Bournemouth away Sunday 23rd April 14.00 BST.

chicagohammer

nychammer66 said:

Or, we could win all our remaining games and finish 5th with 55 points. Mathematically possible….

Blimey, if we end up fifth, even I might have to surrender and agree that DM should stay on

OutcastLondoner

Is Fornals ok? I’ve only just been able to watch highlights and his reaction to the goal is so intense. On Thursday he miscontrolled a pass when we were 4-1 up and was furious and booted it at the crowd. Don’t know if it’s something deeper or he just really cares about how this season has gone but hope whatever it is the goal helps him break through. Happy he got his goal, he deserves it.

buffybegood

OutcastLondoner said:

Is Fornals ok?

Not sure tbh, I've been thinking on it this evening. He's definitely a bit emotional atm, his reaction to his mis-control on Thursday, and then after scoring today suggests something's not right. Is he just frustrated by lack of game-time? Has it been intimated to him that we're going to offload him in the summer? He's very much a family man, is something wrong with his wife or son, or another member of his family?

His form has been a concern, and it's strange how Benrahma, without really doing anything special, has completely overtaken him for the left forward position. Last season it felt as though Benny could hardly get a start, even though he often looked bright in his cameos; Fornals was definitely one of Moyes's starters even though his form dropped off quite badly as he seemed to struggle with adjusting to the changes parenthood brings (this isn't supposition, he said as much in an interview).

I must admit, I didn't think Fornals looked great in at least one of the AEK games given the level of opposition, so maybe Moyes has been making reasonable and fair calls based on what he sees in training, and the lack of game-time, whether he feels it's justified or not, is getting to Fornals, hence his reactions on Thursday and today.

However, a concern is that his contract is up in just over a year, so crunch time is kinda now. Is he doing enough to earn a new contract? If so, will it be for what he feels he's worth? If not, then you'd think we'll try to offload him in the summer otherwise he walks for free next summer. Perhaps he and the club are miles apart in their contract negotiations so he feels it's inevitable he'll be leaving. Personally I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case, especially given how flat he was in the post match interview:



and in his tweet:

https://twitter.com/WestHam/status/1650207408323694592

Alternatively, as I mentioned above, it could be something entirely non-football related such as family or personal issues.

Fortuneseeker

buffy, Does this clarify any of your points? -

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/david-moyes-pablo-fornals-west-ham-bournemouth-b1076126.html

IronHerb

I don't understand the 'prioritise the ECL' vibe. We haven't put weak teams out in it all season and I don't see us doing that now.

Yeoldhammer

I would think its quite easy to understand why Fornals was emotional. Even Antonio mentioned it in his post match interview. The guy has barely started for West Ham and hasn't got as much game time as he has had in the previous season/campaign. He probably feels he has been on the fringe of the first 11 the entire season and i imagine probably put a lot of the blame on himself. Coming on as a sub and scoring a goal probably vindicated to himself that despite not starting every week he is still a huge contributor to the club.

I think when you are a young player like Fornals not playing and not scoring and combine that with sub appearances where you are not scoring hits hard. A bit different to someone like Lanzini perhaps who is on the peripheral of the first team but is old enough to understand and deal with it better and maybe understand his role at the club is a lot different.

alderz

I think, like Yeold says, has just had a tough year. He's always struck me as one of the players that cares the most, and loves the club. Things haven't worked for him this season, and that must be tough to deal with, particularly when the season itself has been bad. If he'd been out of the team and we'd been fantastic then that's probably easier to deal with that.

That said, I don't know how much his age has to do with it. He's 27 and Lanzini hjas just turned 30, so it's not like we're talking about a kid vs a grizzled veteran. And Manu hasn't been a regular started for us since before his knee injury in 2017/18.

MrsGrey

I might be reading too much into it, but did you notice Rice's reaction to the goal, as well. I thought he looked a bit upset ( or maybe his contact lens was causing problems again).

Maybe there's something going on in Fornals personal life, and the captain knows, but it's private so not being mentioned in interviews.

Only speculation. Not a conspiracy theory:-)

Slacker

I’ve watched yesterday’s Match of the Day three times now, tis a thing of beauty .
😊❤️⚒

thornburyiron

Thing I’ve noticed recently is how enthusiastic Paqueta gets when we score, a bit like Pablo does.
Pablo obviously loves the club.

OutcastLondoner

MrsGrey said:

I might be reading too much into it, but did you notice Rice's reaction to the goal, as well. I thought he looked a bit upset ( or maybe his contact lens was causing problems again).

Maybe there's something going on in Fornals personal life, and the captain knows, but it's private so not being mentioned in interviews.

Only speculation. Not a conspiracy theory:-)

Yes that was also part of why it struck me.

If it’s just because he’s not playing I think it’s actually quite nice because it shows how deeply he cares compared to most players who won’t react like that when they get their break. I hope it’s just that and that things start to fall his way now.

PrestonHammer

He'll bang in a couple of goals Wednesday and he'll be as right as rain.

buffybegood

I do worry about the contract situation though 🤔🤔🤔, given his lack of game time the club may well not offer him as much as he feels he deserves. We must be in negotiations atm, as if agreement can't be reached he'll surely be sold in the summer.

thornburyiron

It may just have been his sheer relief that he was able to contribute to the team’s great performance as he hadn’t scored since the Villa away game. He always gives his all no matter how many or how few minutes he plays.

Lukerz

Benrahma needs a few games on the bench. The amount of ball he gets a game & is so wasteful with it time & time again.

Cresswell has made a difference to us, especially going forward. 7 points in 3 games against Fulham, Arsenal & Bournemouth with him at LB.