Darren Gough tore into West Ham fans for their treatment of Marko Arnautovic after he was booed during the 4-3 victory against Huddersfield Town.
The former England cricketer was baffled over what Hammers fans expected from the 29-year-old attacker before dubbing the response to the player harsh.
“The problem is with Arnautovic is they’re turning him into a centre-forward and you only have to see his goal record where ever he has been, Stoke especially, most he has ever scored is 12 goals and I think it was 11 or 12, what did he get last season for West Ham? 12 and he has gotten seven this season,” said Gough on talkSPORT (Tuesday March 19th, 16:42)
“What do they expect? 20 odd goals from him? I don’t know.
“He’s not an out-and-out centre forward is he, I think he is a forward player but the problem is they’re looking to play him as the centre-forward at his point.
Adrian Durham then claimed Hammers fans simply wanted Arnautovic to put in the same effort he did last season and Gough highlighted that the 29-year-old did at the start of the season before getting injured.
“Coming back from injury is not easy for a lot of people, it takes some people game time to get back in the run of things, so people are being harsh on him,” added Gough.
“If he has been subbed four of the last five games then comes on as sub, then suddenly gets starts against Huddersfield, just because it’s Huddersfield everyone expects him to bang in two goals.
“But look how many goals he scores each season, it just doesn’t happen.”
OPINION
West Ham fans booed Arnautovic in the match with Huddersfield Town and Gough is perhaps right to call them out for that. However Hammers fans have every right to be frustrated during the clash with the Terriers as it wasn’t until after going 3-1 down that their team turned up. Arnautovic left the field when the Hammers were trailing and he just received the boos due to him being an easy scapegoat. If any other West Ham player who struggled on that day, for example Issa Diop or Angelo Ogbonna, had left the pitch at a similar time, they too would have likely been booed. While it’s true that some Hammers fans are still no doubt overly critical of Arnautovic due to him looking like he was trying to force his exit in January, that’s only a minority. Once the forward penned a new deal, Hammers fans mostly welcomed him back with open arms. Also Arnautovic proved last season he was a capable centre-forward so Gough’s defence of him, doesn’t help matters.