Tag Archives: Robert Snodgrass

Premier League: Best 11 Players from the Weekend: Week 25

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Liverpool won again and surely they have won the league now because Manchester City lost at Tottenham. The Reds are now an incredible 22 points in front, and no one is going to catch them. The good news for Tottenham’s win is that it reignited their hopes for Champions League football and they have closed the gap on Chelsea who could only draw. West Ham blew a 2 goal lead against Brighton to draw 3-3 and they are now in the relegation zone.

Below is the team of the weekend and their fantasy points, did your players make the cut?

Formation: 4-4-2

Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris- Tottenham 7pts

Whilst a few goalkeepers picked up 7 points due to clean sheets, the nod will go to Hugo Lloris. He made some superb saves against the champions Manchester City especially from Sergio Aguero as Tottenham went on to win the game 2-0 and he kept a clean sheet in the process.

Defender: Yerry Mina- Everton 6pts

Yerry Mina was outstanding even though Everton conceded 2 goals, the defender made amends for that by scoring 2 goals in 60 seconds to bring his team right back into the game against Watford, so he did lose points for conceding goals but also scored two himself.

Defender: Antonio Rudiger- Chelsea 7pts

Antonio Rudiger saved Chelsea’s skins as he scored both of their goals in a 2-2 draw away to Leicester. Obviously he was part of a defence that conceded, but his goals brought home a point at the end of the day and kept Frank Lampard’s side 4th.

Defender: Eric Dier- Tottenham 5pts

Eric Dier has not had many games for Tottenham and to be brought in against the champions Manchester City and keep a clean sheet was very impressive.

Defender: Enda Stevens- Sheffield United 5pts

Enda Stevens has really impressed for Sheffield United and they won again beating Crystal Palace away and keeping a clean sheet that is no mean feat. Stevens has now helped his side keep 9 clean sheets and they have climbed up to 6th place in the league.

Midfielder: Mohamed Salah-Liverpool 10pts

Salah earned a fantastic 10 points as he got on the score sheet yet again as Liverpool easily beat Southampton 4-0 at Anfield. Salah now has 14 goals and 6 assists in another impressive season for him.

Midfielder: Roberto Firmino- Liverpool 8pts

Roberto Firmino just keeps on impressing and the brilliant Brazilian was a nightmare for Southampton to keep in check. He earned 8 points in a season where in the fantasy rankings he has scored 68 points so far.

Midfielder: Jordan Henderson- Liverpool 8pts

It feels like a clean sweep of midfielders for Liverpool and Jordan Henderson is now being favoured to win the player of the year in the Premier League and for good reason. He now has a total of 41 points.

Midfielder: Steven Bergwijn- Tottenham 6pts

What is the best way to start your career at Tottenham, how about scoring a cracking goal at home v Manchester City? And that is what Bergwijn did after his January transfer window, and he earned 6 points for it. He could be one to look out for.

Striker: Robert Snodgrass- West Ham 10pts

Robert Snodgrass scored 2 of West Ham’s goals and earned a huge 10 points but it still wasn’t enough to win West Ham the game as they drew 3-3 with Brighton. The goals have brought Snodgrass to 5 this season.

Striker: Glenn Murray- Brighton 4pts

Apart from Snodgrass the strikers were quiet at the weekend. Heung-Min Son was the other player to earn 4 points, but his goal did take a deflection from Fernandinho so we give this one to Glenn Murray. With the heat on and his side losing 3-2 to West Ham Murray grabbed the equaliser which would have felt like a cup final winner for the striker.

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Who will replace Andriy Yarmolenko?

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As Andriy Yarmolenko was stretchered off against Tottenham Hotspur, it was quickly apparent that he would be out for a while. However, it will have surprised many to find that it will be around six months until he’s back on the pitch due to a torn Achilles tendon. The injury came at the most unfortunate of times, as the Ukrainian had gained some momentum following a tough start to life in East London.

With that game ending 1-0 to Spurs, it was the second match in a row in which West Ham failed to score. Therefore, whoever does replace him on the right wing will have to get off to a good start and help top scorer Marko Arnautovic out in front of goal. Manuel Pellegrini has favoured the 4-3-3 which saw his side’s initial upturn in form so will likely be looking to put a direct replacement into the side so he can stick with this system, meaning he’ll have a dilemma as to who he assigns the role.

