Player watch - where are they now?

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in Other Teams & Matches
This discussion was created from comments split from: Midweek(ish) games 12th - 14th January.
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  • Cuz1Cuz1
    Haller picked tonight after his cameo appearance over the weekend
  • Cuz1Cuz1
    Well after 7 mins he scores
  • alderzalderz
    Do we need a separate thread for updates on what players that don’t play for West Ham are doing?
  • ASLEFshruggedASLEFshrugged
    Haller scored and got an assist
  • PrestonHammerPrestonHammer
    He started off pretty well for us last season. Let's see where he is in 10 games time.
  • LukerzLukerz
    Easy in the mickey mouse league
  • Cuz1Cuz1
    Of course lukerz
  • Cuz1Cuz1
    I think that is so disrespectful to a player who’s goal will probably be goal of the season, who moyes said he was happy with, and had won us a few games, who was played out of position for the majority of his time with us to be now said things like Micky mouse league, the Mickey Mouse league he played in prompted your club to pay a record fee for but it’s ok footballs all about opinions and he might be your scapegoat but he wasn’t mine, now Antonio as finally won you over let’s hope he’s never out injured again or hits a bad run of form because he be the next you throw under the bus
  • alderzalderz
    It is a bit of a Mickey Mouse league though. There are about three teams with money and some quality and the rest are bang average. There’s a reason Tadic was average at Southampton and brilliant there. There’s a reason 37 year old Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored two coming off the bench. Ajax are a good team, but the majority of the teams they play in the league are trash.
  • Cuz1Cuz1
    Very similar to the present premier league where 3 or 4 can win it the rest can hope, except for the odd fairy tale ie Leicester few years back
  • jay_in_cptjay_in_cpt
    edited January 2021
    Cuz, while I admire you sticking up for Haller, IMO the Dutch league is more championship level than premier league, also not sure about your comment about playing him out of position? He did start as a forward didn’t he.
    IMO quality players can adapt, not sure he succeed there.
    Just feel that he could and should have put more effort in, he just looked disinterested at best

    And for me Lanzini’s goal trumps Haller’s!!
    But we all are entitled to our opinions...

    Personally think he’s found his level in the Dutch league.
  • LukerzLukerz
    Cuz - why are you so annoyed I don’t rate Haller? If you want to support him & feel he was hard done by, fine. You are entitled to that view. If you feel the Dutch league is a quality league, again you are entitled to that.

    I mean you only have to his goal yesterday; loads of movement, effort to get into the box, effort to try & make space away from his his man, a cross comes in and he heads it in. We put loads of decent deliveries in on a regular basis. How come Soucek is able to score so many goals, particularly headers? Look at Dawson’s goal against Stockport. Look at Antonio’s goal record since the first lockdown.

    Haller failed here because of him. Nothing to do with system, service, style, manager. He’s a striker. His job is to score goals via a combination of clever play, movement, desire, finishing ability etc. He didn’t show any of those often enough. He’ll be fine at Ajax. He’ll get time & space on & off the ball, he’ll get sides who can’t defend, he won’t face a Burnley type team over there & he’s playing for one of the top two sides in the league. He’ll probably get a few goals. He’s not good enough for the Premier League. Whether that’s down to skill or attitude, only he will know that.

    Antonio is a different story. I didn’t rate him massively as a footballer, especially when he played as a winger. I think he has improved a hell of a lot technically over the last few years & I think that probably started under Pellegrini. His all round game seemed to improve under Pellegrini after it had stagnated under Bilic. Moyes has worked wonders for him as a central striker & playing up front, if he makes a mistake with his control or passing, he has players behind him to deal with that.
  • alderzalderz
    Cuz1 said:

    Very similar to the present premier league where 3 or 4 can win it the rest can hope, except for the odd fairy tale ie Leicester few years back

    I think you’re deliberately misunderstanding. Every single league in Europe has a handful of teams or that could win the league. But there are a few that are competitive throughout the division and are at a higher standard than another. If you can’t look at the Dutch league and see that VVV Venlo and ADO Den Haag would flop in the premier league then I don’t know what to tell you.
  • baracks_a_hammerbaracks_a_hammer
    I remember can wolfswinkel scored reasonsbly well in the Dutch league, came to Norwich and it was a disaster.

    Interesting that in the same game that Haller scored, even a 37 yo Huntelaar managed to grab a couple as a sub

  • OldCastleSwiftOldCastleSwift
    Was it Alfonso Alves at Boro? Scored at more than a goal a game in the Dutch league and then bombed (relatively) in the PL.

