West Ham are not only losing games, but shipping goals pretty severely.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic with empty seats behind him
It’s safe to say that things aren’t great at West Ham United at the moment, as Southampton inflicting their fifth defeat from their opening six league games upon them leaves them third from bottom.
A couple of statistics underline their woes – which has seen them concede 11 goals from their last three league games.
| Goals Conceded | Appearances | |
|---|---|---|
| West Ham | 16 | 6 |
| Stoke | 15 | 6 |
| Hull | 12 | 6 |
| Sunderland | 12 | 6 |
| Leicester | 11 | 6 |
| Swansea | 10 | 6 |
It’s not a good look to have conceded more goals than any other side in the league this season. Stoke have also had a torrid start – and have yet to pick up a win, Hull have suffered back-to-back heavy defeats, Sunderland seem to be making a habit of conceding goals while Swansea are a side that sees their manager under pressure. The Hammers are not in great company.
Losing games by the odd goal you could put down to misfortune, but there clearly is something badly wrong with the way the side are set up at the back for them to be shipping goals in the way they are.
The last time that West Ham had made such a retched start to the season defensively was in the 1967/68 season.
That season saw them finish in 12th place on 38 points, six points clear of the relegation – in a 42-game season which saw sides awarded two points for a win. West Ham managed to score 73 goals over the course of that season, conceding 69 in total.
| Error Lead To Goal | Appearances | |
|---|---|---|
| West Ham | 3 | 6 |
| Chelsea | 2 | 6 |
| Liverpool | 2 | 6 |
| Middlesbrough | 2 | 6 |
| Sunderland | 2 | 6 |
The statistics above don’t account for all 16 goals, of course, but it does show West Ham are not helping their own cause with confusion at the back and at times being slack in possession which can give their opponents the upper hand.
The Hammers face Middlesbrough at home before the international break where they will be desperate to get a win on the board – as they don’t want so much gloom to hang over the club for a couple of weeks without a game. A win could lift at least some of that.
Tightening up at the back, with a stable back line, is essential in the short term in order to revive West Ham’s fortunes.
West Ham players look dejected after Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse scored their third goal
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