JAMIE CARRAGHER has hit out at “shocking” West Ham after their 2-0 home loss to Brentford and believes fans have every right to protest against the ownership.
The Hammers continued their difficult start to the season as they were outplayed by the Bees at the London Stadium.
Some supporters opted to stay away from the game amid unrest among the fanbase.
It has been a difficult campaign for the east London outfit after already seeing Graham Potter sacked last month.
His successor Nuno Espirito Santo, meanwhile, has failed to win any of his first three matches in charge.
And with the Hammers in 19th place after eight games, Carragher gave his support to fans who wished to boycott games, saying “they know exactly what’s going on”.
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Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, he said: “Shocking. And they’ve been shocking for a while. It feels like an awful long time ago since they won that European trophy under David Moyes.
“There’s a reason why supporters reactions not just to this ownership but at other clubs, and sometimes when you’re not associated to that club and you stand on the outside looking in, you’re like, ‘what are they complaining about?’
“Sometimes we question supporters. When supporters go against the club or the ownership, a lot of the time it’s almost a last resort.
“And very rarely do the supporters get it wrong. They know exactly what is going on at this football club and it’s not down to managers more often than not.
“The ownership at West Ham is completely different to what we’re seeing, the club that have absolutely battered them on their own patch.”
The Liverpool legend claimed Brentford and Brighton were an example of two clubs who were more “forward thinking”.
Carragher added: “Sullivan at the top, he’s been there a few years and he’s won a trophy – I get that. But it doesn’t feel like a modern way of doing things and I think that’s where the frustration comes from.
“They look at other clubs who are not a patch on West Ham. That’s not disrespectful to Brentford or to Brighton. You look at those two as forward thinking football clubs the way they run themselves.
“West Ham are a far bigger clubs than those two clubs but the way they’re ran means they can’t actually compete with them on the pitch.”
Espirito Santo faced criticism after the game having made five changes from the team that lost 2-0 to Arsenal before the international break – as Andy Irving was handed his first start.
He said: “The idea for the game was that we had to work together, compact. It does not matter if [I start] Andy or other players.
“I think we have to train and achieve that all the players have their opportunities to show themselves so we can try to find better solutions.
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“At half-time we changed it because things stop working and we looked for another situation to try and get more solid, more compact in behind [and] not allow too many chances so we can bounce back from the result.”
West Ham face a must-win game against newly-promoted Leeds United on Friday night, before hosting Newcastle the following Sunday.
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