Friday was interesting. First of all my TV fell off the wall, as my wife insisted we should have a new bracket. Now there is a large crack on the screen, but I did manage to get it working by standing it against the wall on the TV cabinet below. I have an outstanding insurance claim. Now, I have to decide on a new TV, I can’t for the life of me understand what is the difference between all the Sony models. I stick to Sony because I have always been satisfied in the past and it avoids a complete brainstorm of trying to decide between makes.
Then, I couldn’t get my phone to cast to the TV, after I had paid my dues to NOW TV. These are the little irritants of daily life.
So, watching the game, I thought I had entered a different dimension. West Ham were on fire in the first half. I have watched the side earlier on in the season where they could hardly make two consecutive passes. Now we were seeing a free flowing side, completely overwhelming Watford.
We are safe! That is a huge achievement, especially for David Moyes, who has now saved us twice and given what we have seen in the past week deserves another crack of the whip.So, what’s my assessment of each player:
Fabulanski. Truly terrific and well loved by the fans. Despite the pounding we have often received this season, you can count his mistakes on the fingers of one hand.
Johnson. A good first game for him (you can discount the other one) and certainly deserves to be given the opportunity to develop.
Cresswell. Unfortunately, his time is up. Gone are the glory days from him, when we could expect glorious crosses and tremendous free kicks.
Ogbonna. Top class defender who has given good service and has never been blamed when we have performed badly.
Diop. Solid in defence and will improve with age like a good wine.
Fredericks. Has been a complete disappointment. To me he is lazy and hasn’t used his speed to get to the by line. I wouldn’t be disappointed if he was sold.
Rice. Well, I think it will be goodbye. His performance against Watford was immaculate. He has the ability to drive forward and score goals. That would make him the super player.
Noble. Fantastic that he has achieve the 500. But, his time is done and he knows it.
Fornals. A complete disappointment. Sometimes, he comes up with a good pass, but more often than not, he is anonymous.
Soucek. What a fantastic find. He seems to have turned the team around on his own.
Yarmalenko. He has come in for a lot of stick, but he has got a magic left foot and can score goals. He should be retained
Antonio. This man is an example to all of us of outstanding effort and commitment. I always said he was not a centre forward, but he has proved me wrong. I suggested he went to Specsavers and he seems to have taken my advice, as he is now on target. He is definitely player of the year for me.
Haller. Well, what can you say. So far, a complete waste of money.
Anderson. What a disappointment. There is something drastically wrong.
Masuaku. I always said he should be brought into the midfield, due to his sloppy defence. I like him.
Bowen. A great addition to the squad. He oozes commitment and effort and will improve.
Wilshere. I do believe if he was given a run and remained uninjured, he would show his talent.
Lanzini. Not the same player since his injury.
Snodgrass. A great utility player with a wicked ability to cross the ball.
Balbuena. I liked him when he was playing. What went wrong?
So, if we use the money from the sale of Rice wisely, we can see a further improvement. Personally, I think Shelvey would be a good buy, if he becomes available.
I still scratch my head that a side can start the lockdown games so poorly, but drastically improve with a short space of time.