Do Not Sell My Personal Information
West Ham: Fans react as Manuel Pellegrini suggests Roberto’s form was a reason why he was sacked
Manuel Pellegrini has stated that the poor form of goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez contributed to him being sacked as West Ham United manager.
The former Manchester City boss was sacked by the Hammers in December, following a run of nine defeats in 12 Premier League outings (BBC Sport).
Roberto started in six of those losses as well as in their draw against Sheffield United due to an injury to Lukasz Fabianski, but he really struggled between the sticks and in his seven starts he shipped 16 goals (Transfermarkt).
He was eventually dropped in favour of former Millwall man David Martin, but Pellegrini has now admitted that he thinks Roberto’s poor performances played a part in his dismissal.
“Unfortunately, we had a major injury, from the goalkeeper [Lukasz Fabianski] of four months. And the performance of the second [Roberto] was not as expected,” Pellegrini said in an interview with Chilean news outlet La Tercera.
“He had responsibility in several goals. The team was losing confidence, the results were denied and the owners decided to change.”
Are West Ham too good to go down?
Yes
No
However, whilst the Spanish shot-stopper was certainly not flavour of the month at West Ham, it seems that many fans do not agree with Pellegrini’s comments. Instead, they have pointed to the Chilean’s decision to keep on playing Roberto even though he could have chosen to play Martin instead.
Here is what some supporters had to say on Twitter after reading Pellegrini’s comments…
I can’t believe Pellegrini is blaming Roberto for his sacking – he is the one who kept picking him and going against what the fans and everyone else was saying!https://t.co/Ex04pwfEOo
— Matthew Edge-Wilkins (@mattedgewilkins) February 4, 2020
Incorrect.. Pellegrini’s decision to stick with Roberto despite massive errors on his first appearance, was partially a reason he was sacked pic.twitter.com/uiNEeizDOU
— Kieran (@KieranIon27) February 4, 2020
Yet you decided to keep him in goal despite everyone saying he shouldn’t be playing…
— Chris (@MR_bucket5) February 4, 2020
But he kept playing him ???
— ⚒ (@WHUFC1965) February 4, 2020
But decided to play him every game….
— Niall⚒ (@NiallByrne15) February 4, 2020
Wasn’t Pellegrini the one who said he had watched Roberto before we signed him and he was good? Yet he only made a handful of appearances before coming to us…
Him & Hullios wanted him as number 1 before Fabianski…but late to slag him off after we’ve all suffered from it. https://t.co/Kx27NRQ5E7
— ˗ˏˋ JΔMES ˊˎ˗ (@JameswhufcJones) February 4, 2020
West Ham fans, what do you make of Manuel Pellegrini’s comments? Let us know below…
