Jamie Redknapp rages at what ‘terrible’ Todibo did in West Ham loss v Liverpool – ‘You can’t do that’
Jamie Redknapp was appalled by Jean-Clair Todibo’s defending as West Ham United lost 5-1 at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Julen Lopetegui’s side crumbled late on at Anfield with Cody Gakpo scoring twice in the last few minutes to round off a convincing win for the Merseysiders.
When Gakpo fired a shot at goal for his second of the night, 24-year-old Todibo turned his back away from the effort. The ball then seemed to deflect off the French defender and sail into Lukasz Fabianski’s net.
Redknapp was less than impressed by Todibo’s failure to stand up to the shot and block it, even though it was 4-1 to Liverpool in the third minute of stoppage time when it happened.
“Todibo, who Kevin [Nolan] just mentioned, he’s a centre-back and I can stand it when players do this,” said Redknapp on Sky Sports Main Event after the game on Wednesday night (25 September, 10:12pm).
“Look at him there on the right side of the box. As he shoots, he just turns his back completely.
“You’ve got to stand tall, you’ve got to think, ‘I might get one in the face here’.
“Keep your eye on him, number 25, as it comes inside.
“That isn’t great defending. That’s terrible. You can’t do that.
“You talk about him being new to the league, this, that and the other. But they’re basics and fundamentals of defending. You’ve got to put your body on the line and make the blocks.
“Going forward, that has to change. You can’t do that whether it’s 4-1, 5-1, or whatever the score is. It’s really poor defending.”
West Ham United gutless as they get battered by Liverpool
When you look at the majority of the game, you’d say that West Ham didn’t deserve to lose by the scoreline they did.
Michail Antonio’s introduction as a second-half substitute seemed to make the Hammers the better side and they did have some good chances at goal, as well as a couple of solid penalty appeals waved away by the referee.
But as frustration mounted, professionalism and willingness decreased as Edson Alvarez saw red for a ridiculous sliding challenge on Mo Salah when he was already booked.
Gakpo was energised late on as the Hammers’ heads dropped and while there could be something said about those who failed to stop the Dutchman’s run at goal, plenty more can be said about the cowardly defending of Todibo.
A lot of West Ham fans have been crying out for Lopetegui to start Todibo in the Premier League with Maximilian Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos failing to impress.
But Todibo did little to endear himself towards Lopetegui and the fans who’ve been backing him to start more often with that lacklustre bid of defending – if you can call it that – at the end.
In other West Ham United news, Stuart Pearce slammed an “amateurish” Liverpool player for what he did to Danny Ings at Anfield.
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