The irony – West Ham’s goalscoring hero of Goodison Park on Saturday might not have been on the pitch, were it not for fate and illness afflicting his midfield colleague.
We hear from ExWHUEmployee that Edson Alvarez was due to play against Everton but had a sickness bug and was unable to play unless the Hammers were ‘desperate’: In which case it begs the question – who would have been left out of the starting eleven? Lucas Paquetá, the sole creative flair player in the starting line up? Unlikely. James Ward Prowse – who’s made fine return to form under Potter and has been hitting some booming cross-field passes to the wing backs of late?
Or – perhaps – goalscorer Tomas Soucek himself was the one going to be left on the bench? I’d love to ask Graham Potter and see if he gave an honest answer.
As quoted on thewesthamway.com, ex stated that:
“Edson Alvarez picked up a sickness bug ahead of the game against Everton, after originally being named in the starting eleven. This meant that he was put on the bench for the game, with an understanding that he’s only be called upon unless desperately needed”
It also explains the very rare sight of Guido Rodriguez coming on in the 90th minute instead of Alvarez- I did wonder.
So perhaps we are to be grateful for El Machin’s bug, meaning Soucek got the nod, and the goal!