Huddersfield v West Ham 2018 Report- Arnautovic Lanzini show gives Moyes 200th Premier League win

Manuel Lanzini’s brace, his first on the road in the Premier League for fourteen months and a beautiful effort from Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic were enough for West Ham to beat Huddersfield 4-1 at the John Smith’s Stadium and give coach David Moyes his 200th Premier League win as manager- only Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Harry Redknapp have more wins than the Scotsman.

West Ham had lost only one of their last six Premier League games going into this clash- Huddersfield, by comparison, had won ONLY once in their last six, which mean that this would be an intriguing fixture despite the Hammers’ indifferent away form.

For West Ham, James Collins took the place of Winston Reid in defence and Arnautovic returned to the XI after recovering from a hamstring problem. David Wagner chose to put new Huddersfield signing Alex Pritchard on the bench. [Read more…]

Shrewsbury Town v West Ham (FA Cup) Player Ratings

It was pretty abysmal to watch, with the Hammers hardly troubling their third tier opponents, and the Shrewsbury manager saying after the game that “Bury had been tougher opponents” than David Moyes’ side. The game ended in a 0-0 draw, with the League One side earning a replay at the London Stadium.

There was little attacking threat of note from the Hammers and that is reflected in the attackers’ player ratings, with the likes of Hernandez and Ayew copping flak from the media. Pedro Obiang, the scorer of a wonder goal in West Ham’s previous game, and fellow midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate, weren’t rated highly, with the Senegalese given a rating of just 3 by one London news outlet. [Read more…]

Bournemouth v West Ham 2017 Boxing Day Player Ratings (by the media)

Here is how West Ham’s players were rated by the media after their 3-3 draw away at Bournemouth. The Hammers took the lead twice in the game only for a late controversial goal from Callum Wilson to see the Cherries pick up a point.

Not surprisingly, veteran Pablo Zabaleta was one of those poorly rated- the congested Christmas schedule appears to be taking its toll on the veteran Argentine, who struggled with Christian Atsu in the previous game, and with Ryan Fraser and Andrew Smith in this outing.

Ghana international Andre Ayew also came for in some flak- he missed a golden opportunity to put West Ham 2-0 up in the first half, and was taken off early in the second as Moyes injected both Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez from the bench for greater attacking threat.

Sky gave the returning Manuel Lanzini a 7 (the joint highest with other WHUFC players) while others thought the Argentine wasn’t so influential on his return from suspension.

The best rated players, not surprisingly were Arthur Masuaku and Marko Arnautovic, who have upped their game since the arrival of Moyes, and defender James Collins, who was captain for the afternoon in the absence of Winston Reid and Mark Noble [Read more…]

Bournemouth v West Ham Boxing Day 2017 Analysis- Bobby Madley Robs WHUFC of 3 points?

That’s probably what most West Ham fans will feel at the final whistle- robbed of three points thanks a dubious late equaliser (both offside and handball) awarded by referee Bobby Madley who chose to overrule the decision of his assistant.

In hindsight though, a point was probably a fair result for the game. Bournemouth did create more chances and two of West Ham’s goals were effectively gifts by Cherries keeper Asmir Begovic, who would’ve been the most relieved person on the pitch after Madley chose to allow Wilson’s stoppage time goal.

It was a thrilling Boxing Day fixture between the Hammers, who were just outside the drop zone, and Bournemouth, who were just in it- 17th vs 18th. Despite West Ham’s poor form on the road, they would’ve fancied their chances against the Cherries, who had the second worst home record in the Premier League after bottom of the table Swansea [Read more…]

West Ham v Newcastle 2017 player ratings- Arnautovic and Masuaku shine

Here is look at how West Ham’s players were rated by major media outlets after their disappointing 3-2 loss against Newcastle at the London Stadium over the weekend. It was a massive win for Rafa Benitez’s Magpies and a morale crushing result against West Ham- you don’t expect to collect four points against Chelsea and Arsenal only to lose to a woefully out-of-form Newcastle.

Not surprisingly Arthur Masuaku and Marko Arnautovic were the pick of the lot, although the Daily Mail surprised us by rating Arthur below Michail Antonio and the same as Cheikhou Kouyate. Masuaku was one of the few who looked like they could make things happen, with West Ham crying for creativity in the absence of the suspended Manuel Lanzini.

Kouyate and Obiang had a poor day in midfield. The former has come in for more criticism than the latter, and so have defender Pablo Zabaleta, who was troubled by the pacy Christian Atsu all afternoon, and Michail Antonio, who clearly looks short on match fitness [Read more…]