Green Street Hammers
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Why Snodgrass and Feghouli should be dropped

By Scott Johnson

STRATFORD, ENGLAND - MARCH 06: West Ham United's Robert Snodgrass during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea at London Stadium on March 6, 2017 in Stratford, England. (Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)
STRATFORD, ENGLAND - MARCH 06: West Ham United's Robert Snodgrass during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea at London Stadium on March 6, 2017 in Stratford, England. (Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images) /
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West Ham have not tasted victory in their last three Premier League games. That needs to change against Bournemouth this weekend.

It’s been a run of games that has left most West Ham fans frustrated. Playing well in parts but without the quality needed to put the game away. First there was the 2-2 draw with West Brom, and then the struggle of a 1-1 away to Watford. And there was a lot of promise in the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, but promise doesn’t get points.

The Hammers need to turn things around in front of goal and that starts with chance creation. To do that, the players who were the wide men in the previous games should be swapped out. And there is good reason for this.

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Pace Out Wide

I feel like I’m repeating myself a lot here, but the Hammers need to get more pace out wide. In the middle, with Lanzini and Carroll, there are players who can hold the ball and cause havoc given enough space, but the defenders need to be drawn away from that area. Lanzini can’t operate if he’s always surrounded.

Feghouli has pace but in recent games he has been sloppy. His first touch always seems to get away from him and the final product just isn’t good enough to warrant a starting position.

Snodgrass has the opposite problem, and his left footedness also restricts Aaron Cresswell. Snodgrass’ left foot is great and he can put a good ball in, but he doesn’t occupy enough defenders. Also when Payet played out on that side he used to cut inside and create space, space which was exploited by the left back moving forward. Now that Snodgrass hangs on the left that space isn’t there.

Bringing Ayew and Antonio in to the left and right flanks respectively will solve these issues. Even though Ayew is left footed he can cut in well, and his right foot is effective enough to give defenders pause for thought.

Goal Threat

The other big things I noticed against Chelsea was that neither of the two wide players offered much in the way of goal threat. The full back just had to keep them wide when they had the ball and it was simple. If you suddenly switch either Ayew or Antonio into these positions it’s not the case.

Both Antonio and Ayew are decent goalscorers. They’re unlikely to let loose from 30 yards but they can find the goal from within the box and, Antonio especially, are extremely proficient in the air. That means the defender has to be on his guard even when the ball is over the othe side of the pitch.

Next: Blunt Attack Costing West Ham

Bringing these two players in will help West Ham to a win over Bournemouth, but not making them could cause more dropped points for the Hammers. It won’t be a walkover, but all the tools are there for a solid win.