The most obvious choice in the minds of many would be Michail Antonio. The former Hammer of the Year even started the season on the right flank ahead of Yarmolenko. However, it is his poor performances which allowed the Ukrainian to get himself into the starting line up. So far this season Antonio has been underwhelming, as he has been wasteful with the ball at his feet and hasn’t looked as powerful as in the past. Neither Manuel Pellegrini and West Ham’s supporters seem to be overly impressed with the Englishman at the moment, so he will have to improve upon his showings so far this campaign if he is to fill the spot for such an extended period of time.

Another option is Robert Snodgrass. Having struggled in the early stages of his West Ham career the Scotsman is very much in Pellegrini’s plans. Snodgrass has been played on the right previously this season, though it seems as though the manager sees him as a central midfielder, with his last two starts coming in the midfield three. He hasn’t been able to completely hold down a place in the starting XI yet, so a move back to the right flank could be an option for the man who Pellegrini has openly shown he is a big fan of.

Academy graduate Grady Diangana is the last option. Prior to the 8-0 win against Macclesfield Town there will have been many a West Ham fan who didn’t even know who he is. However, his two goals and eye catching performance earned plenty of plaudits and the attention of his manager. So much so that when Yarmolenko was injured, it was the 20-year-old who was picked to come off the bench for the remaining 51 minutes- even with Antonio on the bench. His performance did his chances of getting more first team opportunities no harm, as he looked comfortable against a higher level of opposition than he is used to. His confidence allowed his technical ability to shine through and he arguably should have been awarded a penalty after a challenge from Harry Winks. If Pellegrini does opt to put Diangana in it would be a real showing of faith in the youngster, though after the two games he’s played many would say he deserves the chance.

Whoever he does pick will need to have a big game on Saturday against a Leicester side who will be determined to get a result following two losses in a row. They will also be directly facing Ben Chilwell, a man whose stock has risen considerably in recent times resulting in his first ever England caps. It will be a test for whoever is chosen, but for three men who have spent time on the bench recently it’s the perfect opportunity to show the manager they deserve to take the new slot in the team.

 

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Classic derby will tell Pellegrini how far Hammers have come

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Ask any West Ham fan which fixture they really look forward to every season, and without hesitation it will be the classic derby against rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.

Even a supposed hatred of south London side, Millwall, pales into insignificance when the north Londoners come to town.

This fixture also has added spice now given Spurs’ own efforts to try and secure the London Stadium which the Hammers currently call home. Continue reading →

Marko Arnautovic concludes West Ham’s UEFA Nations League involvement

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Marko Arnautovic

The first ever round of UEFA Nations League fixtures have come to a close. There were some incredible score lines across the board as Spain beat Croatia 6-0, Switzerland won 6-0 against Iceland and Luxembourg had a 4-0 victory over Moldova. Of the many players involved in the competition, four of them were from West Ham: Lukasz Fabianski, Andriy Yarmolenko, Robert Snodgrass and Marko Arnautovic. They had varying levels of success though.

Of the four it is Yarmolenko who’s struggled most for the Hammers this season, as he hasn’t started a single Premier League match since joining from Borussia Dortmund. However, it is the Ukrainian winger who has had the most success during the international break. Ukraine were the only team in League B Group 1 to play twice; they’re also the only side to have any points, after winning both matches, with Yarmolenko central to their success.

In the opening fixture against Czech Republic, Patrick Schick put the Czechs ahead after just four minutes. It was Yarmolenko who led the Ukrainian charge with some dangerous balls into the box following that setback. He was involved when the men in yellow equalised as he dummied Marlos’ pass which went to Evgen Konoplyanka, who cut inside and fired the ball into the bottom corner. Yarmolenko was brought off in the 66th minute, replaced by Oleksandr Zinchenko. It was the Manchester City man who scored the winner in the dying moments of the match.

The second game of Ukraine’s Nations League campaign came at home against Slovakia. Once again Yarmolenko made the difference as he scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in the 80th minute, despite Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka getting his hand to the ball.

Next up was Lukasz Fabianski, who beat Wojciech Szczesny to the starting spot in Poland’s goal for the tie against Italy. Poland took the lead in the 40th minute when Mateusz Klich dispossessed Jorginho near the edge of Italy’s box, offloaded the ball to Robert Lewandoski, who crossed it towards the back post where Piotr Zielinski was on hand to volley into the net.

