West Ham Zone View: Hammers 26-year-old needs to up his game
There have been many disappointing aspects of this dreadful season for West Ham United, but there’s one which has been a big surprise.
We all expected Hammers winger Felipe Anderson to build on what was a very promising first campaign in English football with an even better sophomore season.
However, the opposite has, in fact, been the case.
The 26-year-old has regressed this time round, and that’s something that not even his most ardent supporter could deny.
He injured his rib and back against Sheffield United last month, but Football London reported on Friday that the winger is set to return off the bench against Manchester City on Wednesday.
For manager David Moyes, he’ll be hoping that the time off has served the Brazil international well. He’ll need to old Anderson back if the Irons are to avoid relegation.
He scored nine goals last season, this time round that number has dropped to one. That’s quite an alarming reduction.
Furthermore, Anderson is averaging fewer shots and key passes per game. He’s being more accurate with his passing, but less adventurous, as demonstrated by his average crosses and long balls forward numbers dropping.
His average WhoScored rating is still decent at 7.18, but again that’s less than the 7.23 he scored last time out.
He’s hardly been the worst player in east London this campaign. Manuel Lanzini and Sebastien Haller have both had shocking seasons.
However, Anderson was the man we most expected to lift this Hammers team up and establish them as a top half proposition.
He’d shown he had the ability to make a difference at this level, but for some reason he’s not done so this term.
Once he returns from injury, Moyes will be praying that the mercurial winger can find his best form once again.
In other West Ham news, co-owner David Gold has sent a personal message to a West Ham youngster.