Football fans are fickle …and I count myself among them!
Try as one may to remain objective this is a hugely passionate game which creates conflicting knee jerk reactions from game to game and it becomes increasingly impossible at times.
The big talking points from the match against Leicester City – although following the helicopter tragedy they seem pretty irrelevants – were Mark Noble’s sending off and the frustrating form of £35m Felipe Anderson.
Anderson first: Yes he has been disappointing and I became increasingly annoyed as he ran into blind alleys before surrendering the ball without a whimper.
His tracking back too leaves much – if not everything to be desired – and the criticism becomes more and more intense with every passing game.
However, balance is needed, and I address myself too, because I simply cannot believe Pellegrini would spend what amounts to a fortune in West Ham terms on a player who is regularly towards the bottom of the ratings.
The first year is always the most difficult when a player moves into the Premier League – the differences between Serie A and the PL are worlds apart.
Time is obviously required and regular criticism from here and elsewhere – notably social media – won’t help one little bit.
I expect him to come good in a big way and justify Pellegrini’s faith. Patience is required.
Mark Noble meanwhile – having been man of the match and a hero against Manchester United- is this morning as low in opinions as he was high back then.
Pellegrini commented after his awful challenge at Leicester that Nobes had told him he intended no malice…frankly that hardly needed to be said!
The extreme elements are declaring it’s time for the captain to call it a day which is about as ridiculous as claiming he will be in Gareth Southgate’s next squad.
What disappointed me more than the challenge itself was the fact that he made it at all – there was no need whatsoever.
It was poor and late with even Declan Rice declaring in an after match interview, whilst admitting he hadn’t seen the challenge, that if you are late and high it’s a red – end of.
That Mark should be missing for three games at a time when our midfield resources are stretched to the limit is bad news – he will know that he has let everyone down but chiefly himself.
The winter could be a challenging time for the skipper because new midfield resources are currently being sought and that will put him under pressure.
However, swinging between the rubbish and brilliant extremes helps nothing and I believe that whilst Mark still has a role to play it will probably become less and less over the next 12 months.
At this stage of the Hammers development long term-ism is the way to go. We are becoming a decent side and we haven’t had the results our football deserves.
But it’s coming and I for one refuse to get to upset at this stage on either the Anderson and Noble fronts …or any other!
Sensible and balanced comments.
The Anderson issue is two-fold: firstly, what he has to do – he needs to understand the game and limitations of his team-mates (persistently looking for the cute pass isn’t working) as well as address his defensive duties (though I think he is making more effort here than many of his critics); secondly, his team-mates need to understand his game better.
Both of these matters will be resolved with time. Remember Arnie’s Poor start to his West sham career.
Next – Noble: we all know that pace is not his game. I think lack of pace was responsible for his reckless lunge and he does have a history of going to ground with sliding tackles. Yet he continues to be effective at rallying the troops. I agree that he will play less and less this season, especially if we make a move in the Jan window. At the moment, a fit Obiang and Snodgrass should play ahead of him. Rice’s place is nailed on.
Give Anderson a chance to settle. Looks to have it all except the work ethic but that can be developed . There is no case except shortage of numbers for Noble to even be in the squad . What little he had to offer was based on running around being a nuisance . Now he can’t run he is a liability as his lack of pace and technique means he lunges into tackles time after time , generally after the ball is long gone .
For me my main issue with Anderson is he’s not been exciting. When you spend a club record fee on a Brazilian winger you expect audacious and exciting creative play (I did based on the hype around him).
Yes he’s been creative every now and then (fair play for the assist Saturday), but he can’t seem to beat a man and nothing is coming off.
Hopefully it’s teething problems like with arnie but I just worry we could’ve bought a better talismanic player with that cash.
Well put ahammer
I won’t say anything about Anderson, except that he has been very disappointing, so far. Noble ? Top player; gives his all for the club. Not fast, wayward passing, sometimes. But, he is often careless with his tackling – too impetuous at times with his slide tackling, in particular. He ought (at his age & level of experience) to be more disciplined. Yes, he is going to be played less often because of his age , lack of pace etc.. But, for me an extremely important player in the team.
I am quite sure anderson will come good needs time and confidence to get up to speed
as for Noble i have said before and will say again we are a better side with him than without him
If you look at our record, we seem to win a lot more with Noble in the team. I also like to think that a succession of managers ,who continue to pick him, can’t all be wrong.