Matt Le Tissier delivered a mixed verdict on West Ham attacker Felipe Anderson following his performance in the 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town.
The Hammers drew with the Terriers on Saturday at the John Smith’s Stadium with the Brazilian winger being the player to get his side the goal which earned them a point.
Le Tissier shared that while he was impressed with Anderson’s brilliant piece of skill and finish when scoring, he didn’t think the 25-year-old was really at the races against the Terriers.
“It was Anderson who we’re finally finding out what he does do, he started the move with a brilliant piece of skill out on wing, rolls it into the box, it falls to Chicharito’s feet, Lossl makes a good save, falls to Antonio, he swivels hits it but by this point there is five or six defenders behind Lossl,” said Le Tissier on Soccer Saturday (Sky Sports News, November 10, 17:34).
“It comes back out to Felipe Anderson who done the brilliant skill on the left wing then ambled into the box, ball drops at his feet, then with his left foot he has smashed it into the top corner with a whole host of Huddersfield defenders in front of him.
“A really good finish, and at that point you thought West Ham will go on and Huddersfield will be a little bit nervous, but it didn’t turn out that way.
“Yeah a little below that today (when asked whether Anderson & co performed worst than Burnley outing).
“Apart from that bit of skill and the goal, Anderson wasn’t really at the races.”
OPINION
It’s hard not to have a mixed opinion on Anderson as his form is so inconsistent, it’s hard to know what to think. However given that the winger had never played Premier League football ahead of joining in the summer from Lazio, then perhaps he is still having teething problems. England’s top-flight can be very unforgiving and Anderson is trying to learn how to thrive in the division as it stands. The 25-year-old is clearly a talent to behold as he has demonstrated moments of pure brilliance this season in some of his outings. The only issue is the Hammers aren’t really in a position where glimpses are enough to satisfy them. Anderson’s goal redeemed his poor performance on Saturday a bit, but that doesn’t mean it justified him disappointing yet again. Hopefully the talented winger is able to get his form on track once and for all by consistently showing the world what a sublime talent he is.
