Giving Roberto stick won't help his confidence

Roberto might have been at fault for two of Newcastle's goals, but it was still disappointing to hear some of the home crowd give him ironic cheers when he caught the ball. It's not going to improve his confidence to give him stick. In Roberto's defence he also made four good stops against Newcastle, which prevented a thrashing. But there is also no denying that he has been at fault for four goals recently, against Everton, Sheffield United and now Newcastle. If this continues then Pellegrini might have to consider bringing in David Martin.

But for the moment we are stuck with Roberto until the New Year. He is certainly no Fabianski, who is starting to look better with every game he misses. But we also have to remember that Fabianski's excellent form covered up a lot of flaws in the West Ham defence. It can't be easy for a goalkeeper to come in to a side that has a creaking defence and a midfield that is often overrun. Roberto played several seasons for Olympiacos, the Greek side who tend to have a lot of easy game where he won't have been unduly stretched. But he's also turned out for the likes of Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Zaragoza and Espanyol, so can't be that bad. 

The best short-term prospect is surely to try and boost Roberto's confidence and get him playing behind a reasonably solid defence. Fredericks has to return, and there is possibly a case for a five man defence with Diop, Ogbonna and Balbuena playing in the middle with Masuaku as a wing back, to try and take the pressure off the keeper. Though knowing Pellegrini I suspect he'll stick to the currently wide-open 4-4-2.