Alan Shearer has slammed Destiny Udogie for his “terrible” defending that led to West Ham United’s goal in their 4-1 away loss on Saturday (19 October).
Not only did Udogie fail to clear his lines after Mohammed Kudus’ cross but he also couldn’t match Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the air.
Jarrod Bowen was then passed the ball from the former Manchester United man which allowed him to make a darting run into the box and find Kudus who cooly placed the ball in the top left corner.
Speaking live on Match of the Day (19 October, 39:00), Shearer shared his thoughts on the Italy international’s defensive work.
“If this is a good ball in [from Kudus] then look at [Tomas] Soucek in the middle, there’s actually no one within five or six yards of him,” Shearer said
“It doesn’t happen on this occasion but West Ham keep the ball alive and eventually that’s where the goal comes from.
It’s terrible defending from Udogie, Bowen goes past him too easily and Kudus is in there again and scuffs it in there.”
West Ham United need to improve their Premier League performance
West Ham have performed well below par this season, the Hammers now find themselves 15th in the Premier League table, five points away from the relegation zone.
Julen Lopetegui has been under major scrutiny since he took over from David Moyes in the summer and has failed to live up to expectations.
The Hammers’ stellar 4-1 win over Ipswich may have felt like a turning point in the season to some but the club have just turned back to their old ways and once again underperformed.
West Ham were one of the busiest teams in the country throughout the summer transfer window with the likes of Max Kilman and Crysencio Summerville arriving to bolster their ranks.
Plenty was expected from Lopetegui’s men this term but so far, they’ve massively underperformed.
There’s still time for things to turn around of course but, at the moment, it feels like the Hammers are stuck with mid-table mediocrity for the foreseeable future.
In other West Ham news, Carlos Soler has made an admission about leaving Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.
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Despite an early setback against West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou will have been delighted with his side’s response.
Tottenham rallied to win 4-1 against West Ham in N17, a much needed reaction after their chaotic defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion just before the international break.
The likes of Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min were both vital to the victory, inspiring Spurs with their goals and their endless energy.
Kulusevski in particular was non-stop in the middle, justifying Postecoglou’s decision to play him centrally in midfield.
That being said, James Maddison’s role wasn’t quite working in the first half, even if he did play a big role in Spurs’ opener.
Pape Matar Sarr inspired a much needed comeback against West Ham
Postecoglou decided to replace Maddison with Pape Matar Sarr for the second half, a decision that gave Spurs more balance in the middle.
And when speaking on Match of the Day, Alan Shearer spotted something interesting that Postecoglou did immediately as the half-time whistle went.
The Tottenham manager made an instantaneous decision to bring Sarr on, telling him right away.
Shearer said: “Look what he says at half-time, he goes down the tunnel and says to Pape Sarr, you’re going on, get ready, go and warm up.
“He brings him on and they were a different team in the second half. Maddison goes off and all of a sudden he brings him on (Sarr), because he wants more legs, more power and bit of steel in that midfield, and he certainly offered that.”
Ange Postecoglou explains why he subbed James Maddison at half-time
Also speaking via Match of the Day, Postecoglou explained his decision to hook Maddison during the break, one that must have been quite humiliating for the England international.
Maddison will no doubt have respected Postecoglou’s decision, but it wouldn’t have made it any less frustrating.
Postecoglou said: “Not just him but you know, I just felt that we needed a little bit more running power in that midfield and Pape has got bags of that, he’s got bags of energy and I thought he really helped us get control of that midfield.
“You have to defend against West Ham because they’ve got some big physical guys in there and that gave us a good platform for us going forward.
“But I just thought our general play really improved from there and we looked really dangerous going forward.”
