West Ham’s £45m record Seb Haller signing came on as a 69th-minute substitute yesterday but the French striker looks completely disinterested and many supporters were unsurprisingly left underwhelmed with his performance.
Haller missed Spurs last weekend with a reported small knock but returned to training and was chosen for bench duties again by David Moyes.
West Ham supporters were not alone being unimpressed with Haller with the striker receiving the BBC lowest rating of the day at just 5.69.
The record signing as had to wait patiently on the bench this season coming on a late substitute for four Premier League games scoring one goal against Wolves.
Haller started all three games in the Carabao Cup scoring four goals against Charlton Athletic and Hull City but none against Everton.
His last Premier League start came before lock-down on the 7th March in one-nil defeat against Arsenal.
Whether the player is disinterested, frustrated, homesick or just not as good as the amount we paid for him, remains to be seen but something is not right.
Some have speculated whether the £45m elephant in the room could be off in January either on loan or permanently and that is just nine weeks away.
He always seems disinterested. Seen him walking back at the half way line at the stadium showing no inclination to defend from the front. Too often he looks like a passenger. Not convinced by him at all.
Can someone on the coaching staff please show him some videos of Arnautovic working a back line, suggest he does the same and that, if he does, he’ll get lots of goals and plaudits. I’m optimistic that somewhere there there is an effective PL player waiting to show his face.
I think its slightly unfair to judge him coming on at 1-1 when city are on the offensive and we are happy to come away with a point. We was hardly going forward for the game at that point creating chances for him.
Maybe unfair to judge his output but his input was negligeable. He just looks too laid back, even lazy. Forward players, now days, are expected to shut defenders down quickly, not walk or gently jog in their general direction. The old days of the striker merely having to be a goal hanger are well gone. Effort and commitment are paramount in the modern game.
Sooner the better. Seems to have very little to offer.
It would be nice if Haller came good and proved us wrong – but I was thinking earlier today that we are not alone in this quandry – Newcastle paid 42 million for Joelinton who also has not exactly set the PL on fire – teh challenge for Moyes is to get the best out of Haller – if that is not possible then we might have to let him go as suggested
Haller looked promising in his first few games, held the ball up well, had a good first touch, brought others into the game and even crocked a defender with a very ‘strong’ challenge. It’s hard to know what’s happened since, he’s been so poor lately that I wouldn’t include him against Liverpool if Antonio’s injured, I’d rather play Yarmo down the middle or even play Benrahma and experiment without a recognised CF.
Trouble is there’s no chance of offloading him for even half what we paid so we’ll have to trust Moyes to work his magic and get the miserable bloke looking happy. Moyes has done brilliantly to re-ignite a number of our players, Balbuena, Cresswell, Masuaku to name but a few, why not Haller, maybe a very hard size 10 up his bottle is what he needs?
Naturally, Haller will be dispirited when Moyes plays Bowen in Antonio role when Antonio substituted; but Haller has to put in a proper shift for the team when he gets his chance to convince Moyes to play Haller & Antonio together against weaker Pl Teams! Or when Antonio injured.
He can’t and never has played up front on his own, that said, we need to cut our losses and let him go..
I don’t think it helps the way Moyes is treating him but probably there’s more going on behind the scenes than we know. It would have been yet another kick in the teeth for Haller that Yarmalenko was initially brought on to replace Antonio.
it really irritates me, how he gets slagged off at every opportunity ! for one, he should have came on for Antonio and left Bowen on, he had virtually zero service, as we were under the cosh at that point of the game and it was just defend, defend, which meant he was trying to close down, their three defenders on his own. He is not a speed merchant, but really good in the air and has great first touch, but we don’t play to his strengths. If we play him, we need to move someone like Bowen, up closer to him, to run-on to his nod downs etc and get crosses in the box. It’s no wonder he looks a bit ****ed off, when you only getting a few min utes to play, in a system not set up for you !
I agree that Haller has the skills, but he needs an attitude adjustment. Vardy would be a great example for him to follow.
