West Ham v Chelsea 24 Apr 5.30pm

OutcastLondoner

alderz said:

OutcastLondoner said:

Unfortunately I don’t think Benrahma will start, though I personally think he usually brings something to the team. I think the Newcastle game should be a lesson that he needs to be starting the rest of the games.

I’ve started listening to the West Ham Way podcast, and I’m learning that people apparently don’t rate him at all, and I find it so hard to understand. I feel like I’m seeing something nobody else does

I’ve seen it occasionally when I start onto Facebook and a club post comes up. Most of the commenters seem to judge him on the lack of goals, which I don’t think is a problem at all. I’ve also seen stuff about him being lightweight or not tracking back which I think is nonsense based on stereotypes of players like him. I think there have been plenty of games where he’s worked very hard.

Cuz1

I think he needs to do more or maybe given an extended run, there’s deffo something there just needs to produce it more imo

alderz

Cuz1 said:

I think he needs to do more or maybe given an extended run, there’s deffo something there just needs to produce it more imo

That’s exactly it for me. He needs the run of games to properly produce. When he had that spell of being in the team a lot he was really dangerous looking, but he’s just not had any games since Lingard arrived.

ASLEFshrugged

As I mentioned earlier in the thread on Tuesday Brighton pressed Chelsea from the first whistle to the last and it worked a treat. Chelsea were caught in possession or were forced into sloppy passes loads of times and we need to do the same.

I don't know how much Benrahma offers defensively, maybe he hasn't had enough time on the pitch or maybe when he was on the pitch it was so little that I didn't notice but if he starts he's going to have to dig in and work as hard as the rest.

alderz

Just looking at some Benrahma stats on whoscored.com and comparing to other AMs at the club.

Tackles Attempted Per 90
1. Fornals - 3.6
2. Benrahma - 2.8
3. Bowen - 1.5
4. Lingard - 1.4

Tackle Success Rate
1. Bowen - 60%
2. Lingard - 57%
3. Benrahma 54 %
4. Fornals - 39%

Interceptions Per 90
1. Fornals - 1.3
2. Bowen - 0.8
3. Benrahma - 0.5
4. Lingard - 0.4

Dribbles Attempted Per 90 whoscored counts dribbles as attempted to take on a player, not just running with the ball
1. Benrahma - 5.0
2. Lingard - 3.2
3. Bowen - 2.3
4. Fornals - 1.9

Dribble Success Rate
1. Bowen - 57%
2. Benrahma - 56%
3. Fornals - 53%
4. Lingard - 34%

Possession Lost Per 90 either through poor touch or being tackled
1. Benrahma - 5.3
2. Bowen - 4.0
3. Lingard - 3.0
4. Fornals - 2.1

Key Passes Per 90 i.e. chances created for another player
1. Benrahma - 1.5
2. Bowen - 1.0
3. Lingard - 0.9
4. Fornals - 0.8

IMO, his tackling attempt and success rates show that he does work, his dribbling ability is superior to all the others (which is the thing I most like about him), and he creates chances at a greater rate than the others too. What lets him down is his care in possession. He loses the ball more in 90 minutes than Fornals and Lingard combined, which is a real issue.

(Two other things that stand out to me are how poor Fornals tackle success rate is, and how poor Jesse's dribble success rate is)

ASLEFshrugged

Nice work, Alderz

Yeoldhammer

I rate Benrahma, i think it would be a monumental mess up to move him on. Seems exactly like the kind of player that once he finds the net and hits that purple patch the goals will start to become more regular.

MunichHammer

But how much are these stats influenced by him only coming on in the dying stages of the game when we have been under the cosh in recent games? He's been having to defend most of the time.

thornburyiron

Am I right in thinking that we’ve only lost back to back games once this season and that was at the beginning starting with Newcastle followed by a derby?

baracks_a_hammer

thornburyiron said:

Am I right in thinking that we’ve only lost back to back games once this season and that was at the beginning starting with Newcastle followed by a derby?

Well that’s a cheery start to Friday morning isn’t it.

alderz

MunichHammer said:

But how much are these stats influenced by him only coming on in the dying stages of the game when we have been under the cosh in recent games? He's been having to defend most of the time.

If, in the dying embers of a game when we're clinging on, he's still managing that level of dribbling and key passes, then IMO his attacking strengths are enough to get him into any team I'm picking!

thornburyiron

Both Lawro and Sky go for 0-2. I wasn’t aware that of the 9 games we’ve lost this season 7 have been against what we used to call the big 6.

buffybegood

thornburyiron said:

Both Lawro and Sky go for 0-2. I wasn’t aware that of the 9 games we’ve lost this season 7 have been against what we used to call the big 6.

