The dust has now settled on last Saturday's extraordinary 4-3 victory over relegation strugglers Huddersfield Town at the London Stadium, however the fall out has not! It is difficult to explain how a 'top' team can perform so badly for so long against a team destined for the lower divisions and then suddenly play like Barcelona for the remaining 15 minutes unless it is because there is a 'bad apple' in the squad.
At one point Manuel Pellegrini looked as if he was going to need Jack Wilshere's custom Ford Galaxy ambulance to get him home, but being the experienced manager that he is he kept cool and made the necessary substitutions to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Firstly he replaced Antonio with Hernandez from the beginning of the second half which at the time seemed a bit unfair as Antonio was the least culpable of the forward players earlier, Pellegrini then 'hooked' Mark Noble by sending on Samir Nasri, the combination of the two substitutes made an instant difference to Hammers' energy levels, but the third choice perhaps had the most impact as well as having huge significance for the future.
Marko Arnautovic touched the ball 39 times during his 68 minutes on the pitch, when he was replaced by Lucas Perez he left the field to a considerable amount of booing and his body language looked like someone who had fallen out of love with the club, and the fans showed just how much they had fallen out of love with the player. Hindsight is a wonderful gift, and with hindsight it probably would have been better just to sell 'Arnie' on during the Chinese transfer window, given his recent lack lustre performances it is not as if his value is going to go up is it? This train of events is similar to the "Payet" situation except in a way the club dodged a bullet by at least making a decent profit and removing a potentially 'toxic' element from the dressing room.
No one is particularly going to emerge from 'Chinagate' with much to smile about, the person who needs to look at himself most forensically is not Marko Arnautovic but his brother Danijel, who somehow turned his brother from hero to zero because he couldn't resist talking to Talk Shite' in a greedy and amateur attempt to force through the lucrative move to China that was available. It is an agents job to get the best for their player, but in this instance he managed to turn Arnie's head so far he ended up believing his own myth before metaphorically disappearing up his own backside.
It was perhaps inevitable that Arnautovic would eventually leave the club under a storm cloud given his history, but it is a situation that could and should have ended well, instead it is just a salient lesson with regards to player power. West Ham under Manuel Pellegrini is a much bigger and better entity when harmonious, the club's most successful run of games this season did not feature Marko Arnautovic because of his injury, without him other players stepped up to the plate.
It was good while it lasted, but it is time for the club to move on, there will be a 'helluva' cull during the summer as Manuel Pellegrini looks to shape the side using player he has signed not those he inherited, hopefully the club can still get a decent price for Arnautovic and that he isn't viewed as 'damaged goods', money received can go towards transfer fees and wages. The Hammers hierarchy will know that despite being 'this charming man', Pellegrini will be like a rat up a drain up' when it comes to pursuing them for the equivalent to last season's eye watering budget, it looks like he may have to employ a similar ruse, be it kidnap or black mail whatever he did he managed to succeed where all others have failed.
If he is backed properly, Manuel Pellegrini will have assembled a mouth watering squad of talent to start next season, given recent results European competition might just be an aim too far for this season, but while it is mathematically possible the manager will expect maximum commitment from his players, one of the reasons Arnautovic will be on the bench more often than on the pitch for the remaining games, and then he will be off, his time has run. - Ed
Comments
There could be a few reasons
There could be a few reasons for this type of lethargic then outstanding play ,IMO it's got to be Arnie ,we can't go on with this guy ,he was outstanding for us most of last year and most of this until that fupper of a brother put notions into his head that he was the best striker in the world ,roll on the end of the season so he can get on his bike .
Another possibility is that the opposition simply run themselves into the ground allowing our sweet passing game to take over ,but I reckon the fault is in our notorious bad starts ,in most matches we just can't seem to get started and can resemble a team from the 3rd division ,and when we conseed early it just compounds the situation , especially if they get another one then it turns into damage limitations .
Noble has been an inspiration for us in some matches while in others he's been mediocre I would have Nasari over him anyway ,like many others on here I think Oggy has been an outstanding player while the general was sick but now it's time the guy made way .for his commanding officer And as for Chico ?Well could it be that someone has finally pressed his switch ,I'm afraid this season is over for us ,like most seasons mid table ,Wolves are playing out of their skins but I to am optimistic for next season ,once the Arnie factor is out of the equation
You can see him moaning
You can see him moaning everytime he gets the ball and loses it or his shot is saved - the old Arnie just got on with things, the fights long gone from the current Arnie we now have
I Think Arnie is the problem
I Think Arnie is the problem.Go back to when we started to show signs of lack lustre performances,heads down etc,it was the Wimbledon game,and I said then that I felt it was China,Arnie,and the new contract that pissed the other players off.I feel that this is still the case,he has got to go.
Im still prepared to give him
Im still prepared to give him the benefit. Was impressed at the end of the game, straight off the bench to congratulate Little Pea on his brace.