Folks, if we judge players performance per match, one will see that Haller was not that bad.
He came on when the entire team was chasing the ball. And ManC was chasing a win, big time.
For minutes on end, Haller was defending. In fact he never even got a pass from his mates. One of his defensive contributions was a magnificent defensive header, blocking a goal opportunity against us.
In fairness, what Moyes did tnot bringing Haller on for Antonio, was gross. The kind which would make any player extremely unhappy. Moyes brought on Yarmo who had a complete howler.
Understandably Seb has not been great since last season, but how can we complain so about Haller ito his ManC performance?
Couldn’t agree more. He never gets game time with Antonio and Bowen. Always comes on as they go off. Give him crosses to attack and runners off him and he is a different proposition. Complaining about effort yesterday is ridiculous. City were shifting the ball round him like it was a drill. He still chased though. Antonio doesn’t close defenders down as we don’t play a high press but drop as a block. Watch the home game against Southampton- Bowen on the right, Antonio up with Haller, probably one of our best attacking performances since Moyes returned. We are too scared to play a back 4 at the moment but we will need to as Johnham says against teams like Palace who will come to defend not allow us to hit on the break. I believe he will be vital as he allows us to play completely differently.
I believe he has a huge role to play in the games against the so called easier teams. We will need to adapt our system to play 3-5-2 and this will suit Haller down to the ground especially if we play him and Antonio up top with Benhrama or Lanzini as a 10. We will need to play this formation against the weaker teams. I believe he has a huge role to play assuming Moyes see that we will need to be more adventurous.
Appearances can always be deceptive but Haller looks incredibly languid and laid back when he comes on a substitute .Has he ever heard of the motto ” Carpe Diem”? He does nt possess as a sense of urgency on the pitch although he did make one crucial defensive header. It is a tough decision for Moyes and the owners. Does he be patient and try to coax more energetic performances from Haller .Haller has got everything to prove and show the penny has dropped or else £45 million will look like a terrible investment. Moyes will be thinking he can scout a stronger striker for £ 25 to 30 million somewhere ort give a chance to Amadou Diallo.
He was overrated thanks to being in a bundesliga team that had some amazing attacking players in it. He wasn’t one of them. He scored 13 goals that season in a team that had a lot of goals in it. Several of his goals were penalties. Seriously overrated and overpriced. Slow and lethargic. Not bad as a hold up player if we can get runners going off of him but not going to suit the current system or hard working ethic of the other players in our team. Probably has the physicality but not sure he’s up to the pace of the premier league.
I feel for him as under Moyes he literally has had little or not time at all, when he came on we had yarmolenko who was awful yesterday so he had no service against city who were pushing for a win, let’s have it right also did any one say how bad aguero was again 3 cbs on his own up top with little or no service in the 1st half yes he was carrying an injury but still what can you do with no service. Look at his goal against wolves, we was attacking and pushing for more not sitting back we had very good offensive players on the pitch aswell who were performing. He came on didnt have antonio to work with or Bowen to work with no pace around him, we literally was just hoffing the ball away from our back line aswell most of the 2nd half. Yes he ain’t an arnie or couse he ain’t same as he aint an antonio who will work the defence hard, he is a man we need to hit for players to work off and get him in the box for crosses. He ain’t ever played up top on his own he has always be in the middle if a 3 prong attack with pace either side of him, I would our my house on it give him that antonio and bowen with him you will start to see a different player
He reminds me of Anelka except with less energy. He has a bad attitude and doesn’t seem to want to earn a place in the starting line up. If Antonio is injured I would rather see Yarmolenko in the team than Haller or one of the u23’s
My two cents. Haller can not play a single striker. He is a wuss. Even if he played two up Instill dont trust him because he is not fast enough.
