No filter West Ham player ratings for Wolves debacle – let’s hope insipid bunch read every word

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Supporters of this once great club are waking up embarrassed to be associated with West Ham after a 3-0 defeat at Wolves and it is time the players felt the full wrath with our most brutal player ratings yet.

It is simply unfathomable just how bad West Ham were as they lost by a landslide to a Wolverhampton Wanderers team who are well on course to become the worst ever in Premier League history.

Although on this evidence Wolves will feel confident of catching and finishing above the Hammers come what May.

And looking even further ahead, the Molineux outfit would be a much better bet than West Ham to bounce straight back to the Premier League if – or more aptly when – they are both relegated.

Games against Fulham and Brighton at home were must-wins for the Irons.

But one measly point from those meant the trip to winless basement boys Wolves was a must-win of epic proportions.

Worst West Ham display since ‘drunken’ Reading debacle of 2007

West Ham fans expected the team to come flying out of the blocks after Forest’s defeat to Villa earlier in the day.

That result meant a win for the Hammers would pull them within a point of Sean Dyche’s side ahead of facing them on Tuesday night, when another victory would have seen Nuno Espirito Santo’s team climb out of the relegation zone.

Instead what unfolded was a diabolical shambles and one of – if not the – worst West Ham performances in Premier League history.

The Hammers handed Wolves their first win and now sit languishing in the relegation zone on just 14 points from 20 games – seven less than the team had at the same stage when they were last relegated in 2011.

Hammers supporters of a certain vintage will remember that 6-0 defeat at Reading this time 19 years ago at the start of January in 2007.

Yossi Benayoun said his West Ham teammates ‘played like drunks’ that day and this performance at Wolves was every bit as intoxicated.

During the last two years of non-stop regression at West Ham the players have got off extremely lightly.

While Hammers fans have – justifiably – focused on the owners and fury has been turned towards managers, the highly-paid underperformers on the pitch have been getting away with murder.

Now it is time to redress the balance.

Here are our no filter West Ham player ratings for the Wolves debacle – and let’s hope the insipid bunch read every single word with nobody spared.

No West Ham players were harmed in the making of these player ratings – but we can only hope their pride is if they read them and it provokes some kind of reaction against Forest.

Although their performances suggest they really don’t care.

If that is the case then every single one of them deserves relegation and the upheaval – and hopefully drastic pay cuts – it will bring to their careers and lives.

No filter West Ham player ratings for Wolves debacle

Alphonse Areola, 6/10: His horrendous error in the draw with Brighton proved costly but Alphonse Areola has been one of the few consistent performers in the team since Nuno’s arrival. That being said he should have done better to stop Mateus Mane’s strike from outside the box and his distribution was awful. For a 6ft 5in giant with hair like a Samurai warrior, Areola is nowhere near imposing enough. It says everything about how bad West Ham are that their average of conceding more than two goals per game this season would be a lot worse without Areola. In a relegation battle you need a goalkeeper that exudes calm and is a real leader and organiser of the defence. Unfortunately £120k per week Areola simply isn’t that guy.

Kyle Walker-Peters, 3/10: Free agent signing Kyle Walker-Peters tries his best, he really does. He seems like a nice guy and professional. But he is also small and weak and was exposed for two of Wolves’ goals. There is a reason he was relegated with hapless Southampton last season. Now he’s set to repeat the trick.

Konstantinos Mavropanos, 2/10: 6ft 4in and built like a Greek god, Konstantinos Mavropanos is the perfect example of why you should not judge a book by its cover. Rarely in West Ham history has a defender been such a wimp and poor reader of the game. A mistake-per-game haphazard, clumsy, lumbering defender who has cost West Ham so many goals. At times Mavropanos looks like he is half asleep and is one of the worst defenders seen at the club for decades – but not quite as bad as his partner, who we will get onto now.

Max Kilman, 0/10: Roger Johnson and Gary Breen can start sleeping easier at night. The duo are widely regarded and remembered as two of the worst defenders in West Ham’s modern history, but now there is a new pretender to that throne. Max Kilman surely takes the crown with one cowardly, meek performance after another. Built like a brick outhouse but plays like something else ending with the word house. Weak of mind and in the tackle, Kilman has been among the worst value signings in Hammers history at an eye-watering £40m. Wolves fans tried to warn West Ham Kilman was a waste of space. They didn’t listen and yesterday he was booed by both sets of supporters during another pathetic display. And he deserved every single jeer. An abysmal defender West Ham will likely be stuck with for the next six years given the ridiculous contract handed to him on signing.

Ollie Scarles, 2/10: The young players at West Ham are the least of the team’s worries and problems, so let’s have that right from the get-go here. But at the same time, just because they are an Academy graduate does not mean youngsters should be exempt from criticism. Yes it should be tempered – and trust me the following has been – but when you are in the Premier League you need to be ready and you need to be up to it. Ollie Scarles is neither. The full-back is simply nowhere near good enough to play in the top flight. The reason he passes the ball backwards or sideways every time he gets it became clear at Wolves – because he gives it away every time he passes it forwards. Scarles has proven time and again with his performances over the last year that he is not up to it and he was abject against Wolves. What was even more infuriating was Nuno keeping him on set-pieces despite one woeful corner and free-kick delivery after another. Having said all that, Scarles may come into his own in the Championship next year, which will be more his level, not that there is any particular shame in that.

