After an impressive 7th place finish last season, West Ham United have struggled to find their form in the league this season. Slaven Bilic’s men have failed to find their hold and are currently sitting just above the relegation zone in the 17th position. Things have just not clicked for Bilic this season with most of the new recruits failing to adapt to the play and seasoned players losing their form.
The Hammers have lost 6 games already this season winning only 3 and conceding 20 goals. Their star players are already linked with European giants outside England. Although hardly any players have stepped up for the Hammers this season, T4O looks at 3 stars and 3 flops for the Hammers this season.
Stars
Michail Antonio
Owing to Simone Zaza’s horrible performance in front of the goal, Bilic had to turn to his winger Antonio. And the 26-year old has been decent in that position. He has scored five goals this season, creating 11 chances and no assists. Antonio has completed 208 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 73%, of which 67% were forward passes. Although his shot accuracy is 42%, it highlights the number of chances West Ham creates in the game.
Manuel Lanzini
One of the very few recruits of last season who has been up to the mark for Bilic. The 23-years old has been a threat for the opponents in the wings and has gelled up well with Payet. Lanzini has scored two goals this season, creating 13 chances. Lanzini has completed 312 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 89%, of which 69% were forward passes. His defensive contribution is not needed due to the clever deployment of Cresswell in the wing back position.
Dimitri Payet
There is absolutely no doubt about the Frenchman’s quality. It is just that he does not have the right kind of players around him in West Ham. It is only fitting that he moves to a bigger club. He has once again scored in the World Cup qualifications last weekend. He has even been nominated for the Ballon d’Or. For West Ham, Payet has bagged 1 goal and 5 assists in 9 appearances. Maybe with more lethal forwards up front, his stats would look better.
Duds
Simone Zaza
The fans had a lot of expectations from the hyped loanee from Juventus. But the forward has not produced anything yet leading to rumours that he could be leaving West Ham this January itself. He has scored no goals this season and registered no assists. He has a shot accuracy of 13%. Although he has created 8 chances, he hasn’t been productive enough.
Mark Noble
Noble has scored no goals this season, creating 10 chances and no assists. Completing 512 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 90%, 71% were of them were forward passes. Although Noble has kept the ball rolling relieving the pressure from the defence, his defensive contributions have been minimal with him winning only 49% of the average duels.
Cheikhou Kouyaté
Although he has been played out of his position by Bilic, Kouyaté has not been that impactful this season. He has scored no goals this season, creating four chances and no assists. Kouyaté has completed 337 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 87%, of which 67% were forward passes. It is not about his faltering, but his failure to make any impact on the games.
Stats credit: Squawka
