Alan Shearer rips into 'pathetic' West Ham as Paul Merson rates chances of catching Leeds United
Leeds United’s Premier League relegation rivals West Ham fell to their worst defeat of the season ay Wolves on Saturday.
Paul Merson and Alan Shearer have dropped damning verdicts on one of Leeds United’s key Premier League relegation rivals after a ‘pathetic’ weekend defeat.
West Ham United lost 3-0 at rock-bottom Wolves on Saturday, handing the Midlands club their first Premier League win since April with all goals conceded in the first half. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side failed to even register a shot on target after half-time despite chasing a three goal lead against a side who hadn’t previously kept a clean sheet all season.
Espirito Santo is under increasing pressure at West Ham with reports surrounding his future emerging after defeat. The Hammers are now four points from safety and seven short of Leeds, who could open up a double-digit cushion on their relegation rivals if they win at home to Manchester United this afternoon.
Notwithstanding today’s result at Elland Road, Leeds have an encouraging points gap on West Ham and have been much-improved, while the London outfit only seem to be getting worse. And former Arsenal midfielder Merson can’t see a way out of the bottom three.
“I can’t see it [West Ham surviving relegation] now,” Merson told Sky Sports following Saturday’s defeat. “I pencilled the four games they had; Fulham, Brighton, Wolves, Nottingham Forest. Get 10 points out of these games, then you have a chance of staying up.
“Three games, one point. Now they have to play at home - how many games did they win at home last year? I think they’re relegated, I don’t give them a chance which is a shame.”
Alan Shearer rips into West Ham after Wolves defeat
No one at Leeds will see it as job done yet, having only just reached the halfway point of the season with just seven points between them and West Ham. But encouragement can be taken from the level of performance Espirito Santo’s side have been putting out recently.
The Hammers boss apologised to fans after Saturday’s defeat and admitted he felt ‘embarrassed’ by the performance at Wolves, with his side failing to track basic runs in the build-up to each goal. And former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer pulled no punches in his analysis of the struggling side.
“West Ham were weak, woeful, pathetic, useless,” he told Match of the Day. “I don’t recall a team performing so poorly in the first half. They couldn’t handle what Wolves were chucking at them. We lost count of how many times Magassa or [Freddie] Potts lost out in the ball in midfield.
“I don’t know how you can look at it without swearing. Have a look at Mavropanos. Is that the best you can do in closing down a shot when your team is in danger of being relegated? You have to do better, and that’s why Nuno was so angry after the match.”