Bowen a West Ham legend but not a captain or leader

Freddie Potts, 2/10: Another West Ham youngster who has been massively over-hyped. We all love seeing one of our own make it in the first team. But what does Freddie Potts actually bring to the side that is so game-changing? He smashes into the opposition, often too late to actually win the ball, and plays very simple passes when he does have it. Potts gave the team energy and fight when he first came into the side. But if you are playing in defensive midfield alongside another defensive midfielder and your team is shipping two goals per game, you are not doing your job properly. Potts has been likened to Declan Rice and Mark Noble but is nowhere near their level. However, like Scarles he will be ideal for the Championship next season.

Soungoutou Magassa, 3/10: One of the few bright spots of the season so far is Soungoutou Magassa. Looks a bargain for £17m from Monaco. But he has been found wanting when it has mattered most of late. Like with Potts, if your team is being overran so easily with two defensive midfielders then those central players are simply not doing their jobs properly. If West Ham can keep him he will be one of the best players in the Championship next season.

Mateus Fernandes, 2/10: Arguably West Ham’s best outfield player this season – although that is not saying much is it? Mateus Fernandes has been praised week in, week out by Hammers fans for his all-action box-to-box displays. But it seems that may have gone to his head based on his stroll at Wolves. Fernandes was seen walking around, not tracking back after giving the ball away and putting in markedly less effort. On the day West Ham needed him to step up in the absence of Lucas Paqueta, he didn’t show. His lack of effort has been used by pundits as an example of why West Ham lost so shambolically to Wolves. Fernandes left Southampton as the team’s best player following their relegation. He may well do the same with the Hammers in the summer.

Crysencio Summerville, 1/10: Left Leeds to play in the Premier League but is now being embarrassed by his former club as he slides towards another relegation with West Ham. Crysencio Summerville has arguably been West Ham’s biggest disappointment this season. After spending half of last season out injured when he insisted on healing naturally before eventually relenting to have the operation medics told him he needed, the Dutch winger returned this season with a man of the match cameo in a win at Forest. But that has been as good as it has got for Summerville and West Ham. With his speed and skill, Summerville should be regularly among the goals and assists. But his end product is horrific. If West Ham can keep him, he will be great in the Championship, which – like many others – appears to be more his level. No wonder he is considering switching international allegiance too because he will never get anywhere near the Holland squad.

Jarrod Bowen, 2/10: A West Ham legend who has carried the club on his back alone for the last two years. In many ways Jarrod Bowen should be exempt from criticism. But as captain he can’t be – even if he shouldn’t be the captain. Anyone watching Bowen’s recent performances will come to the same conclusion – he is either carrying an injury or has checked out after growing as fed up with this rag-tag, ramshackle team as the rest of us. Deserves better and will likely get it when he moves on in the summer having failed to break Michail Antonio’s Premier League goalscoring record for West Ham. Bowen’s effort levels at Wolves were nowhere near his usual standards and his leadership is so lacking it is frightening that three successive managers have kept him as skipper.

Callum Wilson, 2/10: Has actually been good value on a free transfer and works hard for the team. But Callum Wilson’s lack of mobility and pace now means he is far less effective than he used to be – especially as a lone striker. Whether he now plays in a two with Pablo or – if he arrives – Taty Castellanos remains to be seen. But we may also have seen the last of Wilson as a West Ham starter.

Subs:

Tomas Soucek, 6/10: How a player with a heart as big as Tomas Soucek is not playing in a team without an ounce of it between them is baffling. Criminally under-used in key games of late where he has so often been the difference maker for this club over the last six years. Soucek had a positive impact on the performance when he came on and can feel hard done to by Nuno and Graham Potter for his treatment this season. If Soucek wants to stay next season he could be key to West Ham bouncing back to the Premier League. Another cult hero who deserves better than to be caught up in this mess.

Ezra Mayers, 7/10: West Ham’s best player during his time on the pitch, youngster Ezra Mayers showed outstanding pace and maturity dropping into a back three. He is who looks well equipped to be a first team player and a rare ray of positivity for the team during that woeful Wolves defeat.

Nuno Espirito Santo, 0/10: Graham Potter and Julen Lopetegui made the mess in this West Ham bed. But Nuno Espirito Santo is incapable of cleaning the sheets. The Portuguese has not had the impact many hoped and expected, highlighted by the fact West Ham have now gone nine games without a win. If that continues against Forest he should probably be sacked. Although whether that would solve the problems at this stage of the season is anyone’s guess. The Hammers will soon be getting on for needing to win every other game in order to stay up. This is not all of Nuno’s making but he certainly isn’t helping. He cost the club dear with the lunacy of his team selections for those crucial games against Brentford and Leeds and has never really won the trust of fans back since. Nuno has now overseen one of the worst West Ham performances and results in nearly 20 years. He could also be on course to become the shortest-serving permanent manager in the club’s history. Completely outdone by Rob Edwards tactically and sat and watched his team be torn apart before doing anything about it. Sulked on the bench like a child throughout and walked straight down the tunnel at full-time with no acknowledgement for the fans.