One West Ham United player was absolutely abysmal during our game against Tottenham Hotspur tonight.
West Ham were abysmal away at Tottenham inside the first-half this evening, and the woefully negative setup from David Moyes was mostly to blame.
That said, we were much improved in the second-half. Whether that was down to Moyes’s instructions or the players forcing the issue themselves is debatable.
Listen, we won the game in the end, and you’ve got to tip your hat to Moyes and his players for that. It’s just so frustrating that we don’t set up like we did during the second period from the start of games.
That said, whatever the system, the bare minimum I expect from every player who wears a Hammers shirt is 100% effort and commitment.
I definitely didn’t see that from one player in particular tonight, and that is quite simply unacceptable.
Lucas Paqueta was appalling for West Ham against Spurs tonight, and it’s nothing new unfortunately – I highlighted a big problem with the Brazilian a couple of weeks ago.
The 26-year-old has to buck his ideas up and fast…
Lucas Paqueta was horrendous for West Ham against Tottenham
One thing to note is that he is being played out of position out wide on the left wing, so that’s certainly not helping.
However, that’s no excuse for the lethargic and non-committal performance that he put in tonight.
Against Spurs, he had 62 touches of the football, was dispossessed in possession twice, had two unsuccessful touches, completed only one dribble and finished the match with just a 76% pass completion rate (Who Scored).
He was an absolute shadow of his former self out there tonight, and it just seemed to me like he didn’t want it one little bit.
Even the Clive Tyldesley pointed out how Paqueta seemed to ‘lose his appetite’ for the game towards the end of the first-half.
In fairness to Paqueta, he did improve in the second-half, but he still needs to do so much more. He’s far too lackadaisical with the ball at his feet, and doesn’t seem to be moving it on quick enough this season, certainly not like he was last term.
I want the Brazilian to get the fire back in his belly quickly. Like I mentioned earlier, he’s being played out of position by Moyes, and the Scot needs to move him back into a central role urgently.
However, the onus is still on the former Lyon man to take responsibility for his own performances, and he needs to improve massively.
Lucas Paqueta was embarrassing during the first-half against Tottenham tonight, and although he slightly redeemed himself in the second-half, his performance in general was miles away from where it needs to be.
So is he all that he’s cracked up to be? Or is it just a slump in form for the Brazilian? Only time will tell.
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