Haller has played well when paired with Antonio up front in the past and I still think he could be a real asset to the squad, but neither our current formation nor his on-field manner is helping him. The make-up of our squad means a back 3 with wing backs is the best option. The team is working well on the counter with Antonio up the middle with his pace and power supported by Bowen and Fornals (or maybe Benrahma). I can’t see Moyes changing from this while Antonio is fit. And Haller is no like-for-like alternative to Antonio. As johnham1 has pointed out, this counter-attacking style may not work against all Premiership teams.
I think Haller isn’t helped by us not having a good all-round left back of the standard of Coufal as it prevents us playing 4-4-2 as an option while maintaining our defensive solidity. This could be Johnson, maybe, but Cresswell and Masuaku have been found wanting at LB in the recent past albeit they work well together in our current formation. 3-5-2 could work with Haller as part of a front 2 with either Antonio, Bowen or Benrahma, but who gets left out? It will be interesting to see what Moyes does if or when it comes to it. Either way, I still think a good left back would be a useful addition in January. And it might just help Haller.
Bowen wasn’t doing badly and we only learn if we give the lads a chance. So, apparently pushing him into CF with the addition of Yarmolenko alongside might have proved to be a master stroke. As it was, we didn’t concede any goals thereafter and we did OK when Haller came on. Once again, we were not set-up and trying to play to Haller’s strengths. We were playing our new game – best we’ve played for many years. Haller will get his chance. Not at the expense of Antonio or Bowen, though.
Two referee’s decisions were diabolical. Antonio should have ‘won’ a penalty when he was kicked down from the side/behind. Balbuena should not have received a yellow card caution when he did – wasn’t even a foul. Where is VAR when it should be being used to getting a fair decision?
COYI
Totally agree …its all about working hard and he just Dosnt…surely someone has said this to him,, I think he has potential but he just Dosnt seem interested…its a problem because we need another decent striker because Antonio csnt do it all….what’s hallers problem..I would like to know ..it Dosnt help that he is the only other striker and when Antonio came of ,he didnt replace him ..thats bad really..and will give him the hump even more …get rid and get 2 other working strikers in January…
Haller is a skilful player, no doubt, I remember he was brilliant against Southampton. He seems unsuited, though, to the kind of fast counter-attacking the team has started to excel at.
Haller is a damn good striker if you put a pin point pass in front of him in the box. He cannot compete with Defenders despite his size. He proved in the last game, he is better taking a ball up from the Midfield into attack, where the Defenders can’t pick him up to quickly. I think he needs some practice at being tackled, as well as tackling cleanly.
Let’s be fair DM is not playing hun so how can he be at his best . If we get someone supporting him or at least setting him up he will score plenty. DM needs to give him a chance especially if Mike is injured. COYI ⚒
Le Sulk, seems like a good nickname?
For Haller to excel he needs support up front. To get this our system would have to change, yet again. We have found a system that suits the team. Should Haller adapt his game to suit our system, which suits the rest of the squad, or should we change a successful system to suit a player that can’t adapt. Either way trying to show a little effort when we’re out of possession would be a welcome start.
All I will say on the matter is that for the money that we paid for him, I’d expect much more from him than the “one-dimensional player” that he presents himself as.
I could go through our team and pick players that have had to step up to the plate and adapt……or even try to look like they are interested in helping the rest of the team and manager. I have given him the benefit of the doubt because so many saw something in him that perhaps I didn’t…
He will undoubtably have more chances to prove me wrong.
Let’s hope he can play for the shirt.
Completely agree.Masuaku is the main one that springs to mind. I really hope Haller can adapt and be a valued member of the squad but he’s got to put in a lot more than he currently offers. If he can’t adapt(or won’t) then we have massively overpaid for him. In that case it may be better to sell, even at a loss and get in someone who fits the system. Also someone who fits profile of our latest signings. The least we deserve,as fans, is effort and commitment.
Exactly he cant adapt, he is to slow and not strong enough. I think his skill leevel is amazing. All pelegrini signings were about skill, but thats it. Anderson great skill, pouts. Haller great skill but pouts. Yarmelenko great skill, not fast enough. The spanish kid great skill too and hustle, not fast enough