Chris Sutton has slammed West Ham keeper Roberto, claiming that he is the worst the Premier League has seen since Massimo Taibi.
The Italian stopper became a benchmark for poor shot stopping after making a howler for Manchester United against Southampton in 1999/00.
And following his latest shaky display against Spurs on Saturday, Sutton believes that Roberto is on a level with Taibi.
Writing in a column for the Daily Mail, he said: “After yet another horror show for West Ham, a few folk on social media were saying Roberto is the worst Premier League goalkeeper since Manchester United’s Massimo Taibi.
“I might have to agree and I got to see Taibi up close, even scoring against him in his last appearance in England.
“Now Roberto is making a name for himself. Seven Premier League games, 15 goals conceded, a save percentage of 68.75 per cent. It is no wonder his own fans were ironically cheering whenever he made a catch on Saturday.”
OPINION
These are strong, strong words from Sutton, but it’s easy to see why he is making such a bold statement. Ever since he took over from the injured Lukasz Fabianski the Spaniard has looked like an accident waiting to happen, and with another mistake for Son Heung-min’s opener at the weekend, it’s hard to see how his reputation can ever really recover. Add that to his howler against Burnley, plus errors against Newcastle United and Everton, and it increasingly looks as if he is simply not cut out to perform at the highest level. He may be averaging 4.7 saves per game, as per Whoscored, but he is shipping goals and points galore. The sooner he is ousted form the starting XI, the better, because it is no coincidence that this recent slump in form has come about with him between the sticks.
