OPINION
Fans will put up with a lot from their club, but they won’t put up with a lack of effort.
You can forgive being outclassed by a better side, or even being the victim of terrible luck, but a fanbase won’t stand for a team not putting in the hard yards.
That’s why West Ham supporters will be infuriated to find out that their side have covered one of the least collective distances of any Premier League outfit.
According to talkSPORT, the Hammers lie 15th in the table for distance covered, beating only Southampton, Watford, Manchester United, Cardiff City, and Brighton in terms of kilometres ran.
It’s no coincidence that three of those sides are facing a relegation fight, and that Manchester United played a famously negative style of football under Jose Mourinho for most of the season.
Distance covered doesn’t tell the whole story, of course, but it does hint at a side that isn’t as expansive or as free flowing as it would like to be.
The Hammers have, on paper, all of the tools at their disposal to become a real force in the Premier League, but far too often this campaign they haven’t used those tools correctly, and this stat only serves to reinforce that notion.
Whether it’s because they have sat in too much, or whether it’s because they persist with a route one approach in some matches is hard to say, but Manuel Pellegrini will look at these figures and be disappointed that he hasn’t been abel to build a side in his image yet.
