Nine games, nine losses for troubled West Ham & Liverpool

Nine games, nine defeats. Three goals scored, 24 conceded.

The combined records of Liverpool and West Ham United in the Women's Super League make very bleak reading.

With nearly a quarter of the season already gone, it looks like two mainstays of the league in recent campaigns will be scrapping to avoid finishing 12th.

Both will be grateful there is no automatic relegation. With the WSL expanding to 14 teams in 2026-27, the bottom side will play the third-placed finisher in WSL2 for a top-flight spot next year.

But that will be of little comfort for two teams who, despite their status and history, look ill-equipped for this campaign.

While their records are similarly unimpressive, the reasons for their struggles differ. Two-time top-flight champions Liverpool's problems lie primarily in attack, while West Ham have defensive woes too.

The Reds came into this campaign with a new manager, Gareth Taylor, who replaced the late Matt Beard in the summer.

Beard's sudden passing - which led to Liverpool's WSL fixture at Aston Villa being postponed - will no doubt have impacted many in the squad, who knew and played under him.

In football terms, Taylor has also had to do without Olivia Smith. The Canadian forward was a key player last season, scoring seven times in the league, but became English football's first million-pound player when she left for Arsenal in the summer.

But Taylor's issues after four games are more than just individuals. The squad overall is painfully light on that most essential commodity - goals.

The Reds' 4-1 defeat at home to Everton on the opening day looks like an outlier. It is the only league game which Liverpool have lost by more than two goals - and the only one where they have scored, after 12 minutes through Cornelia Kapocs.

And they seem to be further away than ever from ending that drought. Against London City Lionesses, Liverpool had three shots and none in the second half.

"The feeling just now is complete disappointment and frustration," said defender Jenna Clark afterwards.

"We did control spells of the game but second half we didn't do enough and in the end we just didn't do enough to win the game.

"New team together, new manager, we are still trying to find our feet. That is no excuse for it, we should still be doing enough to compete and to win games. It's really disappointing that we're not doing that just now."

Mia Enderby, 20, started as the lone striker against London City and offered endeavour but no threat. Summer signing Beata Olsson offered little more as a second-half substitute, while Sophie Roman Haug only entered the fray in the 90th minute off the bench.

No Liverpool player has ever hit double figures since they were promoted back to the WSL three seasons ago, and there seems little chance of that mark being reached this year.

Taylor's tactics are a factor. Against both Manchester United and London City, he deployed a negative 4-1-4-1 where the primary aim seemed to be removing all creativity or entertainment from the spectacle.

The ex-Manchester City boss has been critical of the quality and fitness in his side and said: "The players are trying their very best, we're all working tremendously hard but at the moment we're suffering.

"Fitness levels probably need to be looked at, we need to get a bit fitter. And also be able to repeatedly sprint in the way that we want to and that can take time, particularly when you're changing what we're trying to change here at the club and bring in a new style and a new way of playing."

But these have been lifeless and unambitious displays which stem from the manager's decisions.

London City have more quality and resources than most newly promoted teams, but the sight of Liverpool clinging on for a point all afternoon at Hayes Lane was still unedifying.

The hosts may have won the game with an 89th-minute Elena Linari penalty, but they had already hit the post and should have had the victory sealed earlier.

After their 2-0 loss to Aston Villa, the Hammers have conceded 16 goals in five games. Only Yeovil Town, in a season where they finished on minus-two points, have let in more at this stage of a WSL campaign.

The first Villa goal was symptomatic of their struggles. A short-corner routine was executed under no pressure, giving Kirsty Hanson the freedom of Dagenham to sweep a shot into the far corner.

"It's only those slight moments that have then essentially cost us the game," admitted manager Rehanne Skinner afterwards.

They have an appetite for self-destruction. Three goals conceded in seven minutes against Chelsea, then two in seven at home to Villa on Sunday - a tell-tale sign of a team low on confidence.

And like Liverpool, the Hammers are struggling for goals. Shekira Martinez, who scored 10 in 12 WSL matches last season, has yet to register and spurned the best chance against Villa, while Viviane Asseyi - who scored 13 in 2024-25 - has struggled too.

"We were a little bit hesitant with some of the decisions [in the final third]," added Skinner.

"I'm asking them a lot at the moment to be a little bit more positive, be a little bit more direct in and around the box to find runs, passes and take people on."

This is not the first time West Ham have floundered under Skinner's management since she took charge two seasons ago.

In 2023-24, two of their three league wins were against relegated Bristol City. They were also bottom after five games last term, before an upturn in the second half of the campaign took them to safety.

Skinner last week told her media conference she is "not worried about the table".

"We finished very strong last season, so a lot of people want to talk about it in that way but it is still very early," she said.

But after six seasons of keeping their head above water - only once finishing in the top half - this looks like their toughest WSL campaign yet.

Liverpool, meanwhile, finished fourth two years ago, but memories of relegation in 2020 will rear their heads if things continue as they are.

Only one at most will drop, maybe none. But, already, the meetings between them on 13 December and 26 April look like six-pointers.