Crystal Palace battled to a 1-1 draw away at West Ham, but some fans were unhappy at the lack of attacking ambition on display.
Roy Hodgson’s side found themselves 1-0 down at half time following Mohammed Kudus’ opener, but Odsonne Edouard finished well after seizing upon an error from Konstantinos Mavropanos.
West Ham were below par at home, and the crowd at the London Stadium expressed their disapproval at the result.
Whilst Palace did earn a point on the road after losing at Luton Town last week, they could have gone on to win the game if they attacked with a bit more intent. Once the equaliser was found, Hodgson seemed very happy to settle for a draw.
Roy Hodgson’s unambitious substitutions
It took 82 minutes for Hodgson to make a substitution at all, and they were uninspiring changes: Jairo Riedewald replaced Will Hughes, and Jean-Philippe Mateta later replaced Edouard.
Hodgson previously spoke about how he wanted to give young stars Naouirou Ahamada and Matheus Franca more opportunities, but both spent the entire game watching from the bench.
With Palace faring well in possession and keeping West Ham at bay, as both teams were equal in shots, it was a good opportunity to make an attacking change. Will Hughes was disappointing and failed to create a single chance for his teammates.
Even if Franca or Ahamada came in and failed to make an impact, they would have gained further Premier League experience in a tough away game. Nothing was achieved with the same players continuing to disappoint as Palace failed to win again.
Is it time for Palace to make changes?
Palace face Bournemouth on Wednesday in a game which carries a lot of pressure. It may not be the ideal time to make wholesale changes, but if Hodgson had given other players an opportunity today, the club could have gained an idea of who to play in midweek.
Chris Richards came in today and delivered a strong performance, which should seal his starting spot against Bournemouth, and giving Franca or Ahamada a similar opportunity off the bench could have produced similar results.
The Palace team in its current state is uninspiring, and with one win in the last seven, results are not justifying the lack of creative decisions being made by Hodgson.
