As a smattering of boos darkened the sky at the London Stadium during West Ham United’s FA Cup quarter-final with Leeds, casual, neutral viewers may have wondered how on earth things had gotten quite this bad for Max Kilman.
The fans aired their very audible grievances against Kilman moments after Dominic Calvert-Lewin had converted a spot-kick given away by the £40 million centre-half, putting Leeds 2-0 up in the process.
If Kilman was fortunate to avoid punishment when clattering Anton Stach in the first-half, West Ham United’s most unpopular player in recent memory would not get quite so lucky when he sent Brenden Aaronson flying inside the penalty area.
How do you feel about fans booing Max Kilman? 😳
The boos were not a kneejerk reaction to an untimely blunder in a high-pressure encounter. They are the by-product of months of dreadful defensive errors from a man many believe to be the Hammers’ worst pound-for-pound signing in the modern era.
And, at West Ham, that is saying something.
West Ham United simply perform worse with Max Kilman starting
Kilman has started 21 games in the Premier League and the FA Cup this season. The Hammers have lost over half of them. A loss rate of 52 per cent.
That does not even include the EFL Cup defeat by Wolves, in which Kilman came on and left Jorgen Strand Larsen free to score the winner. Or, for that matter, his disastrous half-hour cameo at Stamford Bridge in January.
Max Kilman of West Ham United looks dejected following the teams defeat in an Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match
Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images
Nuno admitted that introducing Kilman was a ‘mistake’ away to Chelsea; a 2-0 lead becoming a 3-2 defeat in the blinking of an eye. The former Wolves captain hasn’t played a single Premier League minute since.
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West Ham have also conceded 1.8 goals per game on average during Kilman’s 21 starts.
If we remove those Wolves and Chelsea matches from the equation – it feels silly to include them considering the extent of Kilman’s influence off the bench in both games – West Ham have played 14 games without him in the XI, or without effecting things greatly as a substitute.
West Ham have lost only 35 per cent of those matches. A massive decrease on the 52 per cent loss rate with Kilman in the XI, or coming off the bench for a decent chunk of the game. They have conceded an average of 1.5 goals per game in those matches, a figure warped by an uncharacteristic Axel Disasi off-day during the 5-2 thrashing at Anfield.
Three of their four clean sheets have come with Kilman on the bench. And, of their seven Premier League wins, Kilman started only three of them. The most recent coming against Burnley in November.
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The stats prove it. West Ham lose more games with Kilman in the XI, and concede more goals.
No wonder the sight of his name on the team sheet before Sunday’s quarter-final had nerves jangling. There is a very fair argument to suggest that Nuno should have started youngster Ezra Mayers ahead of Kilman, with both Konstantinos Mavropanos and Jean-Clair Todibo recovering from injury.
It remains to be seen if either player will be fit to partner Axel Disasi against Wolves on Friday night.
Even if neither Mavropanos or Todibo make it back in time, another defensive disaster soundtracked by a handful of boos feels impossible for Max Kilman to come back from.
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