Nuno Espirito Santo Selecting Two Duds vs Leeds United Leaves West Ham in Trouble

Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham United faced a 2-1 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road on Friday night thanks to goals from Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon. It marked the Hammers’ third loss on the bounce, all while extending their winless streak to six matches, and the London Stadium faithful are of the belief that Santo’s poor starting XI selection cost them the game.

Aaronson was quick to pounce on West Ham’s faltering back line within three minutes of Stuart Attwell getting the match underway as the American reacted quickest to Alphonse Areola’s weak parry. The home side then doubled their lead in the 15th minute as Rodon, having lost his marker in Lucas Paqueta, met Sean Longstaff’s delightful corner with a header. Mateus Fernandes then scored a consolation for the visiting side in the 90th minute.

Having sacked Graham Potter and replaced him with ex-Nottingham Forest boss Santo at the end of September 2025, West Ham fans had every right to be excited by their new era. At the time of writing, however, there is so much room for improvement, with them sitting 19th in the Premier League table with just four points – one win, one draw and seven losses – from nine matches.

West Ham Fans Aggrieved with Santo For Starting Duo in 2-1 Loss to Leeds

Fundamentally, there will be very few – if any – West Ham players that will hold their head high after leaving Elland Road empty-handed. The defence were porous from minute one to 90, the engine room offered Daniel Farke’s Leeds too much time on the ball and their front line, spearheaded by skipper Jarrod Bowen, lacked a cutting edge when they mustered the odd chance.

If West Ham are to avoid being relegated come May, the coaching staff will have to work wonders in east London between now and the end of the 2025/26 campaign – but with such an experienced manager at the helm and so many matches left to play, anything is possible.

What will need to be the case moving forwards is improving the quality in the centre of the park. Tomas Soucek and Andy Irving started as the visitor’s two-man pivot in the middle; but neither covered themselves in glory before being substituted in the 65th minute as Leeds’ triumvirate of Longstaff, Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka enjoyed plenty of joy between both boxes.

“Soucek x Irving has to be the worst midfield pairing a Premier League team has ever put out. Soucek, you don’t deserve this,” one fan said on X (formerly Twitter) when dissecting Santo’s midfield decision before another added, “How can a Premier League team who have spent £500m in last few years have a midfield 2 of Andy Irving and Tomas Soucek?”

All three of the players mentioned by the aforementioned supporter – Freddie Potts, Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa – entered the fray in the second 45 minutes and there was an instant improvement in the play of the visitors. Much more controlled in proceedings, Potts looked to make the difference while Fernandes scored their only goal of the evening.

On Soucek and Irving being played ahead of them, a third fan added, “West Ham are so bad. So much wrong with their squad. Shocking considering how much they spent last summer. Soucek & Irving (not his fault) as your midfield two is calling for trouble. Still no reliable & quality CF to call upon. The CBs are a shambles. Huge job on Nuno’s hands.”

“Irving and Soucek is our worst ever midfield partnership; but here they are, all playing in the same game,” another said before a final fan concluded, “I truly don’t understand how a professional, experienced manager can look at this midfield and decide Soucek and Irving is the way to go. There’s so much room for Leeds, both of them might as well not be on the pitch.”

Firmly in the relegation dogfight, West Ham – whose last victory came against Nottingham Forest at the end of August – now look ahead to welcoming Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United in early November. Burnley at home and Bournemouth on away soil follow before Arne Slot’s Liverpool make the trip to the capital to pounce on West Ham’s poor run of form.