West Ham United put in another tepid, toothless first-half performance on Sunday afternoon, this time against Aston Villa.
And Jamie Redknapp highlighted how two West Ham players in particular couldn’t deal with Aston Villa’s energy and pace.
Sure, things improved in the second-half, but we were so impotent inside the final third.
If Graham Potter was under any illusions about the size of the task he faces at the London Stadium, he certainly won’t be now.
The Hammers’ transfer business is now expected to burst into life, after the arrival of Kyle Macaulay.
And boy do we need some new signings.
Potter’s squad is stretched to the limit right now in every single department.
One particular part of the pitch is a huge concern, and a couple of players let us down massively in key moments.
Jamie Redknapp criticises two West Ham players after Villa defeat
The Hammers have far too many players who are going through the motions right now.
I personally don’t think many of them are good enough, but it’s the fact that some of them don’t possess the physical characteristics needed to flourish in the Premier League that concerns me the most.
Two of them in particular were miles off the pace against Villa – Tomas Soucek and Edson Alvarez.
The Hammers were toothless in attack but we struggled to deal with the Villans defensively as well.
And Redknapp named and shamed two West Ham players in particular, when speaking on Sky Sports (Sunday January 26th, 5:31pm):
“They move the ball so fast, Soucek and Alvarez struggled to get back and deal with the pace and energy Villa had.“
That is spot on from Redknapp.
We had far too many passengers on the pitch at Villa Park.
Same old tired engine room problems for West Ham
The lack of energy, power and pace in our team is frightening, and it’s criminal that it hasn’t been addressed over the past few transfer windows.
Potter has to urgently add some more athleticism to his ranks at the London Stadium if he is to succeed in charge of the Hammers.
West Ham just didn’t do enough against Aston Villa on Sunday, and our central midfield weaknesses reared their ugly head yet again.
We need some signings before the transfer window slams shut, that goes without saying.
Ezechiel Banzuzi is someone who would transform us overnight. Why we haven’t wrapped that deal up already is anyone’s guess.
What is clear to see is that if Potter heads into the final few months of the season with this current group of players, he will have his work cut-out to keep us outside the bottom six.
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