Yeah, and the other 2 were against Newcastle.

OutcastLondoner

thornburyiron said:

Both Lawro and Sky go for 0-2. I wasn’t aware that of the 9 games we’ve lost this season 7 have been against what we used to call the big 6.

Yes we haven’t done well against them. There was that mock table that showed results if the ‘big 6’ were kicked out and their results cancelled out we would be clear at the top by 9 points. We’ve been very consistent against the rest of the league.

MrsGrey

MunichHammer said:

But how much are these stats influenced by him only coming on in the dying stages of the game when we have been under the cosh in recent games? He's been having to defend most of the time.

It's a shame that the stats aren't broken down in that way. (They could be, but it would be A LOT of work).

(PS, it passed me by at the time, but is he really our 3rd highest transfer fee?)

alderz

MrsGrey said:

MunichHammer said:

But how much are these stats influenced by him only coming on in the dying stages of the game when we have been under the cosh in recent games? He's been having to defend most of the time.

It's a shame that the stats aren't broken down in that way. (They could be, but it would be A LOT of work).

(PS, it passed me by at the time, but is he really our 3rd highest transfer fee?)

It's actually not as much work as you'd think! whoscored now offers the option to break down by section of the game, I think in 15 minute intervals.

OutcastLondoner

I still think they’re impressive stats. Just under half his games have been starts and he’s still got good attacking stats - so he’s not just defending. The loss of possession thing is understandable, it’s a bit like Bruno Fernandes having quite bad passing accuracy. The key thing about Benrahma is how much he creates for others and I think that really goes under the radar.

He’s really all we wanted from Felipe Anderson. Tracks back, creates for others and is brave at taking on players.

yoyo

Moyes today : Team news:

"We’re very much the same as we were last week.

"There are one or two getting closer to fitness. I’m not sure whether they’ll make it.

"Jesse Lingard had a bit of cramp last week which we didn’t see as being too big a problem at the time and he’s fine.

We’re hopeful that we can get Declan [Rice], Micky [Antonio], Aaron Cresswell and Arthur [Masuaku] back amongst it soon because they’ve been important players for us.

"Aaron Cresswell is getting closer, we’ll monitor it and see how he feels by tomorrow."

steve

Full strength it is then

buffybegood

steve said:

Full strength it is then

Bare bones I think is closer.

Cuz1

Perhaps they should bring a law in where your allowed cover for injuries, or selling without replacements lined up, you never know it could catch on 😂

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

Huge game. Nice to have a huge game for the right reasons, too.

COYI

Lukerz

Is it me or is there a lot of negativity from Hammers on social media? Seems lots of emotive words about bottling it etc if we finish 7th or 8th. What a load of rubbish. Whether we finish 4th or 8th, it’s been a season to be proud of & I am looking forward to a big game tonight that could decide Champions League qualification, instead of relegation.

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

I'm seeing so much negativity everywhere. We'd be 4th with a win tonight with 5 games to go. Very confusing.

It's almost like the fanbase would be happier if we'd be 10th all season and were going to finish 10th.

Fortuneseeker

Lukerz/Jorderz, It's the hope and expectation which could bring a not so sweet sorrow.

ASLEFshrugged

Maybe they're not used to being optimistic although given everything that has happened to the club since 90th minute of the FA Cup final 2006 that is understandable. Rather ironic that we sing about our dreams fading and dying, you'd think we'd be a much more stoic bunch.

I'm with Lukerz, I don't care where we finish this season it has been outstanding and the future looks promising.

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

Fortuneseeker said:

Lukerz/Jorderz, It's the hope and expectation which could bring a not so sweet sorrow.

Surely having something to hope for is better than another season of relegation fears/mid-table nothingness, though?

Lukerz

Recent seasons I have gone into games being apathetic about it due to week after week of consistent dross & lack of effort from the team. This season I actually go into games with belief we can get results.

claretandbluesky

I doubt many fans really feel we are bottling it if they stopped for a minute to think about it. We have lost two key players in Rice and Antonio. We rode that out for a couple of matches but it caught up with us at Newcastle. A win or draw today keeps us in the fight and a loss doesn't make it impossible.

I think most balanced football watchers expect us to be around 6th or 7th come the May, but we have a something to fight for and I have no doubt each player will give it everything. We only need a bit of luck and 4th or 5th is not out of the question just yet.

Lukerz

What a beautiful sight...