‘Terrible’… Harry Redknapp slams ‘really poor’ £10m West Ham player after last night’s defeat

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Harry Redknapp slammed West Ham United defender Angelo Ogbonna after his display against Liverpool last night.

The Hammers suffered a 5-1 defeat at Anfield on Wednesday evening and crashed out of the League Cup at the quarter-final stage.

West Ham were completely outclassed by a ruthless Liverpool side on the night.

Jarrod Bowen grabbed West Ham’s only goal of the evening and while Liverpool put in a decent attacking performance, David Moyes will be disappointed with his side’s defending on the night.

The Scotsman opted for a centre-back pairing of Konstantinos Mavropanos and Angelo Ogbonna, with the latter particularly struggling on the night.

Indeed, Ogbonna arguably could have done more to prevent Curtis Jones getting his shot off for Liverpool’s second of the evening.

But it was the 35-year-old’s defending for Jones’ second and Liverpool’s fifth that left Harry Redknapp unimpressed.

Redknapp slams Ogbonna after Liverpool beat West Ham

Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game, Redknapp slammed Ogbonna after he attempted to prevent Jones from getting a shot off in the 84th minute. 

The Liverpool midfielder was allowed plenty of time to make his way across the West Ham penalty area, with Ogbonna completely mistiming his challenge.

“Terrible, terrible defending,” Redknapp said. “You look and they have their back four in place but watch him come inside.

“Ogbonna, look at his effort to stop him. I don’t know what he is doing, turning his body sideways on. To do what? I don’t know. Look at it there. It’s really poor.”

Ogbonna has only started five games this season, while also making three appearances from the bench.

The £10 million defender is mainly used as a backup option under Moyes and based on last night’s display, it’s easy to understand why.

The Italian defender’s best years are certainly behind him and it’s difficult to see him forcing his way into Moyes’ side over the likes of Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd.

Nevertheless, it was a surprise to see Moyes make changes to his backline last night, with Vladimir Coufal the only player to keep his place after starting in the 3-0 win over Wolves.

It feels like a bit of a missed opportunity for West Ham. But the odds were stacked against them from the moment they drew Liverpool away from home.