There were plenty of candidates but one West Ham player in particular got an ear-bashing from David Moyes during the Burnley draw.
There were not many, if any, West Ham players who came out of the first half against Burnley with any credit.
And the same goes for David Moyes as the Hammers fell 2-0 down to one of the worst teams in Premier League history.
The second half was a marked improvement across the pitch.
But defender Nayef Aguerd still managed to get under his manager’s skin.
Aguerd was back in the West Ham starting XI due to Kurt Zouma’s poor performances and inability to play games too close together.
Aguerd struggles continue in a West Ham shirt
But it did not take the Moroccan long to make yet another costly mistake.
Aguerd made a desperately weak attempt to tackle David Fofana before he lashed home from outside the box. Although clearly under instruction, Aguerd continually hit long balls which rarely found a teammate.
He was easily beaten on a host of occasions which could have resulted in a goal for Burnley too.
In one moment the Clarets looked certain to score when Fofana breezed past Aguerd in the box. But Edson Alvarez saved his teammate with a last ditch tackle.
The straw that broke the camel’s back for Moyes, though, came just after the hour mark.
Defender fortunate not to be a fault for more goals
With the score at 2-1 and West Ham looking for an equaliser, Aguerd rolled a slow, weak pass into Alvarez.
Burnley pounced on the slack pass and were away at West Ham’s goal. Aguerd was a relieved man when their attack was thwarted.
He was not escaping Moyes’ wrath, though.
Cameras showed Moyes giving the West Ham star the hairdryer treatment and it was fully justified.
The Scot screamed for Aguerd’s attention and read him the riot act about the pass. Tony Gale on commentary noted the blast and remarked that he was not surprised given the poor weight of pass into Alvarez.
Moyes’ rant at Aguerd lasted for a good 20 seconds or more and his eyes were bulging. The manager was raging and rightly so.
Moyes rarely lambasts his players in such a way in public. But he has warned Aguerd on several occasions he must improve his game.
Moyes rages at Aguerd then hooks him
And having given him another chance he was understandably unimpressed with the 27-year-old’s performance.
On 82 minutes Moyes hooked Aguerd for Danny Ings as the Hammers went for broke.
One thing that should be said in Aguerd’s favour. He does seem like a good teammate. When Konstantinos Mavropanos turned the ball into his own net, the first player to console him was Aguerd. He could be seen encouraging others at times too.
But overall Aguerd has simply failed to live up to his £30m price tag since joining West Ham.
He has decent feet on the ball and can play the occasional nice long diagonal pass.
But Aguerd is often far too weak, rash and slow to react in the Premier League.
It is notable that he often stands out in the slower more tactical European games, which suggests he may be better suited to La Liga or Serie A.
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