Paul Robinson has praised West Ham goalkeeper Roberto for his “outstanding” display against Everton on Saturday, despite suggesting that he could have done better for the Toffees’ opener.
The Hammers slumped to a 2-0 defeat on Merseyside, but despite conceding twice, the ex-England international was still impressed with the 6’4″ Spaniard.
Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “He could have done better for Bernard’s goal but I thought he was outstanding.
“He was very good as for goalkeepers who don’t play, it’s a hard shift having to sit there and watch every week.
“He’s been given an opportunity and I thought he was excellent in what was a disappointing West Ham performance and one I didn’t see coming as I really expected them to cause Everton problems.”
OPINION
It was a mixed bag on Saturday for Roberto, but on the whole, he was probably one of a handful of West Ham players who could actually hold their heads up high after a pretty poor team performance. It’s true that the veteran stopper probably could have been sharper for Bernard’s opener, but he was hardly the only one to blame, and Arthur Masuaku should take a look at himself for his flimsy defending too. Beyond that, however, Roberto performed well. With 10 shots on target to deal with, as per the BBC, he was busy, and for the most part he equipped himself well. In fact, his performance earned him a Whoscored rating of 7.85, a score higher than anything number one stopper Lukasz Fabianski has managed this term. It’s early days, but he could well prove to be a fine deputy for the Irons.