Jamie Carragher tore into the ‘shocking’ way that West Ham appear to be being run on the heels of their dismal London derby defeat to Brenford on Monday night.
The Hammers are yet to win a match against London rivals on home soil, having previously lost 5-1 to Chelsea, 3-0 to Tottenham, and 2-0 to Arsenal at the start of a woeful Premier League campaign.
Under new head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, the east London side are still hunting their first win, but looked far off the beat against the Bees in a turgid 90 minutes.
Igor Thiago opened the scoring in the 43rd minute, with Mathias Jensen doubling their lead in the dying moments of added time, but Keith Andrews’ side looked on top for much of the contest, with the hosts only registering one shot on target.
Amid roiling discontent among the supporters, scores of the London Stadium missed the second goal, having abandoned the match long before the final whistle.
Jamie Carragher suggested that the supporters’ frustration with their club – and their ownership group fronted by chairman David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady in particular – was a bellwether for how much trouble West Ham is really in.
West Ham lost yet another London derby this season against Brentford on Monday evening
Fans vented their frustrations at the club’s board after a challenging start to the campaign
‘Shocking,’ the former Liverpool star said of the Hammers on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football. ‘And (they’ve) been shocking for a while.
‘It feels an awful long time since they won that European trophy under David Moyes.
‘And there’s a reason why supporters’ reactions, not just to this ownership, but at other clubs – and sometimes when you’re not associated to that club and you’re on the outside and looking in, you sometimes think, “what are you complaining about”, sometimes we question supporters.
‘When supporters go against the club and they go against their ownership, a lot of the time it’s a last resort. And very rarely do supporters of those clubs get it wrong. They know exactly what is going on at this football club, and it’s not down to managers.
‘The ownership at West Ham is completely different to the club that’s just battered them on their own patch,’ Carragher continued, citing Brentford’s ability to rise above a number of high-profile departures – including star man Bryan Mbeumo and manager Thomas Frank – ahead of the season.
‘It’s almost like a throwback in how (West Ham) go about transfers. Serving at the top end of that club, they’ve been there a few years, they won a trophy under David Moyes, I get that.
‘But it doesn’t feel a modern way of doing things and I think that’s where that frustration comes from in the support.
‘They look at other clubs that are not a patch on West Ham – and that’s not being disrespectful to Brentford and Brighton, we look at those two as forward-thinking modern football clubs the way they run themselves – West Ham are a far bigger club than those I’ve mentioned.
Jamie Carragher was keen to stress how supporters likely had the measure of their board
Scores of fan abandoned the London Stadium after guessing there was no hope of a comeback
Chairman Daniel Sullivan was in attendance in east London as he watched his side crumble
‘But they way they’re run right now means that they can’t actually compete with them on the pitch.’
The club’s board have previously sought to address the schism between the hierarchy and their fans earlier in the season, sharing a lengthy statement which attempted to highlight where investments had been made, and stressed their continued intention to challenge for trophies.
Carragher also pointed out how he believes the West Ham squad’s athleticism is well below the standard required in the English top flight, questioning whether they might be the slowest team in the Premier League.
Highlighting the importance of physicality and pace at the top of the game, Carragher added: ‘what I’ve seen over the 12 months, I can’t think of a less athletic team I’ve seen for a very long time in this Premier League. It’s one of the slowest teams I’ve seen in Premier League football.
‘You look at that first goal, and it feels like it’s a throwback to 40, 50 years ago, when everyone had all the time in the world and all that space.’
West Ham will now regroup and hope to recover their form on the road, when they head to Elland Road to face Leeds on Friday evening.
