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Defender’s time surely up after latest display

Ryan Fredericks appears almost certain to leave West Ham at the end of the season when his contract expires having shown againstĀ  a new downside against Newcastle that we need far better…and that’s not for the first time!

As a feree agent he will be available to any potential buyers for nothing beyond personal terms of course.

After his performance against Newcastle, Fredericks has made just four Premier League appearances, with one start, coming against the Magpies.

He was utterly outclassed by Ryan Fraser throughout that first-half, as the Magpies winger repeatedly burned past him with his pace and trickery. We dread to think what might have happened had Allan Saint-Maximin been playing on the left wing.

Fredericks is now almost certain to depart in the summer, especially after youngster Ben Johnson came onto the pitch and steadied the ship defensively.

There is now now no clear clear hierarchy at right-back, with Vlad Coufal having been subbed this seasonĀ  and Johnson appearing for the first time since January in the Premier League.

There simply cant surely be room for Fredericks at the squad anymore; he needs to move on and it’s likely that West Ham will not stand in his way, and will allow that deal to run down.

 

About Dave Langton

A journalist with 10 years' experience of working on National newspapers, now chief reporter covering the club that I've loved since I was a boy. Upton Park remains the greatest football stadium ever built.

9 comments on “Defender’s time surely up after latest display

  1. Hopefully Moyes sees this too now, though it is alarming he has not realised this before now. The only comment on the article is that Coufal is top drawer, the reason for his form not being of his usual standard was revealed at the weekend, completely makes sense. Coufual playign with a hernia problem is still a far better option than either Fredericks. Coufal is our no 1 rb by a mile but in his absence we need to give youth their chance now either Johnson or Ashby even Baptiste but no more Fredericks please.

  2. Johnson should start against Wolves at the w/e. Coufal lacks pace and Fredericks isn’t the ideal defender. He could still be used as a wing back and move Bowen over closer to Antonio who must be told to stay in the box.

  3. We are one or two injuries away from having to rely on players like Fredericks between now and the end of the season. I wouldn’t be too quick to be writing off squad players we have no replacement for, a few cheers rather than jeers might encourage a little confidence. There were several of our more popular members of the team that also performed quite poorly on Saturday. The whole team needs to raise performances if we are to get back to winning ways.

    • Yes but he is coming out of conmtract which was the point of the story

      • His contract situation is well known Hugh, my point is that he was far from alone in having a poor game yet it’s always the same players scapegoated after a poor result, Fredericks, Masuaku, Yarmolenko etc, yet they are the only backup we’ve got until the end of the season.

  4. Must be Johnson or Ashby for stand in for Coufal and Johnson can also cover Cress. If he never plays Fredericks and Masuaku again as full backs I would be happy. They are both poor defenders not Premier, we are too vulnerable on the flanks and it stretches the centre backs’ as well.

  5. He was also taken off at half time because of a groin injury which explains why he was struggling in the first half but also proves how injury prone he is.

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