TO ELL and back. That is the journey Nuno Espirito Santo will have to do to save this sorry lot at West Ham.
It took only a quarter of an hour at Leeds before the hapless Hammers were waving the white flag after Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon’s early goals sealed this win.
Manuel Fernandes’ late header was far too little, too late, as they slumped to a 2-1 loss.
Espirito Santo got completely wrong from the off. And he must be already questioning whether he can keep West Ham up after becoming the first man since Manuel Pellegrini in 2018 to win any of his first four games in charge.
Barely three minutes were on the clock when this began to unravel. Noah Okafor’s header from Jayden Bogle’s cross was saved by Alphonse Areola.
Uninterested Aaron Wan-Bissaka stood and watched as Brenden Aaronson reacted quickest to stab home.
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Espirito Santo, arms folded, already had a look of resignation.
But at least the fury from the fed up West Ham faithful is not being directed at him… yet.
The opener was met with calls to “sack the board” by the away end but it will not be long before the Portuguese boss starts getting it too.
Especially if his game plan is in the bin inside 15 minutes like it was here after Lucas Paqueta lost Joe Rodon at Sean Longstaff’s corner and the Welshman headed home his third in five games for club and country.
Eyebrows were raised when he named a starting XI without a recognised striker and left-back Ollie Scarles, 19, on the right side of a back three.
He had to shake something up following the dismal 2-1 home defeat to Brentford. Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf came in as two changes from Monday’s dismal showing at the expense of Kyle Walker-Peters and Mateus Fernandes.
Though the game had not even restarted after Roden’s bullet when the ex-Nottingham Forest chief, who only took charge on September 27, realised he had got it badly wrong.
Callum Wilson was sent out to get ready. The ploy of going without a striker, especially when so desperately in need of points, had backfired spectacularly.
And the veteran frontman, an unused sub for the past three games, eventually entered the fray in place of the unfortunate Scarles after a nasty fall left him needing treatment and clutching his collarbone. It never rains but it pours.
At least the injured academy graduate was spared as the fuming Hammers told his team-mates “You’re not fit to wear the shirt”.
Ao Tanaka should have made it three but blazed over and the agony went on for Espirito Santo.
Paqueta thought he had redeemed himself and got the Hammers back into it only for a lengthy VAR delay to rule him offside.
It was also proving to be a miserable Elland Road return for Crysencio Summerville, the Dutch winger who ditched Leeds for East London in 2024. He was jeered and booed with every touch, though it did raise a huge cheer when he went into the book for a foul on Longstaff.
That led to the second rendition of “You’re not fit to wear the shirts” – but no-one can deny West Ham’s captain is.
You cannot help but feel sorry for Jarrod Bowen. It looks like he is trying to pull a truck through cement at times. And fair play to him, he is always the one that fronts up to face the music in front of the cameras afterwards.
He came close to an equaliser when meeting a Summerville cross with an acrobatic scissor kick that stung the palms of Lucas Perri, back in goal after a two-month lay-off.
Bowen later put one on a plate for Tomas Soucek right before the break, but the Czech Republic midfielder missed the target.
Leeds, still hurting from losing their 23-match home unbeaten run last time out to Tottenham, were hungry to end their own three-game winless run.
Noah Okafor bamboozled Jean-Clair Todibo and curled wide and Aaronson’s deflected long-ranger rattled off the crossbar as they looked to put West Ham out of their misery.
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But they did not even half to. Perri could have thrown his hat on Wilson’s only half-chance.
And even though Fernandes, brilliantly assisted by Bowen, pulled one back in the dying seconds, there was never any danger of a comeback.
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