Perhaps Aaron Wan-Bissaka can be excused, given that the West Ham United defender was rushed back from Africa Cup of Nations duty to start against QPR in the FA Cup third round.
But then again, what was his excuse during those years at Old Trafford? Or, for instance, during the 5-1 drubbing by Chelsea in August.
The Manchester United supporters were left with deja vu – a particularly nasty case of it, too – when Aaron Wan-Bissaka found himself at fault for no fewer than three goals during that heaviest of home defeats.
Wan-Bissaka was often accused at the Red Devils of switching off at the back post and allowing opposition forwards to nick in ahead of him. While Chelsea took full advantage of ‘AWB’s positional deficiencies, another West London outfit made him pay in the FA Cup third round.
Who was West Ham’s MOTM against QPR and why?! 👀
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
A teasing cross over the head of Jean-Clair Todibo. And as Wan-Bissaka loitered at the back stick, playing Richard Kone onside in the process, he was beaten to the punch as the QPR striker guided a clever header past a returning Mads Hermansen.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka at fault for QPR’s equaliser against West Ham United
Scott Minto, a West Ham full-back himself from 1999 to 2003, initially found himself parroting Sam Allardyce in the commentary gantry.
Allardyce feels that Wan-Bissaka was overly-criticised at Manchester United, particularly regarding his attacking output. That was a claim Minto was keen to back up during the opening 60 minutes of West Ham vs Queens Park Rangers, while also labelling the club’s reigning Hammer of the Year a ‘brilliant’ defensive operator.
Moments later, as Kone levelled, Minto’s praise appeared to age as well as a carton of Cravendale left out in the summer sun.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
“I think he is a brilliant defender and not as bad as people have been saying, [especially] when he was at Man United in particular,” Minto told TNT Sports.
“He’s not bombing on or [showing] great skill but he’s a great athlete, a good one-on-one and defender and he does have things going forward.”
Minto would have nothing negative to say about Hermansen when Kone hit the target in the immediate aftermath. The goalkeeper was left stranded and helpless on his first outing since the Graham Potter era.
But Wan-Bissaka’s role in the QPR equaliser proves that old habits do indeed die hard.
Sum up this man’s performance against QPR in three words 👇
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
Nuno Espirito Santo game-management and Crysencio Summerville are two major pluses
On a more positive note, captain Jarrod Bowen was delighted to see Taty Castellanos open his West Ham account on what was only his second appearance for the club. Castellanos broke QPR’s brave resistance with a bullet header eight minutes into extra time, assisted by a scintillating piece of work from Crysencio Summerville down the left.
Minto was full of praise for Nuno’s game-management, too. Plenty of critics have stuck the boot in and understandably so in recent times, with Nuno’s substitutes often causing West Ham to sit deep and invite pressure.
Introducing Pablo Felipe for Konstantinos Mavropanos and bringing Tomas Soucek in for the more defensively-minded Soungoutou Magassa, though, gave West Ham the thrust they had been lacking in an uneventful first-half.
“The only way you’ll warm yourself to the hearts of the West Ham fans is coming in and scoring goals, and Castellanos has done that this afternoon,” former Queens Park Rangers striker Bradley Allen said during BBC Sport’s live coverage.
“QPR have been really brave and courageous. When QPR had that window, that’s when they scored and they managed to defend that and see that through in normal time.
“[But] West Ham found key quality and a brilliantly worked goal to see themselves in control.”
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox