“I was shocking and it’s been shocking for a long time.”
That was how Jamie Carragher summed up West Ham’s performance following last night’s defeat to Brentford on Sky Sports.
Tellingly, the former Liverpool defender spent as much time criticising West Ham’s rudderless ownership as he did dissecting the team’s tactics.
“The ownership of West Ham is completely different to forward-thinking clubs like Brentford — who have just battered them,” Carragher said.
“They’re a throwback to how football used to be. David Sullivan has been at the top of that club for a long time, and it’s not a modern way of doing things.”
Media Finally Catching On to West Ham’s Decline
Carragher was joined in the Sky Sports studio by former Hammer Gary O’Neil, who pointed out that West Ham had been “battered by a team likely to finish in the bottom six.”
Watching the broadcast, it was clear the pundits were almost as shell-shocked as Nuno Espirito Santo appeared to be on the touchline. One had to feel a bit sorry for O’Neil, who clearly has a lot of affection for the club but struggled to find a single positive to discuss.
What’s become increasingly clear is that it’s no longer just the West Ham fanbase voicing serious concern. The mainstream media are now catching on — and they’re beginning to speak as though they finally realise West Ham are in deep trouble.
There are those who want Sullivan out which presents a multitude of issues before that can happen which I can’t be bothered to go over. But he should at least step away entirely from any involvement on the footballing side of the house.
I honestly don’t know what Karen Brady does to justify her massive salary. Besides from securing the stadium her tenure has been a massive failure and needs to be sacked immediately.
I am surprised Sully hasn’t offered her up as a sacrificial lamb but suspect she knows where the bodies are buried.
All those people who went because it was a kids for a Quid etc well they did not get there moneys worth did they! in fact social services should be called for the welfare of the kids being traumatised by last nights display.
I’m surprised he managed to stop talking about Liverpool long enough to mention another team.
Aha!!! And only now they wake up to what us customers
( sorry fans) have been saying for ages. Funny that isn’t it. What’s even funnier is Sullys face on tele last night as he watched his very own cash cow/project slowly gurgling down the toilet. And the Duchess now and then popping up on Draggons den advising people how to run a business!!! Now that is funny.
Carragher got it spot on!
I’m fed up hearing the “be careful what you wish for” and the blame being put on fans for “Moyes out” as the reasons for our demise.
It was Sullivan who didn’t renew Moyes contract, it was Sullivan that appointed his replacement, it was Sullivan who hasn’t signed a proven striker with pace, it was Brady who hired Potter!
It frustrates me that media friends of our Leaders have tried to make West Ham fans as the problem when it’s obvious who are the problem.
Mike Ashley was a disgrace for how he treated the Geordie fans. Since he left look at how they have progressed.
Until Sullivan & Brady depart we’ve got no chance!
It was the team guided by the manager who were not up to scratch some of the players I recall you were wanting us to sign , not so magic Douif , no knackers fernandes ect. It’s funny how people can change tune
When comparing this match to the one against Crystal Palace, it’s clear that West Ham had 57% possession then, compared to just 43% now. Even though the play occasionally showed flashes of brilliance against Crystal Palace, the players tended to stick to a system of slow passing and far too little movement off the ball. This can partly be explained by the fact that several players are slow and not particularly strong passers.
However, one could argue that when West Ham managed to apply their possession-based system, at least the opposition couldn’t score while West Ham had the ball. Still, during the match against Crystal Palace, I had the feeling that West Ham could actually win. That sense was completely absent in yesterday’s match.
Nuno chose not to field the best players because he wanted to use those he had trained with during the international break. But I think it became evident that it’s ultimately the players who have to execute — and that the system, after all, plays a secondary role.