West Ham striker Sebastien Haller’s missed a great chance to put the Hammers 2-0 up against Manchester United on Saturday. He slipped at the worst possible time and the failure to double his side’s lead proved costly.
The Ivorian international has been heavily criticised since his move to the London Stadium at the start of last season. His miss at the weekend won’t have helped matters but there are some fans on Twitter who believed he played well, leading to a debate about what he brings to the team:
It sucks when everyone plays poorly, he gets a lot of the blame
— Nick #GSBOUT (@usawhu2) December 5, 2020
It’s not just that. He isn’t physical enough and unless he has space rarely wins a header. Too easy to defend against.
— Dan Adams (@OneGrizzlyAdams) December 5, 2020
maybe if he scored now and then….just saying
— Aberfeldy Weather (@isleofweather) December 5, 2020
He did a lot of running today closing down etc
— andrew wickstead (@AndrewWickstead) December 5, 2020
He doesn’t put the fear of god into defences, he doesn’t score goals. What should we expect from a £43m striker?
— Christopher Taylor (@christaylor103) December 5, 2020
On several occasions Haller mad runs into the box and Masuaka either didnt cross it well or he just turned and played the ball back. As soon as Benharama come on, he clicked with Haller and they played some nice interchanges
— ⚒DH⚒???????#GSBOUT (@Dengiehammer) December 5, 2020
He isn’t a centre forward. He doesn’t want to be there. He is a no 10
— martinus (@wasntme23) December 5, 2020
He’s looked better last couple of games. But could be sharper in box
— Andy Murton (@AndyMurton1) December 6, 2020
He’s missed chances, same as fornals, same as Bowen. Our fan base are just critical. All these comparisons are ridiculous. People just need someone to blame. We played well imo.
— Liam ⚒ (@WHUPickin) December 5, 2020
He is slow, can’t hold the ball up, get beat easily in the air, gets bullied easily. That’s why people don’t rate him.
— Lee Woolward (@Leewoolward) December 5, 2020
It’s probably fair to say that when Michail Antonio returns to full fitness, manager David Moyes will not take long to put the 30-year-old back in the team ahead of Haller.
The Englishman’s work rate, combined with the ability to score crucial goals, means he poses opposition defences more problems and, despite playing reasonably well against United, Haller will need to do a lot more to keep his place in the side.
