Calvin Phillips’ nightmare at West Ham continued on Saturday when he was “stupidly” sent off against Nottingham Forest.
Forest won 2-0 at the City Ground with goals from Taiwo Awoni and Callum Hudson-Odoi – West Ham suffered their third consecutive defeat and extended their winless streak to eight games.
The Ironmen have yet to win in 2024, prompting calls from fans for David Moyes to be sacked and a banner reading “Moyes out” during the latest defeat.
To make matters worse for the manager, Phillips, who signed on loan from Manchester City in January, was shown two yellow cards in quick succession and was ordered off in the 71st minute.
He received the first warning for kicking Nicolas Dominguez and the red for a foul on Morgan Gibbs-White, which infuriated former referee Mike Dean.
“He’s just been cautioned for tangling with [Nicolas] Dominguez for no reason whatsoever,” Dean told Sky Sports.
‘Two minutes later he threw the ball over him and caught him with his foot.
‘Stupidity, your second yellow card. And he’s wasting his time playing, he doesn’t even look interested.
The signing of England star Phillips, who has given up on minutes ahead of this summer’s Euro 2024, was seen as a real coup for West Ham, but after costly mistakes in all four of his appearances so far, fans are calling for him to return to the Etihad.
Moyes refused to criticise his player after the game, telling Sky Sports: “I was more disappointed with the first booking. With the second one, something like that can happen.