Whilst differing views have been aired this morning by a host of Claret and Hugh readers, one topic comes up again and again both in our blogs and in the opinions of supporters: The woeful state of West Ham’s defence.
Conceding three goals in a chaotic first half means no matter how many shots the team manages on target – in this instance twenty six – there’s a mountain to climb to get anything out of the game.
West Ham have conceded first eight times this season.
Its that the form of a genuine championship contender? I think not. Neither does Claret and Hugh reader ” James ” who writes:
Guest post from ‘James’:
“The problem is so obvious I’m amazed others can’t see it.
Three times the team had to endure the long trudge back to the half way line after conceding – in just one half
The problem is not Pablo, or the strikers when we’re comfortably top scorers in the league.
The problem is the defence and more specifically Mavropanos and Kilman who are the worst centre back partnership in West Ham’s history.
West Ham had the 3rd worst defence in the league last season and yet improved dramatically when Disasi was signed in January which also brought the best out of Mavropanos.
Before Disasi’s signing West Ham had the worst defence in the league. I can’t for the life of me understand why the club didn’t prioritise a replacement for Disasi in the summer. 5 teams have conceded fewer goals than West Ham so far and 3 other teams have conceded the same amount.
Considering the value of West Ham’s squad that is nowhere near good enough. Also, let’s be honest about the Swansea game. Swansea missed 4 sitters.”