BBC pundit Garth Crooks has laid into the West Ham United defence after their shocking display in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Bournemouth.
The Hammers initially went ahead from the penalty spot thanks to Marko Arnautovic, but goals from Callum Wilson and Steve Cook sealed all three points for the Cherries at the London Stadium.
The ex-Tottenham Hotspur forward ripped two players to shreds in particular – Fabian Balbuena and Pablo Zabaleta – for the way they let Wilson surge past them to bag a goal for Eddie Howes’ side.
He told the BBC Sport website: “Callum Wilson has scored on five separate occasions against West Ham and, after his latest performance against the Hammers, I can see why. The way he breezed past Fabian Balbuena and Pablo Zabaleta was scary from a Hammers perspective.
“[Manuel] Pellegrini was so surprised, as he was disappointed, that West Ham fans left the stadium with 10 minutes to play. He does have a point. An awful lot can happen on a football field in 10 minutes – especially if the fans play their part. That said, this was a rocky Hammers horror show.”
OPINION
Crooks is right to lay into the West Ham defence the way he has done here. If they were not so careless as to let Callum Wilson breeze past them, they may have ended up claiming all three points in front of their fans. Zabaleta showed his age by letting this happen, and he should know better than to let the Bournemouth attack walk all over him. With Ogbonna, he seems to be a liability on the pitch following his two displays for the Irons so far this season, and Pellegrini must consider dropping him for the next match. If the defence carries on playing this way, then they will continue to concede easily preventable goals, which will eventually prove costly come the end of the season. Pellegrini definitely has some issues to address here, and he must solve them quickly to avoid losing a third game on the bounce in his reign as manager.
