Kalvin Phillips is having a 2024 to forget after leaving Man City for West Ham in January. The ex-Leeds man has already fallen out of favour at the London Stadium after a string of errors in his first couple of games for the club and has been reduced to cameos off the bench for David Moyes' side in recent weeks.
On top of his poor form for his new club, Phillips has lost his place in the England squad with Gareth Southgate electing not to select him in his latest squad for matches against Brazil and Belgium. Although England failed to win both matches, Kobbie Mainoo impressed in midfield and Phillips now has a big job on his hands to regain his place.
On Saturday, he would have been hoping to kickstart that journey against Newcastle. With West Ham 3-1 up, Moyes elected to bring on Phillips to try and add stability to the West Ham midfield to see the game out. However, things unravelled for the Hammers very quickly after Phillip's introduction and they eventually lost the match 4-3.
Kalvin Phillips responds to abusive West Ham fans
After the match, Phillips was criticised online by West Ham supporters while those who had made the trip up to the North East also made their feelings known to him. In a video posted on social media platform, X, Phillips is seen walking to the team bus after the match while a handful of West Ham fans hurl abuse at him with one fan repeatedly calling him ‘useless'.
As Phillips gets on to the bus, he looks directly at the West Ham fans in question and gives them the middle finger.
Kalvin Phillips’ reaction to the West Ham fans criticising him whilst getting on the bus after the loss at Newcastle yesterday. 🖕
Was his response justified? 🤔pic.twitter.com/8izX8N2scT
— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) March 31, 2024
The response to the incident has been mixed, with some fans believing it's the final straw for Phillips at West Ham while others are standing up for him and condemning his abusers.
One West Ham fan online posted: “Our ‘fans' are an absolute disgrace at times and this is a prime example of how sad and pathetic they can be, waiting for a player to board a bus and calling him out like this is embarrassing. Well done Kalvin they deserved that.”
Another said: “This Kalvin Phillips thing has sent me man. How has the entire fan base turned on him and told him to never play for our club again for putting his middle finger up… but our CLUB CAPTAIN drop-kicked his cat and the fan base just said ‘Eesh, anywayyyyyy'”
Others weren't as understanding. One Hammers fan posted: “He should have just held his hands up. I hope this was his last match for West Ham, he has been dreadful every single game and is costing a fortune. A second added: “Yep, Kalvin Phillips can f**k off back to City.”