There was a moment, about 75 minutes into West Ham United's clash against Newcastle United on Tyneside when the travelling support was in full voice, the voluble Hammers overwhelming their beleaguered hosts.
West Ham's campaign has been affected by defensive deficiencies and this was certainly on show at St. James' Park, with David Moyes' side squandering a 3-1 lead to hand Newcastle a lifeline in their fight for European qualification.
It was a true thriller, one of those matches they whack on a billboard to advertise the Premier League and all it entails, but West Ham will not care about that; they succumbed to pressure, lost a commanding position and now have a tenuous hold on seventh spot in the top-flight.
It all changed when Kalvin Phillips was introduced, 69 minutes in.
Kalvin Phillips' performance vs Newcastle
Phillips probably arrived at the London Stadium in January brimming with hope, sanguine in his conviction that a nightmare spell with Manchester City was behind him, and that he could strut his stuff at the highest level with avidity once again.
It's quite remarkable, genuinely astounding, how bad he has been in an Irons shirt, seemingly making an error every time he takes to the pitch.
At Newcastle, Phillips conceded the penalty that allowed Alexander Isak to net his brace, halving the deficit after 75 minutes. He completed 13 touches across 21 minutes of action; he lost the ball five times, completing four of nine attempted passes, as per Sofascore.
This is beyond rusty, this is beyond a blip. Phillips is beset with a staggering loss of confidence that has seeped into his industrious skill set, like a pot of oil spilled into a body of water, tainting it, spoiling it.
There's a claim, however, that the England man's adjudged foul on Anthony Gordon was soft, sparking the comeback, and Phillips was certainly not the main culprit on a bleak afternoon in the North East.
Pre-match, Vladimir Coufal claimed that he had his sights set on breaking his Premier League assist tally in a single campaign against Eddie Howe's side.
He didn't walk the walk, let's say that…
Vladimir Coufal's game in numbers
Coufal has been an excellent signing for West Ham, following Czech countryman Tomas Soucek from Slavia Prague in 2020 for a bargain £5m and since chalking up 144 appearances for the club, registering 20 assists.
Minutes played
89'
Touches
39
Accurate passes
20/29 (69%)
Key passes
1
Possession lost
12x
Tackles
1
Duels won
1/4
Penalties committed
1
Dribbles attempted
0
Dribbled past
1
The right-back's metrics on the afternoon make for grim reading, however, having been bullied in the duel and wasteful in possession to compound an early foul to give Newcastle the lead, Isak converting the first of two spot-kicks.
His display was so poor that The Evening Standard's Malik Ouzia branded the 31-year-old with a 4/10 match rating, writing of his performance: 'Rash when diving in on Gordon to concede early penalty and sloppy in possession for much of the afternoon.'
With the likes of Ben Johnson waiting in the wings, Coufal – whose 5.6 Sofascore rating was the worst of any player on the day – arguably should be dropped against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night, with that Premier League fixture now heightened. It's all on the line.
Phillips may never wear the shirt again if West Ham unleash exciting teen
David Moyes’ January addition has not been up to scratch in east London…
ByAngus Sinclair
Inconsistency has marred West Ham's campaign but this is not the time to wallow in despair. Moyes will berate his troops after a dismal collapse, and so he should, but there is quality enough to forge a successful finish to the season and now the Hammers must rally.