    There will have been some successes over the years (Bony did well at Swansea for example), but I think it's widely accepted that the Dutch league is nowhere near as competitive or the standard as high as the PL, and the step up more difficult than the step down that Haller's made (in terms of the league, if not the club).

    Personally I have no interest in what Haller does now. I was excited when he signed, but never felt like he bought into the club fully, never seemed to work hard enough (probably looked worse as he was in direct comparison to Antonio who chased everything down) and generally didn't contribute enough. Undoubtedly he's a good player, but just not suited to the PL.
  • ASLEFshruggedASLEFshrugged
    edited January 2021
    Id say the Dutch league is more like Scotland, two clubs that regularly compete at European level and the rest Championship clubs with Feyenoord as the occasional spoiler
  • PrestonHammerPrestonHammer
    Luis Suarez came from Ajax before joining Liverpool but he is definitely the exception.
  • alderzalderz
    The original Ronaldo played at PSV, and most Dutch internationals come out of the Dutch league at some point. But then Andrew Robertson used to play for Queen’s Park and that doesn’t make them a good side from a good league.
  • Cuz1Cuz1
    I will leave my thoughts out on this subject except I’m consistent in my opinions, I’m sure as a manager I’d have got more out of him, he has stated himself he liked him even rated him but failed imo to support him, and quality service and crosses I’d agree but not to haller
  • OutcastLondonerOutcastLondoner
    edited January 2021
    The problem with Haller wasn't Moyes or Haller, it was Pellegrini or whoever bought him. The same with almost every striker we've bought under G and S but Haller is so clearly limited by certain abilities, especially his speed, that you have to be absolutely clear what you're going to do with him when you buy him.

    I think if he does well at Ajax, it won't just be because of the quality of the league but also because they have bought him with a plan. That they've been talking to him so long and moved so quickly is an indication of how they knew that he was the player they needed. It will be interested to see him in the Champions League, assuming they get into it next season.
  • BubblesNeverDiesBubblesNeverDies
    edited January 2021
    Cuz1 said:

    I will leave my thoughts out on this subject except I’m consistent in my opinions, I’m sure as a manager I’d have got more out of him, he has stated himself he liked him even rated him but failed imo to support him, and quality service and crosses I’d agree but not to haller

    Can't seem to post that "flogging a dead horse" gif
  • Cuz1Cuz1
    Obviously in your opinion
  • FortuneseekerFortuneseeker
    BND, that horse is still connected to a life support system. =)
  • ASLEFshruggedASLEFshrugged
    Haller got another assist, Ajax 1-0 Feyenoord

    Feyenoord managed by Dick Advocaat who managed Rangers then managed Zenit St Petersburg who beat Rangers in the UEFA Cup final
  • Cuz1Cuz1
    Who beat Celtic who beat Aberdeen who drew with hearts😂😂
  • WHU_Champo_league_in_7_yearsWHU_Champo_league_in_7_years
    The Dutch league is awful, its about championship level with ajax/psv head and shoulders above the rest

    He could score against a goal a game and wouldn't change my kind that he wasn't cut out for this league
  • ASLEFshruggedASLEFshrugged
    He was good enough for the Bundesliga which is certainly higher quality than the Eredivise, scored twice against both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund

    I think it was more that he wasn't cut out for West Ham
  • baracks_a_hammerbaracks_a_hammer
    For me one of the things that is telling is that a tall, target-man centre forward SHOULD offer up a threat from crosses and set pieces. As a whole, under Moyes, we are a very real threat from set pieces and crosses. But that is because of Oggy, Soucek, Balbuena, Antonio and now Dawson. Look at Dawson late on in the stockport game - the look in his eyes and the run he made. He really wanted it. You never got much of that from Haller IMO. You did get it from AC when he took the field.
  • ASLEFshruggedASLEFshrugged
    The big test will be how Haller fares in the Europa League.

    Ajax have drawn Lille, currently 2nd in Ligue 1, level on points with PSG. No pushovers
  • chicagohammerchicagohammer
    I just do not think that Haller fitted our system, he is not a strong hold it up type of striker who ever looked threatening to me as a sole striker, I think he needs someone alongside him. Antonio has the energy, pace and strength to make a general nuisance of himself and a decent fist of being on top on his own.

    If we wanted a sole striker then Haller should not have on our shopping list.
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