Michael Owen was left stunned by Jesse Lingard’s inability to clear a ball when defending in his own final third during Nottingham Forest’s 4-0 defeat to Leicester City on Monday night.
The former West Ham United midfielder was told by Owen that there is ’no way’ he should be mis-kicking a simple aerial ball that helped open the scoring for Brendan Rodgers’ struggling Foxes.
It doesn’t help matters that going into Monday’s Midlands derby, Nottingham Forest had lost four-in-a-row and Lingard had zero goals or assists to his name.
Well, by the time the half-time break could come along, the game was gone for Steve Cooper’s men because Leicester were three to the good.
From a lack of cohesion within the XI, leaky defence and senior players not performing, it’s not looking great for the newly-promoted side, at the moment.
During periods of difficulty, you want your key men to step up, not shank a clearance that leads to a goal, as Owen wasn’t left impressed by the England international, speaking on The Final Word on Premier League Productions.
“A lack of concentration from Jesse Lingard,” said Owen. “At this level, there is no way you should be mis-kicking it the way he has.
“I mean, it’s not a hard skill to just smack it hard and high into the oppositions half, and that’s exactly what he didn’t do.
“He had a massive surface area where he could do it with the side of his foot, there was no pressure on him and it was just a big mistake from him. An England international shouldn’t really be making a mistake like that.”
WEST HAM FANS WILL BE LAUGHING
Things aren’t going well for Jesse Lingard at Nottingham Forest and it wouldn’t be a surprise if a fair few West Ham United fans have a big smile on their face.
In the summer, there was a lot of talk about Jesse Lingard possibly linking up with David Moyes again and re-joining the Hammers, after his previous successful loan stint.
Given that the 29-year-old was a free-agent, after leaving Manchester United, there was no transfer fee involved, so it was all about those wages
Well, Lingard’s wages were a big talking point when he decided to join Forest instead of West Ham, some say he joined for the money, but there are reports that the Midlands side are paying him £80k-a-week plus add-ons (Telegraph), which is less than what West Ham were willing to offer, but those are just reports.
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