Kalvin Phillips was filmed flipping the middle finger at a West Ham fan who criticised him but he’s done something far worse.
West Ham supporters are often wrongly painted as a fanbase that’s hard to please.
There is a big difference between that and being demanding.
Hammers fans would admit they can be the latter. But what they demand is nothing extraordinary.
Sneering pundits, rival fans and journalists often belittle the club’s ideals and the ‘West Ham way’.
The inference from those dismissing the West Ham way as a fallacy is that it is Barcelona-esque tika taka football. Sometimes it seems West Ham’s fans are not allowed to have standards, expectations and opinions.
Phillips middle finger was not his worst insult
But that’s not the true West Ham way at all.
The incident involving Kalvin Phillips after the meek surrender to lose 4-3 at Newcastle has caused a stir. And it has divided opinion too.
As most West Ham fans will know by now, the loan signing was caught on camera swearing at a supporter who called him ‘useless’ as he made his way onto the team bus outside St James’ Park.
Phillips is clearly one of West Ham’s worst signing since Roberto. But put all that to one side for the moment.
Forget the middle finger because walking disaster Phillips has done something far worse to insult West Ham fans.
The real West Ham way is not just about playing well
West Ham will forgive most things if they see their players giving maximum effort.
It is an absolute minimum requirement as a Hammer. Simple as.
Many West Ham fans would forgive Phillips’ slack passes which gave goals away against Bournemouth and Man United.
They’ll forgive his brainless red card at Forest which may also have cost West Ham points.
Hammers fans would give Phillips leeway for the awful performance which saw him dragged at half-time against Burnley.
Some will even overlook his middle finger response to a fan with many questioning why a supporter would wait around for an hour after a game to abuse his own player anyway.
But what supporters witnessed from Phillips when he came on for Michail Antonio in the 69th minute was totally unacceptable and indefensible.
Giving your all for the badge is minimum requirement at West Ham
Phillips’ head may not be in a good place. But there is no excuse for his lack of effort in a West Ham shirt as the team shipped three goals in just over 15 minutes to throw away three more vital points.
Phillips was literally a walking disaster. Ambling around the pitch, not closing down players and half-heartedly challenging opponents.
There were several moments where he approached Anthony Gordon and other Newcastle players and could have put a tackle in but instead just walked alongside them or let them run away from him.
Instead of coming on determined to help see out a crucial win, Phillips looked like he did not want to be out there and does not want to be at West Ham.
He was harshly done by on the penalty. But his poor touch and lack of awareness of those around him allowed the situation to develop.
His lack of effort to stop Harvey Barnes shooting at the death resulted in the winning goal. And the £150k per week midfielder’s body language after that was also very questionable indeed. He didn’t look angry or devastated or sorry. Just unfussed. Like a player who knows he’s going back to his parent club in a couple of months.
Unacceptable lack of effort was the real insult from Phillips
This is not a witch hunt. And that Newcastle defeat was not all on Phillips. Far from it.
Most West Ham fans will not be overly bothered by the fact he literally put the middle finger up to one of them.
But he stuck two fingers up at West Ham fans figuratively with his lack of effort, desire and his seeming refusal to run on the pitch.
The real West Ham way is fronting up when things aren’t going for you. Being brave, showing for the ball and not hiding in times of adversity. Always giving your all regardless of how you might be playing.
What Phillips did on that pitch yesterday is a far worse insult than any middle finger gesture.
If Phillips doesn’t get it then perhaps he needs to listen to this below from our former striker Craig Bellamy. Because he certainly does.
