brentford not only had an astonishing 74.8% possession but also managed 16 crosses and 14 shots at goal, four of which were on target.
The only real surprise was that it took the Bees until the 43rd minute to register the opening goal, with Igor Thiago's shot squeezing in at the far post.
West Ham's supporters will have understood that the writing was on the wall at that point given that the East Londoners had failed to win any of their last 27 matches when conceding first in the Premier League, since a victory over Luton Town on 11th May 2024.
A failure to score themselves before the half-time whistle was blown ensured a seventh time in their eight top-flight games this season in which that was the case, a shocking record that no other Premier League team can match in 25/26.
Jordan Henderson leading by example
If the hosts also wanted an example of the spirit and fight needed to get themselves out of the hole that they've been digging for themselves for a while now, they only needed to look at Jordan Henderson's first-half showing.
The 35-year-old put West Ham's youngest starting XI in a top-flight game this season to shame with his work-rate and effort, ending the half with the most touches of anyone on the pitch.
A couple of cursory efforts from the hosts at the start of the second half notwithstanding, the pattern soon reverted to what was seen in the majority of the first half, and the silence from the stands was deafening.
Brentford simply knocked the ball around with ease and were rarely challenged when in possession.
The 451 passes that the visitors ended the game with was over 100 more than West Ham, and just one shot on target from the latter in the entire match told its own story. Particularly when you consider Brentford had 20 from inside the area alone, seven of which were on target.
No attacking threat from West Ham
Only two West Ham players - Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville - had more than one touch in the opposition penalty area, and with the Hammers needing to win games to haul themselves out of relegation trouble, that's nowhere near good enough.
Indeed, 14 touches in total in the 18-yard area is a damning indictment of the Irons' intent. Thiago on his own managed 10, and at least seven Bees players had more than one touch in West Ham's box.
Mathias Jensen made the game safe for the visitors in stoppage time, and the hosts can consider themselves lucky that they might still have got an undeserved point in this match-up until that point.
When the dust settles and the inquest begins, it should be very easy to pinpoint where the match was won and lost.
Lack of fight continues to dog Hammers
West Ham offered nothing out wide as a starting point, with Summerville's two successful dribbles the sum total of what was managed by the entire squad in this regard.
Only two interceptions all game is another area that needs urgent attention, and it's perhaps that lack of fight that is the most concerning feature of this squad.
It showed itself under Julen Lopetegui and again under Graham Potter, and it's only taken a few games under Nuno for certain players to slip back into their old ways.
The January transfer window can't come soon enough, and everyone connected with the club had better hope West Ham aren't already a lost cause by then...