As he has done for the Hammers throughout this season, Fabianski made a number of impressive saves in the game. However, after Jakub Blaszczykowski had fouled Federico Chiesa inside the box, there was nothing the keeper could do to stop Jorginho’s penalty as he was sent the wrong way; the game ended 1-1.

Robert Snodgrass was not originally part of Scotland’s squad, but was brought into the fold when West Bromwich Albion’s Matt Phillips withdrew through injury. Snodgrass is now getting plenty of time on the pitch at West Ham, but was left on the bench for the entirety of Scotland’s 2-0 win against Albania. It was an own goal from Berat Djimsiti and a 68th minute header from Steven Naismith which earned the Scots all three points.

Marko Arnautovic was the last of West Ham’s quartet to make an appearance in the Nations League, as his Austria side faced Bosnia & Herzegovina away from home. It was a tame affair for the majority of the game. Arnautovic gave Ibrahim Sehic his biggest test of the match with a curling effort from outside the box in the 14th minute, but the Büyüksehir Belediye Erzurumpsor and Bosnia & Herzegovina keeper was able to tip it over the bar. In the end, it was AS Roma’s Edin Dzeko who made the difference as he scored in the 78th minute to earn the home side a 1-0 win.

All four of the West Ham players will now be looking ahead to the Hammers’ next fixture, Sunday’s away fixture against Everton, alongside the rest of the squad.

The transformation of Robert Snodgrass’ West Ham career

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Robert Snodgrass

This time last year Robert Snodgrass had been shipped off on loan to Aston Villa. He was still a West Ham player, but it seemed unlikely that he would play for the club again, just a year into his stay. By December it looked impossible, as co-owner David Sullivan revealed in the Daily Mail that his children had begged him not to sign the Scotsman or Jose Fonte. Understandably Snodgrass wasn’t too pleased about this and it was difficult to see how he could come back to the club and play under him, especially when first team opportunities were sparse. Karren Brady had added fuel to the fire when she added “Robert Snodgrass wasn’t exactly a triumph” in one of her columns in The Sun.

Snodgrass had done some speaking of his own in the media, as he said of former manager Slaven Bilic: “”I was coming on against City and he said ‘Where do you want to play, on the left or right? I thought ‘You have just signed me and I have played on the right or behind the striker at Hull City all season’ That was my debut and alarm bells were ringing right away.” There was a level of toxicity between club and player, so it was difficult to envision Snodgrass staying there for too long.

The other victim of Sullivan’s sharp tongue, Euro 2016 winner Fonte, is now plying his trade with Lille following an unsuccessful spell in China with Dalian Yifang. However, Snodgrass remains in East London. Not only has he stayed with West Ham, but he has quickly established himself as a key part of new manager Manuel Pellegrini’s plans. Having come on at half time in the season opener against Liverpool, he has started all three matches since, getting an assist in the Carabao Cup win over AFC Wimbledon.

So how did we get to this point? The first thing that must be taken into account is his time at Aston Villa. Rather than sulking about how things were going with his parent club, Snodgrass took the Championship by storm with the Villans. The Scotsman played 43 times for the club, scoring seven goals and assisting 14. This helped them to the Play Off Final, though they were eventually beaten 1-0 due to a goal from Tom Cairney.

If Aston Villa had been promoted that day, Snodgrass could easily be playing for a different team in claret and blue this campaign. There had been an option for Villa to sign him for £12 million once the loan spell was up, though they were unable to do so due to financial difficulties. This meant he would return to the Olympic Stadium. Though he came back to a completely different scenario to the one he had left.

Gone was the foolish prerequisite that he was Dimitri Payet’s replacement. Gone was Slaven Bilic (and David Moyes). Gone was the questionable tactics which involved playing him out of position. Snodgrass has come back to a manager who clearly believes in his abilities and has shown that consistently by playing him in his two preferred positions- on the right hand side or in the middle depending on the formation used.

He has also come back to a squad which has clearly been upgraded. The Hammers are yet to win a point in the league this season, but the signs are encouraging in attacking areas. Snodgrass is central to that. His link up play with record signing Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic –who has been completely rejuvenated as a striker since Snodgrass left on loan- has been exciting at times. Pellegrini wants his side to play an attractive style of football without fear and display their technical ability; that is something Snodgrass has been obliged to do so far and will likely continue to.

Snodgrass’ West Ham career has completely turned on its head since the arrival of Pellegrini. Expect to see him starring against Wolves… and most other teams for that matter.

 

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