Supporter expectations at West Ham and almost every other club are so lofty and immediate these days that any new signing doesn’t really stand a chance unless they hit the ground running.
That certainly appears to be the case for Kalvin Phillips, with the former Man City ace barely two games into his Hammers career and already seemingly being blamed for not being up to speed on the nuances of how his new team play.
As with any job, it takes time to learn new ways of working, particularly if they’re so different to that which was undertaken at a previous employer.
Frankly, playing for Man City and West Ham is like chalk and cheese, so any initial struggles that the England international might be experiencing shouldn’t really come as a surprise.
His first touch for the East Londoners led to a goal for Bournemouth in a disappointing 1-1 draw for David Moyes’ side, and he was guilty of being bullied off the ball at Old Trafford before Man United scored a third in their 3-0 win over the Irons at the weekend.
Any murmurs of discontent should be ignored with journalist, Paul Brown, putting Phillips’ situation into perspective.
“I don’t think Kalvin Phillips should be worried. I think it’s been a disappointing start for him at West Ham, but he’s been parachuted into a team that plays a wildly different style and system to Manchester City,” he told Give Me Sport.
“He hasn’t played a lot of football this season. It’s going to be difficult for him to get up to speed straightaway in that situation. I think he’s just such a good player that he’s probably one of the only players Moyes has ever signed that he was pretty confident in throwing in quite quickly.”