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Kalvin Phillips appeared to swear at a West Ham supporter after being called “useless” while boarding the team bus following their 4-3 defeat at Newcastle United.
Phillips made a disastrous substitute appearance during the second half, in which he gave away a penalty and then was easily evaded by winger Harvey Barnes moments before he scored Newcastle’s winning goal. And video later showed him show a middle finger to a fan who was shouting abuse outside the stadium.
It marked a new low for Phillips, whose career has stalled since leaving his boyhood club Leeds United for Manchester City in the summer of 2022. The 28-year-old was given minimal gametime by City manager Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium, forcing him to move on loan to West Ham in order to play, but he seems a long way from the player who impressed for England at major tournaments, so much so that he is unlikely to be selected for Euro 2024.
West Ham manager David Moyes refused to blame Phillips but admitted his substitution failed.
Moyes said: “I thought an extra midfield player would give us a bit more control in the middle of the pitch at that time. But obviously it didn’t work.
“At the time, I felt that they were slightly the better team. We were 2-1, we got 3-1 but from that point onwards, we needed to defend well and be stronger and be harder to play against. But hey, we scored three, they scored four, we lose the game. We did a lot of good things, certainly going forward. Our attacking play as very good.”
