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The Hammers cannot be considered a poor team, not by any means. There is talent in their roster, and determination. You can see it in every tackle, each exhausting sprint and in the frustrated gestures when a ball doesn’t quite come off. That energy is mirrored on the sideline, with Rehanne Skinner vocal throughout their loss to Aston Villa – “maintain shape”, “tighten up”, “talk to her” and “close the space” are among the numerous commands from the technical area, as spectators behind the bench treated to the thoughts of the manager while the action is in progress. Skinner is in it, she is focused, the players are committed, so where is the issue?

Worrying Statistics Tell the Story

After five matches and they have no points, have let in sixteen goals and scored only two. They are capable of scoring though, five individual scorers in a rout of their opponents in the League Cup on 24 September a momentary relief from defeat before Chelsea scored three in 15 minutes last weekend to put them firmly back in their position. Against the Blues the Hammers performed decently for large parts, that quarter-hour disastrous period was an exception and, while many feared a total second half collapse, they recovered, thrived with their backs against the wall, and let in just one additional goal to the title holders.

Consistency across 90-plus has been a consistent issue. The first five minutes and second half versus the Blues were spells to be pleased with, as was the opening 45 against Arsenal and closing 45 facing the Seagulls.

Familiar Story Versus the Opponents

In the match with Villa the narrative was familiar, the visiting team dominating possession in Dagenham but West Ham creating opportunities too, nine attempts to Villa’s 11. They were in it in the opening period, competing, performing adequately to be able to earn a result from the match, the distinction though was that West Ham had just one attempt on goal, as compared to Villa’s four.

The team are not failing by their approach, determination or managerial decisions, they are failing by players not being clinical when they get in good positions. This is that decision making in the final third that requires improvement, the five strikes netted versus WSL2 side Charlton perhaps points to the problem: when they have time on the ball they choose correctly, when they are being pressed and challenged by top-tier rivals it’s almost as if they struggle to think quickly enough.

“In my view we were clinical enough in the attacking area and we just lacked that decisive quality where the final ball was at times a bit over hit, lacking the right quality and then just needing to take on shots a sooner,” said Skinner.

“Based on the players, when I observe them one by one, I just feel like they’re all a little bit hesitant compared to where we were before. The desire to run at people and be very direct was really, really strong and we just must restore that aggression back where we’re a more clinical in and around the box, where we are more courageous to go 1v1 and where what will be will be but we’re sending attackers forward and we’re trying to create opportunities. This is an area that we’ve just sort of eased up a bit on and we’re looking for passes as opposed to being a little bit more straightforward and being more confident in our own skills.”

Costly Instances Lead to Defeat

On Sunday afternoon that was damaging again. Moments after a forward glanced a header off target, they were punished at the other end, Kirsty Hanson receiving her set-piece back from a teammate before driving the ball into the opposite side. Seven minutes later and the visiting team had a larger lead, Wilms’s set-piece lifted over the defensive line and in.

It was another tough afternoon for the Hammers and their absence of results on the board will certainly lead to doubts arising about Skinner’s future. This is completely unfair though. There is improvement to be made for sure, confidence and speed in decision making needs to get better, and the players must take a share of the blame for that, but they are a team that is struggling from a lack of love and care from the organization as a entirety, and the coach is a casualty of that as opposed to the cause of the team’s problems.

Broader Challenges at Work

During the off-season, nine players left and only four came in. The standard of those coming in this time round was possibly higher in general, but a tight budget has resulted in that season-on-season the club have lost their best players to more successful sides. Before questions are raised about Skinner’s tenure, she merits a opportunity to show what she can do unhindered and that means the team upping its game – and the identical applies for a number of WSL teams.