What has disappointed lately for West Ham is a general lack of effort from the first team, and this week’s player grades reflect this trend as only two players ‘pass’ their match report card!
Starting Eleven:
Roberto – 4: On his best day he isn’t going to be a game-changer for West Ham, but he did come up with two massive saves on Allan Saint-Maximin breakaways. He ultimately had a hand in all three goals against including a stoppable free kick due to a bad dive. He deserves his grade… a 5 was tempting, though.
Pablo Zabaleta – 3: Selected for a second week in a row and making zero impact for the second week in a row, at least Zabaleta is consistent! He was the victim of poor team selection by Pellegrini, but he will be having nightmares about Saint-Maximin. Shouldn’t be a starter anymore.
Fabian Balbuena – 4: Constantly guessing about where to stick a foot in, Balbuena looks a different player than a year ago in his breakout, debut season for West Ham. Angelo Ogbonna was dropped for him but, despite his goal, he hasn’t helped the Hammers much.
Issa Diop – 5: Our best defender and unjustly carded on a dive by Miguel Almiron, Issa Diop looked just okay today, which puts him lightyears ahead of the rest of the back four. Diop is fine in the team and deserves credit for the heavy lifting he’s been doing this season.
Aaron Cresswell – 2: Harsh? Maybe, but for a player who’s attacking prowess is crossing, Cresswell looked absolutely toothless down the left flank today. His chemistry with Anderson is hit-or-miss and today it was largely a miss. He was also unable to mark his men on the first two goals against.
Mark Noble – 3: More like Mark No-where, because he was a ghost in the midfield today. He was either giving up possession, passing the ball backward, or making a run far too deep and late for the team creatives to pick out. He’ll take this on the chin and bounce back, I’m sure of it.
Declan Rice – 4: A generous grade for Rice here who interrupted West Ham’s attack more than Newcastle’s in this game. He didn’t seem himself on the pitch and was overrun with the slightest bit of pressure. That being said, he also had moments of brilliance, they were just few and far between.
Andriy Yarmolenko – 3: The second half time sacrifice after Mark Noble was actually trying to attack and get the ball in the air so for that I applaud him. He tracked back, pressed forward, and tried to make runs for the defense to pick out. A victim of Snodgrass playing well.
Robert Snodgrass – 7: The only player who looked like they actually cared about the result, as always Snodgrass ran his lefts off in this match. He looked like he wanted to play every position on the pitch, but relented when Lanzini came on, setting him up for an amazing volleyed goal. Must start player right now.
Felipe Anderson – 6: The stick he has been getting from fans has been completely unjustified and today he showed why. Isolated as much as Haller, Anderson constantly is pushing the team forward instead of side to side, and if the offense begins clicking it will be because of him actually getting midfield support. Another fine game from the Brazilian.
Sebastien Haller – 4: Two attempted overhead kicks and aerial service in the second half showed exactly what Haller can do when the ball is played to him. He looked much more of a threat when Ajeti was brought on, as well, as his coverage was split in half. Get him the damn ball. His passing was atrocious, however, and killed the limited attacking mojo.
Substitutes:
Albian Ajeti (45′) – 4: The first extended look at Ajeti with legitimate starting players and who would have guessed, he actually looked decent. Newcastle’s defenders boxed him out on numerous occasions, but he hung high when Haller dropped low. 4-4-2 moving forward, please.
Manuel Lanzini (45′) – 5: A stint on the bench has done him well because Lanzini was back in his ‘turn and run’ groove when he came on the pitch. Despite Newcastle packing the midfield he still found space and created a goal with some deceptive and precise crossing. Time to start him again.
Ryan Fredericks (72′) – N/A: There is no use in grading Ryan Fredericks because it isn’t fair to him. He shouldn’t have been dropped two weeks ago, he should have started this match, and with just about 20 minutes left to play, he’s brought on. Consider this a push.