There are those among us who always like to have a fall guy.
Ahead of the Wolves match there were those calling for Jarrod Bowen to be dropped in favour of Andriy Yarmolenko on the back of a couple of decent Carabao Cup outings from the Ukrainian. That wouldn’t have been the greatest idea in the world given Jarrod’s brilliant performance against Wolves, would it?
Another guy who has been getting a fair amount of stick over recent games and being selected as a likely candidate for the chop is Pablo Fornals.
It’s all very reminiscent of the days when Arthur Masuaku and/or Aaron Creswell were being slaughtered but in the case of Fornals, the stats prove the discussion to be nonsense.
For it has been pointed out to us by Claretandhugh Facebook follower Dave McLelland that the idea really should be a non-starter.
He points out that the Spaniard has assisted more goals in the Premier League than any other player for West Ham (six).
Later we will be producing a ” Bowen by number ” story which tells just how much the £23 million signing from Hull has contributed since arriving at the club.
Would love to see the running stats for Bowen, Soucek, Fornals vs Anderson, Noble, Lanzini.
I have a good idea who might be getting around the pitch putting the hard yards in vs last years midfielders.
No surprise Moyes picks the grafters, a couple of goals and Fornals will get more confidence as well.
Thank you.
Same idiots that think the sun shines out of Capt Nobles backside . Fornals and Bowen are the engine of the team . Surely everyone can see that our midfield is 100% more mobile and athletic without Mr West Ham . ?? At last we are heading in the right direction . The worrying thing is that Moyes had the decision made for him by injury and he is banged on to revert to the pedestrian old guard when injury heals ….
With the League Cup being played every week, we actually have a good opportunity to get a lot of players back in form. I don’t think our team that plays in the Premier League games is necessarily the best team, as far as ability goes, but it is the best team based on form (if you include last season, which wasn’t that long ago). The out of form players are starting to get some swagger back in the league cup. I’m excited to see them against Everton on Wednesday. If they can perform to a high quality against tougher opposition, it will definitely put pressure on the players starting in the Premier League, which is a great position to be in.
Fornals wasn’t the player I thought he was going to be when we first got him. But he is getting better every week. Long may it continue.
I’m surprised that it has to be pointed out to anyone what a shift Fornals puts in. He also provided two assists in the last game, though admittedly one was via the upright so won’t count.