Let me start by saying that, in my opinion, on the basis of what we have seen from him Ricardo Vaz Te, he is not, and never will be, Premier League quality. For me, he lacks several necessary qualities that the best players have in their lockers, and more often than not its been a case of what exactly has he done over the 90 minutes that has really made any impact or difference?
I put him in the Mohamed Diame bracket; occasional bursts of activity and interest followed by long spells of nothing. However, and here is where I am going to argue against myself, for Sam Allardyce to totally ignore a player who, when all is said and done, is an attacker who just could give us that extra option of pace and a goal when we need it is a statement that tells us all we need to know about the manager.
This is a manager who sticks like glue to his old mate and best friend Kevin Nolan come hell or high water, totally forgiving and seemingly unaware of the string of sub-standard, invisible performances by his ex Bolton Wanderers pal, and even unwilling to remove him from the fray when it would have been kinder to the player, and certainly kinder to a baying crowd desperate to see some real forward momentum and excitement. To remove Stewart Downing and Matt Jarvis whilst leaving two big men up front on Saturday was a tactical disaster of the highest magnitude. Genius Sam, pure genius!
Surely, an ignored and unhappy Vaz Te would have made a real effort to show Allardyce and us what he could do. Could he have done any less than some of the regular passengers who just float around looking busy but giving us no end product? What about tucking Vaz Te in behind Andy Carroll and using his pace to get on to knock downs instead of relying on the plodding Nolan.
We would have seen some shots from the edge of the box, some tricky runs wide and at least some energy and intent from the Portuguese man, instead of the same old same old served up by a seemingly confused and unsure boss who sits there fiddling as Rome burns. Compare the manic Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis on Saturday, with the chair sitting Allardyce, and I can tell you it wasn’t the West Ham boss that filled me with belief.
The point is Allardyce doesn’t try anything different, unusual or exciting; it’s as if there is only one way to play and that’s it, and for the forgotten Vaz Te, despite his shortcomings, I think he has been dealt a bad hand and deserved more from the man in charge.
I was thinking the same thing, or try Nocerino playing off big Andy… I think Vaz has something to prove so would go all out to score… I would also stop Noble wasting our free kicks… Someone like Downing or Vaz could do a better job. COYI
I like Vaz Te as a player.Will love him forever for the winner at Wembley and the 2 nd at Spurs . He does have an element of surprise to his game and I think him and Morrison in the same team would cause defences problems . I want him to stay .
It’s a nice thought but if Vaz isn’t good enough then he isn’t good enough! It’s as simple as that! As for Nolan I think his days of playing off a big man are all but over. But having said that, his value to the team dropping him completely isn’t an option at the moment. Nolan is still a great leader and organiser and a lot of his work goes unnoticed. Maybe a more deep lying role protecting the back four would be more suited? He could still influence the game and free a space for a genuine strike partner. As It has been noticeable throughout the season that Carroll has become increasingly isolated with nobody to take advantage of his flicks and knock downs. If Nolan played the defensive screening midfielder then we could play somebody to partner Carroll. It wouldn’t need to be another striker either, Joe cole for one could play this role. COYI!
Well with Andy Carroll now playing his 8th professional season, scoring 54 goals/8 = around 7 goals per season, & Carlton Cole playing his 14th professional season scoring 81 goals/14 = around 6 goals per season, so the both of their scoring tallys combined are only around 13 goals per season. Now that is not enough for West Ham eh? so I reckon West Ham should start Carlton & Andy together, & then sub one of them later, & bring on Vaz Te later. WE need goals & we need 2 strike partners on the field at all times. I don’t have the latest fitness stats on everyone, but if I had all players available for selection, I’d choose; Adrian, Demel, McCartney, Reid & Collins at the back, Noble, Nolan, Jarvis & Downing in midfield, & Carlton & Carroll as double strike partners up front, subbing either Andy or Carlton later for Vaz Te
Amen JB…amen !!
