Gonzo hands out his marks
Areola:7 Pipe and slippers time for Areola in the first half when he was mostly untroubled. Had to make a save in the 53rd min but it was a 25 yard daisy cutter but demonstrated his reflexes 2 mins later when Johnson lost his man.
Emerson:6 Looked a bit rusty with a few overhit passes. rarely required to do any defending. Unlucky not to win a freekick but really needs to play to the whistle more. Grew into the game.
Johnson:6 With the exception of Areola Johnson probably saw less of the game than anyone else. In the most part he wasn’t really needed which says much about the chasm in performance between the two sides. When he was eventually tested in the 55th min he failed to switch back on and West Ham were almost punished. Good cross-field passing on occasion.
Ogbonna:6 Playing wider than usual largely due to having nobody to mark and West Ham having the majority of possession.
Aguerd:7 For many the first chance to see our £30m defender. Played at the heart of the defence and displayed a good passing range and organisational skills.
Coufal:7 Overlapped and put in crosses when needed but much of The Irons attacking play was through the middle. Good cross for Benrahma which should have resulted in a goal. Looked fit and sharp.
Emerson:6 Looked a bit rusty with a few overhit passes. rarely required to do any defending. Unlucky not to win a freekick but really needs to play to the whistle more. Grew into the game.Coventry:6 Very comfortable in possession. More than good enough for this level of football. Made a late run to the edge of the box which was picked out by Benrahma but the resulting shot went narrowly wide.
Lanzini:7 The Argentinian was in metronomic cruise control spending much of the game dropping deep to link play. Accurately slotted home the Hammers opener from the penalty spot.
Fornals:7 Good ball for Antonio set up West Ham’s first serious attempt on goal. Far more creative when not playing wide. Should have scored early in the second half.
Benrahma:8 The benefits of back to back starts were evident in his immediate sharpness. A creative hub for much of West Ham’s attacking play. Could have scored 4 on another day.
Antonio:6 Remained vertical during the build up play and was far more effective as a result. Did well to win a penalty when a goal kick looked more likely.
Downes:6 67th min substitute for Fornals. Bizarrely deployed as an attacking midfielder whilst Lanzini remained in the deeper role.
Scamacca:5 Brought on to replace Benrahma. Straight up front alongside Antonio. A chance created for Antonio and a yellow card.
Kehrer: 76th min sub for Aguerd, immediately made an error which Areola had to clean-up.
Rice: 83rd min double sub for Antonio.
Soucek: On for Coventry to close the game out.
Gonzo did you really watch the game ?
It was awful.One of the worst,so many errors and poor shooting
Emerson 1 couldn’t pass,shoot or beat his man
Lanzin 3, his only forward pass was the penalty
Fornals, poor passing,shooting and offside on a couple of occaisions
Coufal 2, one decent cross poor distribution.
Antonio 4, a lazy performance,didn’t look happy speaking to the cameras
Johnson 5,
Ogbonna,3,slow and couldn’t hit the target with an easy header
MOYES AWFUL SET UP , 5 at the back against Silkbourg,embarrasing ,A Lucky penalty
Only Coventry,Aguerd and Areola played well.
We’re only allowed to consider the final scoreline when assessing West Ham games. Everything else is superfluous, apparently. That it’s completely unentertaining, miserable, slow, boring, error laden football doesn’t matter. Just be happy and zip it coz it was 1-0.
Well defended and some nice creativity at the attacking end, but once again our finishing was dire. We should have won this 6-0. Why can’t anyone get the ball to the back of the net in open play?
I hear that Mr Moyes has bemoaned the lack of crowd atmosphere? Look David, if you set up with three DCM players and sit back through the first half again, guess what, the fans are muted. Look at your set up, look at the slow build up from the back leaving a massive gulf up to the forward players. So we lump it and lose it – this is rubbish football for a Premier outfit like West Ham.
I could not have said this any better, 5 wins in Europe (against poor teams) should not distract from the fact that we are playing terrible football, down to the way the team is being set up by the manager. 3 defensive midfielders, how anyone could see Downes as a 10 is beyond anyone that has a football brain. Downes is a holding player and at the moment is playing better than Soucek but Moyes wont drop him. The fans just have about enough of it and if Moyes does not change his approach, the fans will get rid of him through the atmosphere we will create at the games.
Fair ratings. I enjoyed the game. Whilst we had so many chances we failed to put away at least we were creating loads of scoring opportunities. We dominated the game and we’re extremely comfortable. The result was never in doubt. What a fantastic record we’ve got in Europe compared to nearly all the other teams competing in it. Onwards and upwards.