Alan Shearer instantly defends Ollie Scarles after horrible West Ham scenes vs Fulham
Alan Shearer has jumped to the defence of Ollie Scarles after the West Ham mistake for Fulham’s winning goal on Saturday.
West Ham were beaten 1-0 by Fulham at the London Stadium, which has severely damaged the Hammers’ hopes of avoiding Premier League relegation.
There may now be serious pressure on Nuno Espirito Santo following a defeat that keeps the Irons in the relegation zone on 13 points.
Nuno has been without El Hadji Malick Diouf due to the African Cup of Nations, as Scarles has featured in West Ham‘s last two games, but the youngster had an afternoon to forget versus the Cottagers.
Scarles was unable to clear the ball when Fulham kept play alive for Raul Jimenez to head home a late winner on 27 December, leaving him in tears.
Alan Shearer says West Ham’s home form is not on Ollie Scarles
Scarles is a highly-rated youngster at West Ham and has clearly done enough in training to catch the eye of Nuno in defence.
The English full-back was thrown in at the deep end during the Hammers’ loss to Manchester City last time out in the Premier League, but his head coach saw fit to play him again versus Fulham.
- Scarles played the full match against Fulham
- He made six defensive contributions
- Scarles made an error that led to a goal in the 85th minute
While speaking on BBC‘s Match of the Day after the game, Shearer urged Scarles to keep his head up and move on.
Shearer said: “This is what cost West Ham today, young Ollie Scarles, it’s the error that’s going to be looked at, that’s the one [misclearance]. That won’t be his last mistake; everyone makes mistakes, and you have to get over it.
“As upset as he is, 11 home defeats this year is not his fault, and the league position they are in is not his fault.”
Scarles will have had a tough night’s sleep, but what Shearer is saying has a lot of substance to it.
West Ham’s home record is their worst since 1967
The London Stadium has become toxic this season with protests aimed at David Sullivan and Karren Brady, as Graham Potter started the campaign off on the completely wrong foot.
There seemed to be a shift in the mood when the Hammers won two Premier League games in a row before the November international break, but it looks like things are back to square one.
| Year | Home defeats |
| 1967 | 11 |
| 2025 | 11 |
| 1931 | 10 |
| 1973 | 9 |
| 1976 | 9 |
| 2017 | 9 |
West Ham are at a disadvantage when playing at home, and Scarles’ mistake only came about through pressure that the Irons shouldn’t have had to absorb, especially that late in the game.
In past seasons, this scenario would never have happened, and youngsters are the last people to blame for the mess that Nuno and Co. find themselves in right now.
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