Familiar failings, a questionable team selection, and deja vu at its most demoralising as Graham Potter’s West Ham United nightmare continued with a 3-2 Carabao Cup second-round defeat by Wolves.
And the sight of Jarrod Bowen storming off at the end, following what looked like a confrontation between him and a supporter in the away end at Molineux, is precisely the last thing the West Ham United faithful wanted to see only two-and-a-half weeks into the new campaign.
Could things really get worse than this? Well, yes. Graham Potter’s beleaguered, rudderless and still-winless charges face a tricky trip to the Tricky Trees on Sunday.
Another defensive capitulation, away to Nottingham Forest, and Potter would possibly be fortunate to still be in the dugout coming out the other side of September’s international break.
Upton Park icon Tony Gale was left feeling ‘very worried’ when Chelsea rattled in 43 of the most avoidable goals on that Friday fiasco. Four days later in the Black Country, Gale had a first-hand view of the latest West Ham implosion on as Alphonse Areola, Guido Rodriguez and Max Kilman endured yet another they would ideally like to scrub from the memory banks.
Tony Gale criticises Guido Rodriguez and Alphonse Areola as Wolves beat West Ham United
Areola and Rodriguez returned to Graham Potter’s XI away to Vitor Pereira’s side, the former coming in for the immediately-maligned Mads Hermansen and the latter controversially chosen ahead of Freddie Potts just like that opening weekend thrashing at Sunderland.
Hermansen was chosen by Graham Potter and Kyle Macaulay partly due to his qualities with the ball at his feet.
If Areola lacks the Dane’s passing range, Hermansen is yet to prove he is an upgrade in the shot-stopping department, although Gale could not help wonder if the experienced Frenchman should have kept out the Rodrigo Gomes finish which drew Wolves level on the stroke of half-time.
“He’s struggled Areola, particularly when managers have asked him to play with his feet. That’s the big question that’s always been against him, and Hermansen was brought in for that reason. He’s going to have to improve, Areola, if he wants to get his place back,” Gale said, the one-time PSG glovesman allowing Gomes’ follow-up shot to slip through his grasp after Hwang Hee-Chan’s penalty came back off the post.
“My first instinct is Areola should save the second shot. I just think he maybe should have had this one. He gets wrong-footed so maybe I’m a little bit harsh…”
Speaking of that Hwang spot-kick, Guido Rodriguez found himself at the scene of the crime. Not for the first time. But, shortly after Manuel Pellegrini left the door ajar for a Real Betis return, maybe for the last.
Gale, who played over 300 games in claret and blue between 1984 and 1994, watched on in horror as Rodriguez stuck out a leg and tripped Hwang to gift the hosts a golden chance to take the lead.
“Rodriguez, too slow. He puts out a tired leg and it’s only the first half!” a bemused Gale said on Sky Sports, the 31-year-old defending like a man ten years his senior. “That’s a foul and a penalty. It’s lazy defending.
“You’ve got to get your body on the half-turn. Lazy defending and costs West Ham again.”
Interestingly, speaking on talkSPORT, ‘lazy’ was the exact word Stuart Pearce used too.
Gale highlights Max Kilman problem as Graham Potter set-up sparks Molineux collapse
Rodriguez was also one of those who left Jorgen Strand Larsen free to power home Wolves’ winner late on. Both he and Konstantinos Mavropanos – who had actually competed very well until another Hammers collapse – stood idly by while Max Kilman was again conspicuous by his absence.
Gale, a central defender himself back in the day, feels that Kilman can potentially turn around his West Ham career if shifted over from the centre to the left of Potter’s back three. A role which allows the former Wolves skipper – who made his return to Molineux on Tuesday – the chance to embark on the sort of trademark driving run he demonstrated shortly before Strand Larsen’s introduction turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.
“[Kilman] is probably a bit better suited to playing on the left of the three rather than the middle, where he made a few errors [against Sunderland and Chelsea],” Gale said when the £40 million was brought on to replace Nayef Aguerd.
“West Ham haven’t seen enough of [the talent he showed at Wolves]. You know he’s got that quality. Good on the ball, he’s got good quick feet.
“[But Strand Larsen’s brace shows] why he is worth so much money. They played really well second half, Wolves. West Ham just sat back and invited Wolves on.
“I thought West Ham brought it on themselves. You’ve got to have enough leaders to go, ‘come on, let’s push out’. You don’t want to invite crosses. All of a sudden, a few good crosses and West Ham were made to pay.”
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