Felipe Anderson drew a lot of criticism early this season from West Ham supporters but that seems to be fading as his performances have picked up. It’s never fair to jump on a player early in a season just because they were a high priced transfer because, as Anderson is proving this as time can change things.
Overpaid, overpriced, waste of money, luxury player, the criticism was flying in August and September for West Ham’s record signee Felipe Anderson, but just two months after the rough first two months, Anderson is racking up the goals. It was inevitable, wasn’t it though? A player who succeeded in Europe coming to a different league would need time to adjust but surely could make the transition.
The best bit of proof came in West Ham’s game against Newcastle on Anderson’s goal. Earlier this season when Anderson felt contact he would stop running or drop to the ground looking for a foul as it would have been called in Italy’s Serie A. The Premier League is more physical than most leagues and Anderson stopping when feeling contact just created a turnover.
On his goal, Anderson has his marking defender draped all over him trying to pull him down on a swinging tackle. Instead of dropping, Anderson pushed the ball forward, kept his legs moving and bashed through the defender en route to goal.
4️⃣ in 4️⃣ 🙏 pic.twitter.com/2dvUPm5aPg
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 2, 2018
His form since the start of October has been terrific and Anderson is consistently showing up on the score sheet. In this his first Premier League season, Anderson is tied for first in team goals with Marko Arnautovic at 5, leads his team in passes with 587, third in shots with 19, and first in tackles with 37. The stats show it, Anderson is one of, if not THE most important player on this West Ham team.
He showed off his terrific chemistry with striker Marko Arnautovic in this match, as well, springing him in on goal on two separate occasions with perfect long balls. His passing shows off his vision for the game; Anderson sees passes that no one else on the pitch is seeing and it’s proving impactful for this Pellegrini offense.
With Cardiff up next and Crystal Palace on the weekend, Felipe Anderson has an opportunity to continue to put up goals and assists against teams with worse defensive records than the Hammers. Bet on West Ham’s Brazilian beast to continue up the left wing and get in on the goals this holiday season.