ANDERLECT (A) THURS OCT 6TH

alderz

OutcastLondoner said:

alderz said:

MrsGrey said:

Hadn't realised Paqueta was not his real name.

Saw the BBC report of who got the assist and was baffled 😂

I learned when he joined that Paqueta is the name of the neighbourhood he’s from. Brazilians just have no rules.

I learned that as well. But what they didn’t tell us till we saw the bbc line ups is that Lucas isn’t his name either.

Having on a second. The plot thickens.

claretandbluesky

I only saw the second half but thought Downes had a great half and should be allowed start alongside Rice in the Premiership, he broke down play, won tackles and distributed well to other players when in possession, exactly what you want from a DM. In my view he should start Vs Fulham and let Soucek play against Anderlecht next week.

Scamacca is showing the difference between Antonio, who was converted into a striker and an instinctive and natural striker. Scamacca made enough space to get the shot off turned and found the corner whilst barely looking up. In many ways a better goal than his longer range effort against Wolves.

I still feel Fab is our best keeper overall but what reflexes Areola has! As good as Scamacca's goal was his save was better and ensured the three points.

BubblesNeverDies

claretandbluesky said:

I only saw the second half but thought Downes had a great half and should be allowed start alongside Rice in the Premiership, he broke down play, won tackles and distributed well to other players when in possession, exactly what you want from a DM. In my view he should start Vs Fulham and let Soucek play against Anderlecht next week.

Scamacca is showing the difference between Antonio, who was converted into a striker and an instinctive and natural striker. Scamacca made enough space to get the shot off turned and found the corner whilst barely looking up. In many ways a better goal than his longer range effort against Wolves.

I still feel Fab is our best keeper overall but what reflexes Areola has! As good as Scamacca's goal was his save was better and ensured the three points.

Totally agree, especially your point about Scamacca - Antonio would/could not have scored that goal.
However, having said that, I'm expecting someone to post a clip of Antonio scoring an exact same goal.

BubblesNeverDies

Alderz, I think another thing mentioned on Wiki is quite amazing.

" At the age of 15, he was very technically skilled but did not have the physicality of other players his age (he was only 5 ft tall). By age 18, however, he had grown 27 cm (10.6 inches)."

They probably started to feed and water him better.

IronHerb

Good, well deserved win. Once again an ‘odd’ Moyes selection works pretty well. The starters should have had this in the bag but can you ever remember West Ham bringing on the quality of Rice, Paqueta and Scamacca from the bench at the same time?
It’ll be a happy coach ride home. COYI

Lukerz

I thought Downes was outstanding. It’s like having two Rices’ in midfield.

And I thought the whole performance was good. Good control of the game, defended well (apart from that one save from Areola), had several chances. Away from home in Europe. Bowen looks like he’s found some rhythm. Scamacca looked like he’s found his form, Paqueta was much improved. Not really too much to worry about other than Coufal still seeming sloppy.

ASLEFshrugged

Only West Ham, Villarreal and AZ have won all three group games

Whitehorsehammer

In the recent past we have only been able to bring players off the bench with fresh legs to replace someone who had run themselves into the ground or injured. How nice to be able to bring on a real uplift in quality that changed the game and got the win. I also thought Emerson looked good at LWB, and Downes.

alderz

I do like the look of Emerson. He’s a bit more physical than I realised. I think he’s more of a fullback than I thought initially.

Hamstew

I agree Alderz. I often forget he's a brand new player as he seems to have just slotted in nicely.

Slacker

It just feels to me that things are starting to come together. The new lads seem to be finding their feet and the rotation policy seems to look like it’ll bear fruit . Time will tell of course and hopefully this manager will be given that time.

welovethehammers

Lukerz said:

I thought Downes was outstanding. It’s like having two Rices’ in midfield.

I agree. I don’t want to get ahead of myself but how Downes has performed was similar to when Rice broke through for us and played simply as a defensive midfielder (before he developed his ability to drive forwards and make more attacking runs/passes). He’s a lot more dynamic as well as comfortable on the hall than Soucek (although Soucek does offer a more attacking threat both aerially, positionally and also from shooting).

buffybegood

I agree Downes played well, but let's not get too carried away, it was against a team we should be beating, where Josh Cullen, who couldn't get a look in here, went and was one of their best players and was made captain. Soucek's defensive aerial ability should not be ignored either.

OutcastLondoner

In my opinion, Soucek is solidly average with a few qualities that can offer more but that solid part is often undervalued, especially because he raised expectations with his original contributions.

Slacker

Downes , from what we’ve seen ( which isn’t much really) looks like a really good prospect and squad player, he may take Soucek’s place eventually but not just yet for me.
But football is a bit like politics, everything can change pretty quickly.

Bazshuayi

Downes was bought because he possesses the skills and traits shown. I definitely think he deserves a run alongside Rice

buffybegood

Bazshuayi said:

Downes was bought because he possesses the skills and traits shown. I definitely think he deserves a run alongside Rice

Imo I think he was only bought to stop him going to Palace. I think he was definitely on our radar, but I think we'd have adopted a watching brief this summer if we weren't going to lose him, with a view to moving for him next summer if he'd had another good season.