It was somewhat fitting that West Ham brought the curtain down on a miserable season at the London Stadium with yet another hopeless home performance in defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Understandably keen to grasp on to any green shoots he can, Graham Potter talked up West Ham’s 2-0 win at Man United last week.
There were positives in that West Ham performance of course.
But context was needed given how awful Manchester United have been all season and the number of changes they made with the Europa League final on the horizon.
Nottingham Forest had plenty of motivation for their visit to the London Stadium, knowing they had to win to keep their hopes of a Champions League place alive.
Ahead of the game it was revealed Potter and West Ham had a £10m bonus to play for.
Departing duo make West Ham decision look questionable
Not to mention bragging rights given a Hammers victory would have guaranteed finishing above Spurs and Man United.
Despite that – and having the added subplot of saying goodbye to long-serving stars like Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski and Vladimir Coufal – the Hammers still couldn’t muster a proper performance for their home crowd.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
Potter has talked about wanting to end the season on a high to build momentum and some much-needed optimism for next season.
But on this basis it will be one of more further struggle, with the wait for a first home win since February now set to stretch to at least August.
There should have been cheers all round as a fitting send-off for West Ham’s popular departing trio. Striker Danny Ings and his £125k per week wages are heading out too.
Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images
Instead there were jeers as the Hammers were deservedly booed off at half-time.
Although the boos were nearly as half-hearted as West Ham’s lethargic performance.
There were some standout performances for the wrong reasons, though.
Four players showed they’ve got no future at West Ham vs Nottingham Forest – and they’re not the ones leaving.
Many fans and observers were already questioning West Ham’s decision not to give senior leaders Cresswell, Coufal and Fabianski another year at the club.
Well an exclamation mark will be added to that question after the Forest defeat.
West Ham’s best players – along with Hammer of the Year Aaron Wan-Bissaka – were Cresswell and Coufal.
Four show they’ve got no future at West Ham vs Forest
The veteran duo made the ruthless call look ridiculous – unless West Ham have a coherent plan in place to replace them, which many cynics doubt.
Cresswell and Coufal did not look like ageing players on their last legs.
On this evidence they perhaps should have been retained as squad players at the very least.
Coufal was described on multiple times as “West Ham’s bright spark” by pundit Jamie Carragher.
Fabianski was not given a sentimental send-off between the sticks at the London Stadium.
But even the decision to release him at 40 was put back under the microscope by what happened in West Ham’s defeat to Forest.
Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images
Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images
The Hammers have been linked with the likes of James Trafford and Aaron Ramsdale ahead of the summer.
Alphonse Areola has been criticised by some supporters over a number of mistakes and for lacking command of his area.
Areola’s distribution has also been in question.
The Frenchman has been linked with moves back to France and Espanyol.
Areola is capable of stunning saves at times. He even made a fine stop at 0-0 against Forest.
But there was another mistake to add to Areola’s poor campaign as he ridiculously rolled the ball straight to Morgan Gibbs-White on the edge of the box for the easiest goal he’ll ever score in the Premier League.
It was a ludicrous moment which adds to an increasingly compelling case that West Ham need to go out and sign a new goalkeeper.
Areola is one of West Ham’s highest paid players on £120k per week. So if Potter does go out and sign a new ‘keeper, then the former PSG man certainly won’t be sticking around. West Ham can’t afford it.
That would mean Potter needing a new number one and a new number two with Fabianski being released.
James Ward-Prowse and Guido Rodriguez are two more who clearly don’t have futures at West Ham if the club are in any way serious about getting back to being a competitive force in the top half of the Premier League.
Accident-prone Areola raises big goalkeeper problem
All Ward-Prowse did was pass the ball five yards sideways and backwards before being hauled off on the hour mark against the club who tore up his loan six months early.
Ward-Prowse is slow and lacking in dynamism. In truth he has looked like a Championship player and if West Ham continue like this next season then he may well be one next summer.
Rodriguez played well at Man United after being brought in from the cold last week.
Against Forest he was anonymous and added little to West Ham.
Tomas Soucek struggled in this game and was subbed off to add fuel to claims Potter is happy to sell him to raise funds for a different type of midfield player.
It would be harsh to say he showed he doesn’t have a future at West Ham, though, because he still gave his all – as the big Czech always does.
Carragher described Mohammed Kudus as anonymous in the first half of West Ham’s defeat to Forest.
Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images
Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images
Bar a couple of runs, Kudus was much the same in the second half too, looking totally disinterested at times.
The Ghanaian is being sold this summer and after a scintillating debut season he really went out on a whimper.
The positive impact made by West Ham’s subs only added to the fact some of those starting the game simply aren’t the answer as the Hammers lost 2-1.
It was nice to see some passion as the game exploded into life at the end. Just a shame it took until the last minutes of the last game of this forgettable season.
West Ham player ratings vs Nottingham Forest:
Alphonse Areola, 4/10: When Forest score the first goal in games, they almost always win. Areola gifted them that goal with his brainless pass. Made a couple of important saves to stop his score being lower. May need to be sold in the summer and new goalkeepers brought in.
Vladimir Coufal, 8/10: Man of the match in his final ever West Ham home game. Came close to getting his first Hammers goal too. When you think of ‘proper West Ham’ it is players like Coufal who come to mind. A top pro and true warrior. Will be sorely missed – on and off the pitch.
Jean-Clair Todibo, 6/10: Good on the ball but like Max Kilman, he is there to be got at aerially. Jury remains very much out.
Max Kilman, 6/10: Same as Todibo, Kilman is good on the ball but lacks authority. West Ham do not look like a team who spent £75m on two new centre-backs last summer.
Aaron Cresswell, 7/10: Didn’t put a foot wrong and did himself proud in his last ever Hammers home game. Subbed off by Potter as West Ham chased their way back into the game. Didn’t deserve to be part of such a limp performance. Some of his soon to be former teammates should be ashamed of their lack of effort for his send-off.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 7/10: As usual one of West Ham’s better players, this time operating off the left. Arguably the only positive from a dreadful campaign.
Tomas Soucek, 5/10: Struggled to get into the game after an early headed effort. Worked hard as always but Potter is reportedly concerned about whether Soucek is dynamic enough for the way he wants to play in midfield. If West Ham get a decent offer this summer it will be interesting to see what happens. Selling would be a monumental risk given his nine goals – along with Jarrod Bowen’s – have kept West Ham up this season.
James Ward-Prowse, 4/10: What future Potter sees in West Ham playing one-paced Ward-Prowse in his midfield is anyone’s guess. He can only be a squad player at best next season.
Guido Rodriguez, 4/10: Did very little of note. Will be one of the first out of the door in the summer with a return to River Plate on the cards.
Mohammed Kudus, 3/10: Didn’t turn up, doesn’t look interested. Subbed off. Shadow of the player he was last season. Kudus has rendered his £85m release clause irrelevant. Nobody is paying that, West Ham will be lucky to get anything over £50m for him this summer.
Jarrod Bowen, 7/10: Was far from Bowen’s best game but he always keeps going and leading by example. Got his reward with one of West Ham’s goals of the season to make things interesting towards the end. His superb volley summed him up. What would the Hammers do without him?
SUBS: Niclas Fullkrug, Carlos Soler, Edson Alvarez, Lucas Paqueta and Luis Guilherme – all 7/10: Each one of the subs impacted the game and that is what you want. All played their part in a late rally but it proved too little too late.