Craig Dawson: West Ham controversy analysed by Robinson as ‘huge problem’ exposed
Paul Robinson has questioned West Ham defender Craig Dawson’s sending off at Chelsea.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Premier League goalkeeper said the decision was “harsh” on the 31-year-old and David Moyes.
Dawson conceded a penalty in the latter stages of West Ham’s 1-0 loss at Chelsea after pulling back Romelu Lukaku inside the area.
Referee Michael Oliver initially booked the Hammers defender.
However, on the advice of VAR official Andre Marriner he reviewed the incident on the pitch-side monitor and sent off Dawson for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
When asked by Football Insider for his review of the incident, Robinson said: “It was a debatable one and in all honesty, I thought it was a harsh one.
‘West Ham played well and they didn’t deserve to lose the game. We have talked about their lack of squad depth for months now. Their lack of numbers in key areas has really come to the fore in recent weeks.
“They’ve fallen out of the race for the top four. To have you’re only fit centre-half suspended is a nightmare. They don’t have anything.
“The huge problem is the lack on investment in the last three windows. They needed to strengthen the spine of the team and it is costing them now.”
Dawson is suspended for West Ham’s game against Arsenal on Sunday.
He was David Moyes’ only available centre-back while Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop recover from injury.
In other news, Newman has made up his mind on West Ham potentially signing Duje Caleta-Car.