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A month has past in the Premier League and West Ham United have their first points of the season. A home crowd saw the Hammers pick up their first win in the new campaign and hopefully can springboard this team to the level we believe them to be at.
So apart from the whole team winning and Huddersfield losing, who were the winners and losers?
Loser: Javier (Chicharito) Hernandez:
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This does not mean Chicharito is a loser in the typical sense of the word. However, professionally I think he loses in this game. Bought as our 20 goal a year striker, Chicharito was deployed on the left wing against Huddersfield. While he played well and had a stellar opportunity to score, the Mexico striker loses by being played out of his natural and preferred position. It’s only one game but if we see our signature player deployed out left against West Brom I believe it’s something to worry about. Slaven Bilic has a history of playing players out of their natural and preferred positions. Both Michail Antonio and Cheikhou Kouyate have played multiple games away from where they’d like and have complained about it to the media. Chicharito is our best player and the player we need to keep happy so that we can move into that next level everyone wants. If he’s continually played on the left wing we risk losing him for a team that can offer him his preferred position, more money, and maybe European football.
I’m not saying that will happen but it’s something that needs to be thought about as we move forward. Sure, it worked Monday night but it is not a situation that can be sustained the rest of the season. In addition he was subbed off for the out of form Andre Ayew, something that couldn’t have pleased him. Sure he was coming off international duty but to see Ayew brought on has to be disappointing. I think Chicharito is a very professional player and wouldn’t make an issue out of this as say Dimitri Payet would but it’s worth keeping an eye on.
Winner: Michail Antonio:
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The right winger had an outstanding game and won Man of the Match. His pace was on full display as he charged past defenders and made many great runs. He had some good crosses and was probably the best player on the pitch. He continues to show how important he is and is a major reason we won.
Winner: Andre Ayew:
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After being nearly invisible much of this season Andre Ayew ended up on the score sheet! He played well for the half hour he was on and help give us a more comfortable win. Just being noticed is probably enough to be considered a winner the goal is just icing on the cake.
Winner: Jose Fonte
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Look, Jose Fonte is probably my least favorite player on the team, so the fact he’s a winner means he must have had a good game. He played very well in our back three and made some great break-ups and distributed the ball well. Hopefully that continues but I don’t have much hope as he’s pretty much been a dumpster fire since arriving last year.
Loser: Bilic Out fans:
I wrote about how we missed an opportunity to fire Bilic after the debacle in Newcastle. I still don’t think he’s the man to lead us to the next level. However, Monday’s win prolongs his stay at the London Stadium for a bit longer. Barring some miracle this is likely his last season but Bilic Out fans will need to wait a bit longer to see Super Slav’s tenure end.
Winner: Slaven Bilic:
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He has been under constant fire since the Southampton game and many, including me, thought he should be sacked. Bilic had this team ready from the start and his tactics were spot on. While his substitution of Chicharito for Ayew is still baffling you can’t say it didn’t work. Ayew sort of assisted the first goal and scored the second. Bilic will soon have a full squad to choose from and hopefully he can get us back to our 15/16 form ASAP. I love Slav as a person but think he’s deficient on the tactical side but Monday he did great and I hope it continues.
Anyone I missed? Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment!