OPINION
If West Ham United keeper Roberto is trying to be dropped by Manuel Pellegrini, at least he is excelling at something for the Hammers.
The Spaniard was shocking once against in the 3-2 defeat against Tottenham, and now must be the time for David Martin to finally get his chance at the London Stadium.
It was Heung-Min Son who opened the scoring, taking the ball past Issa Diop and firing it through, not past, Roberto, who simply seemed to miss the ball as it hit the back of the net.
Noel Whelan slammed the West Ham stopper after his display against Spurs on Saturday, claiming the Spaniard looks like a schoolboy in goal.
“Roberto makes way too many blunders for a Premier League keeper,” Whelan told Football Insider.
“Roberto looks like he’s won a competition to go in goal, he’s that bad.
“He’s awful at set-pieces and can’t deal with crosses. His decision-making is all over the place. He makes good saves but a keeper needs to be able to do far more than that at Premier League level.”
The BBC pundit was proved right as Roberto struggled once again, and was more than nervous whenever Spurs approached the final third at the London Stadium.
It is clear that the West Ham defence has no confidence in what is behind them, and it was clear to see whenever a ball was pumped into the box by Jose Mourinho’s side.
The Hammers haven’t kept a single clean sheet since their last win in September against Manchester United, and Roberto has conceded 20 goals since then – a record that no one would be proud of.
Martin is yet to make his debut for the Hammers, and the time has surely come for the former Millwall man to be given that opportunity.