A couple of well reasoned arguments. Vaz Te a better bet than Jarvis who is poor and he can certainly take a free kick better than Noble ( mind you so could my misses ! ) . BFS gets it wrong every time . We are not creating goals so we cannot score them but still we have Noble going sideways and backwards at a snails pace and Morrison at QPR … says it all .
Had to check out this article as I didn’t know we had a Skillful forward? This like most theories as how we should play and who should play, are all completely pointless as we all know exactly who will play and how we will play as it is the same week in week out.
Until Sam goes stop wasting your time and find something to write about that might actually happen.
This is called debate mate…where people have an opinion, express it and discuss it…try it some time.
Nice one Rivieralet. I dared to criticise Noble on another page two days ago & was called a ‘bellend’. He might cover lots of ground during the game but apart from trotting sideways & backwards with the occasional decent pass, What does he actually create? I said that it would be a change to see Noble on the bench instead of being virtually guaranteed a start every week. I would try Nocerino & Diame in central midfield for a bit more penetration & shots at goal with probably Vaz Te in for Nolan.
We get virtually no goals from midfield. This is a situation that is vital to address during the summer break. All of the top eight sides have regular goalscorers in midfield. Apart from the goal against Cardiff, I can’t remember one goal from open play from Noble. He should go.
Guess what…Noble isn’t in there to score goals, that’s why he sites deep and pull just about every string going TRYING to keep the ball moving, retain possession, and wait for some movement ahead…ANY movement ahead. With Diame and Nolan all but asleep and comatose there is NOTHING to aim for. Just watch Nobles body language as he keeps lookimng up for a pass in vain. Try a killer pass and lose the ball, or switch back/sideways and retain it. No brainer for anyone who understands football.
Any one advocating Noble for the bench is CLEARLY not a Hammers fan. Unbelieveable garbage.
the answer is sam has got to go hope our fans don’t go to wba game the owners would soon get rid of him he his clueless
Mr McFlipper
I’ve been a season ticket holder at WHU for donkeys years and attended my first game in 1955. I’ve put more money into that club than you ever will. Mark Noble is not good enough for our team to advance into the realms of a top six club & neither are most of the others. The dynamism is just not there. Have we ever received any offers for him from other clubs? No…
We need a completely new midfield who can score goals – pure & simple.
Frankie…In a team of what can only be described as limited plodders, to pick out Mark Noble as being “not good enough for our team” simply beggars belief. You may well have attended your first game in the year I was born, but you appear to have a distorted view of what makes a decent player. Mark is 100 times the quality of anyone else in the side. He has literally carried Nolan, Diame, Taylor and whichever other makeweights have been put in the midfield, so I have no idea which games you have been watching,
Guess why theres no offers or talk of Mark leaving…because hes a Hammer and this is his club. As I said before…garbage !!
Noble has been a stand out performer in the west ham team since Parker left. Without him this season 100% believe we would have been relegated. All the oap s and donkeys in the current team and Noble should go? lol so its Noble stopping us becoming a top 6 club. Fair doos we need a better free kick taker but he is not there to score goals from open play that is Diame,Nolan and the wingers jobs he is the man that allows them space.
I cannot believe what I have been reading. 79 yearsupporting this team and to have people criticising Mark Noble when we have to put up with the likes of Nolan, Diame and Taylor and even Demel on recent performances. Should any Hammers supporter who has the slightest knowledge of the game need to be told that Noble is a holding mid-fielder who because of the current set-up has to cover acres of the pitch because his partner is loitering in the opposite goal area waiting for knock-ons that have never looked like happening since other teams have sussed the tactic so beloved of bfs. Nobes free-kicks are not top notch but his industry and exertions in this set-up are immense. What is Nolans role? He is one-paced, runs about looking busy but seldon get in tackles when in mid-field. I feel sorry for him because he has been a good player but like his pal his tiome is up. They must go but Nobes stays for sure.
Vaz is a good player played out of position full stop! Play him where he’s born to play and see the what he can do