Matt Le Tissier has singled out Ayoze Perez as a major culprit in Newcastle United’s 3-0 defeat to West Ham on Saturday afternoon.
The Spanish forward squandered a series of golden opportunities before the Hammers pulled out of sight, and the Southampton legend was frank in his appraisal of the 25-year-old’s performance.
Speaking on Soccer Saturday (Sky Sports News, Saturday) Le Tissier said: “Perez had so many chances in the first half to equalise.
“Second half, they came out, Rondon had a couple of chances but then once Chicharito got the second goal you could really see the Newcastle heads drop and the wind was really taken out of their sails.
“That’s why the centre forwards get paid all the big bucks, because scoring goals is the hardest part of football.
“Perez proved that today. He had chances with his head, chances with his feet as well. He had a great chance with his left foot which he dragged well wide in the end.
“It was disappointing for Newcastle.”
OPINION
At the moment it feels as if Ayoze Perez is getting into the Newcastle side not through merit but simply because Rafael Benitez has no choice but to play him. Depth is not a virtue the Magpies are blessed with, and with Yoshinori Muto only returning to full training a few days ago, the manager’s hand was somewhat forced on team selection. Muto had just about managed to haul himself into some kind of form before his injury setback, and you would assume that the Japanese international will return to the side to face Everton on Wednesday night. The Perez issue remains, however, and it is understandable that the Toon Army are rumoured to be looking at bringing in Miguel Almiron from Atlanta United in January. Put simply, teams that don’t score goals get relegated, and at the moment Newcastle need an injection of creativity from somewhere to escape a battle for survival. Perez is not the man to provide that boost.