da roleta： Following a second consecutive 4-2 defeat, things are beginning to look bleak for West Ham United.
da bwin： After throwing away a 2-0 lead against Watford, the Hammers conceded four again against Tony Pulis’ men to leave them in the relegation zone. The pressure is building on Slaven Bilic, with the Croatian one of the bookies’ favourites to be the first manager sacked this season.
A point of contention for a lot of West Ham fans is who should start in midfield. They currently play a 4-2-3-1 with Noble and Kouyate behind Payet, Lanzini and one other winger, the in-form Michail Antonio.
But with 11 goals shipped in three games, it is clear that one of “the undroppables” is going to have to make way, with a number of fans speculating it could be Mark Noble.
Noble is a modern club legend. Coming through the Hammer ranks, he has made 375 appearances for the club over 13 seasons and is the current club captain. But is he still good enough for the first team?
Football FanCast looks at five reasons it’s time West Ham dropped Mark Noble.
NOBLE AND KOUYATE CAN’T PLAY TOGETHER
The first problem West Ham have in midfield is that Noble and Kouyate can’t play together.
Bilic prefers a 4-2-3-1 formation, with two men in the pivot. This relies on one midfielder to act as an anchor, freeing up the other to move up the pitch and join the attack.
The issue West Ham have is that both Noble and Kouyate like to venture forward and try a pass, leaving the defence vulnerable.
West Ham have kept only one clean sheet in the league this season, and on that occasion the defence-minded Nordtveit partnered Kouyate with Noble in the number ten spot.
If Bilic wants to keep his formation, one of Noble or Kouyate will have to make way.
LANZINI IS TOO GOOD TO MAKE WAY
Knowing Noble and Kouyate can’t play together in the pivot, one might ask why not change formation?
At times last year, West Ham favoured more of a 4-3-3. This would mean Nordtveit or Obiang could anchor the midfield which would allow both Kouyate and Noble to go forward.
The problem Bilic has is this would mean dropping another midfielder. Payet is their key player, while Michail Antonio is currently the league’s joint-top scorer. Neither of them are going anywhere.
That leaves Lanzini, who normally plays in the number ten spot, but West Ham need him to help break down defensive sides.
That means unless the Hammers are hoping to grind out a draw, Lanzini must play.
KOUYATE PROVIDES A PHYSICAL PRESENCE
The next question would, therefore, be who West Ham should drop out of Noble and Kouyate.
While neither has set the league on fire so far, Kouyate has probably had the slightly better start of the two.
As well as that, the Senegalese offers something a bit different to Noble with his athleticism and aerial prowess.
So far this season, Kouyate has averaged 2.6 aerial duels per game, with an 81% success rate; higher than anyone else in the team.
With Kouyate gone, this is an area they would struggle in.
NOBLE DOESN’T OFFER A GOAL THREAT
Another area Kouyate seems to have Noble beaten on is goal threat, especially in open play.
Over the last two seasons, both Noble and Kouyate have scored nine goals each. What is notable however is that four of Noble’s have come from the penalty spot.
While Noble is undoubtedly a great penalty taker (he has scored 27 out of 30 in his career), Lanzini was able to dispatch one on Saturday in his absence, so it may be a luxury West Ham can do without.
Kouyate has averaged 1.24 shots per 90 minutes and is a set-piece threat, while Noble has managed approximately 1.00, and it seems to Englishman should be the one to make way.
WEST HAM LOOKED BETTER IN THE SECOND HALF
In the end, there’s only one statistic that matters in football; the final score.
It is, therefore, worth noting that West Ham let in four goals when Noble was on the pitch, but scored two with no reply after their captain was subbed off at half-time.
While it’s is over-simplistic to say this is just down to Noble (West Brom probably eased off a bit while Feghouli and Calleri both helped the attack), there is no doubt the Hammers looked better with Noble off the pitch.