Last weekend produced some very poor performances, whether that be from a player, manager (or caretaker manager if you get where I’m going) or a whole team. One player had a moment to forget under his new manager, one coach is having a period to forget and one team are forgetting they’re in the Premier League and not the Championship. It’s the shortlist for Wally of the Week.
3. Newcastle United
Despite promising times off the field, the Newcastle team are in a poor run of form and were comfortably dispatched at the hands of Watford at St. James’s Park on Saturday. Had there not been the impending departure of Mike Ashley playing on the fans’ minds, that stadium could’ve become a very nasty place. Rafa Benitez looked helpless on the touchline as he watched his side concede poor goal after poor goal. The Magpies managed to make Marvin Zeegelaar look world-class, allowing him far too much space and time on the left wing that even Rafa Benitez himself could’ve got at least one assist if he was playing there. Zeegelaar cut one back for Will Hughes to put the Hornets in front before they doubled their lead when DeAndre Yedlin put through his own net. Andre Gray completed the rout in the second-half after abysmal defending left the striker in acres of space in the Newcastle area. It was a truly pathetic performance and one that belonged back in the Championship.
2. Angelo Ogbonna
David Moyes is spared from this shortlist for another week but one of his players has made the cut. The Italian defender was at fault for Leicester’s only goal in their 1-1 draw with West Ham at the London Stadium on Friday night. It was just eight minutes into Moyes’s first home game in charge and the fans were as behind the team as you can be after you’ve been let down numerous times. Jamie Vardy was allowed to waltz down the left-hand side and put a low cross in but no matter, it fell to Angelo Ogbonna’s feet and the ball was cleared. The only problem with that – the ball wasn’t cleared. Instead, Ogbonna completely missed the ball and deflected it into Marc Albrighton’s path and he, like many other players this season, slotted it easily past Joe Hart. The Hammers recovered through Cheikhou Kouyate’s goal but they’re still without a win in their last six league games and that’s mainly Ogbonna’s fault.
1. David Unsworth
It’s been a torrid time in temporary charge for the former Everton player as the Toffees slipped into the bottom three after a resounding defeat at the hands of Southampton. They’ve been poor of late but it really has reached new lows over the past week after the 5-1 drubbing against Atalanta and this defeat at St. Mary’s. Unsworth is always talking about fight and passion in his press conferences and seems to hate everything that has changed since his playing days. I can’t imagine being one of those foreign players who’s never even heard of David Unsworth being told that they don’t have what it takes to play for Everton Football Club and being dropped for a youngster. Maybe Unsworth should be a bit more pragmatic with his approach because whatever he’s trying at the moment is making things worse. After Steven Davis scored Southampton’s fourth goal on Sunday, I began to ask myself; can a caretaker manager be sacked? Because that’s how bad this has got and the club aren’t helping him with their laboured search for a new manager.