OPINION
West Ham defender Ryan Fredericks had started to look like he had arrived at the club in recent weeks but against Cardiff City he was showing signs that he hadn’t improved at all.
The 26-year-old right-back had been impressive in his latest outings so much so that Manuel Pellegrini has had no choice but to start the defender ahead of the experienced Pablo Zabaleta.
Yet in the 2-0 loss to Cardiff City on Saturday, Fredericks submitted a performance that should see the Hammers boss at the very least considering his place in the team.
The right-back constantly was out of position in the first 20 minutes of the match and then was at least a little bit at fault for Cardiff’s second goal of the game as he careless lost possession in the build-up to them scoring.
Fredericks may have had a few promising runs down the flanks during the match but it was nowhere near enough and he wasn’t being as much as an attacking threat as he had been in recent weeks.
When the defender first featured for the club at the start of the season after joining from Fulham, Fredericks didn’t look ready to handle the Premier League.
Fredericks had nightmares against Liverpool, Arsenal and Wolves before losing his place in the team, but it did look like he was no longer that player and had improved while working with Pellegrini.
However against Cardiff he turned back time in the worst possible way to look like the player he was at the start of the season, and this must see Pellegrini act.
Whether that means instantly dropping Fredericks to the bench or giving him the benefit of the doubt and see how he fares in his next outing before bringing back Zabaleta.
What is clear, is that Pellegrini has to do something as the right-back’s performance against Cardiff was unacceptable.