West Ham 3-5 Bournemouth: Betway Cup player ratings

After the heartbreak of losing Grady Diangana to West Brom yesterday, West Ham’s players looked to still be effected as they went down 5-3 against Bournemouth in the Betway Cup.

Despite West Ham levelling the scores by half-time as they had found themselves 2-0 down after just 17 minutes, the Hammers failed to capitalise on their comeback and instead collapsed even further, finding themselves 5-2 down before netting a consolation goal.

With just one week until their opening match of the Premier League season at home to Newcastle United, David Moyes will no doubt be worried about what he witnessed from his players this afternoon.

Here are Green Street Hammers’ player and manager ratings after today’s defeat:

David Martin – The club’s third or fourth choice ‘keeper for a reason. He looked like he had no confidence in his own ability, but perhaps more significantly, no confidence in the defence in front of him. 3/10

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Ben Johnson – Subbed off after just 25 minutes after being rinsed repeatedly by Bournemouth’s left-hand side. He resorted to kicking lumps out of them as he picked up a booking before Moyes decided that enough was enough. What will this do to his confidence though? 2/10

Issa Diop – With rumours of the club wanting to bring in James Tarkowski to strengthen the defence, Diop didn’t exactly prove any doubters wrong with a clumsy performance littered with errors. 3/10

Angelo Ogbonna – Was the best out of a horrific bunch in defence, but he simply can’t carry it on his own. Needs an upgraded partner next to him who will provide some stability whilst calming down his workload. 4/10

Aaron Cresswell – Surprisingly, not as much to blame for the goals as the rest of the defence, but still offered nothing in attack, and clearly a position that needs to be improved upon. 4/10

Mark Noble – Without Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek to accompany him in the middle of the park, his ageing legs were given no chance to make up the ground needed to prevent any of the goals. After his tweet about Grady Diangana’s departure last night, his performance looked a frustrated one. 4/10

Manuel Lanzini – Having been placed in a two-man midfield with Noble, it is no surprise that the Hammers found themselves 2-0 down after 17 minutes. Went off with an injury 13 minutes later as the decision to sell Diangana continues looks more and more ridiculous. 4/10

Pablo Fornals – Ineffective and struggling to show his true potential whilst stuck out wide. Needs to be moved centrally to get the best out of the Spaniard. 4/10

Hats off to Fornals for playing left-central-holding-midfield-attacking-winger-back. Absolute pleasure watching him make the position his own today.
— Green St. Hammers (@GreenStHammers) September 5, 2020

Jarrod Bowen – The only bright-spark out of the starters today, as he netted two of the Hammers’ three goals. His goals and assists will be pivotal in West Ham’s probable relegation battle this season. 8/10

Michail Antonio – He huffed and he puffed but things simply didn’t come off for Iron Mike today. He will have days like this, but everyone knows what he is capable of. 4/10

Sebastian Haller – For a man of his size, he continues to struggle to impose himself on games, as the Bournemouth defence dealt with him comfortably, even with a strike partner next to him in Antonio. 4/10

Substitutes:

Ryan Fredericks – Things didn’t exactly improve defensively when Fredericks came on, but he at least looked a calmer presence than Johnson. Another area that needs strengthening, but it is probably one or the other in regards to the full-back positions. 4/10

Josh Cullen – Cullen came on for the injured Lanzini and the team immediately looked a lot more balanced for the remainder of the first half. To add to this, he provided both assists for Bowen’s brace, with the second particularly a fine ball into the box. Potential to be back-up to Rice and Soucek this season. 8/10

Fabian Balbuena – Well, the Hammers only conceded one when he was on the pitch, so that is a plus. Needs to be ready to step into the frame if Diop’s form continues to plummet. 4/10

Felipe Anderson – Scored West Ham’s consolation goal with a fine near-post header which will hopefully gain him some confidence heading into the new season. 6/10

Jack Wilshere – Added nothing of note to the midfield and may now find himself further down Moyes’ pecking order after Cullen’s fine display. 4/10

Arthur Masuaku – It is not ideal that the club’s two left-backs cannot defend. That doesn’t really have much to do with his brief cameo, but I’m just trying to highlight the need for this position to be strengthened – if I hadn’t already. 4/10

Robert Snodgrass – Showed what an asset his set-pieces are with his delivery for Anderson’s goal, and it was nice to see him back out on the pitch. 5/10

Xande Silva – Not much that he could provide with the game already dead and buried. N/A

Manager:

David Moyes – While it must be an admittedly difficult time for Moyes, he got his formation and tactics completely wrong today. With the likes of Rice, Soucek and Lukasz Fabianski back next week, he may not be given the benefit of the doubt again if things go pear-shaped. 2/10