OPINION
It’s a sorry accusation to label at a side that have, for the most part, been fairly impressive so far this season, but on Saturday lunchtime against Everton, West Ham looks entirely bereft of creativity.
The Hammers slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park, and if we’re being honest, never truly looked like doing anything to prevent that result.
The inquest will no doubt have started bright and early this morning in east London, as Manuel Pellegrini looks to decipher what exactly went wrong, but a key factor was certainly the underwhelming display of Felipe Anderson.
The Brazilian was given the hook by his manager at the interval after a dire first half, managing a Whoscored rating of just 6.39, as well as a pass completion rate of just 66.7%.
By contrast, Grady Diangana, loaned out to West Brom at the start of the season, was running the show against Middlesbrough.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a stellar start to life in the Championship, and is currently the second highest rated player in the division, with a Whoscored rating of 7.46.
And he showed his talent again on Saturday.
The starlet registered five key passes and five successful dribbles for the Baggies, and it was his persistence and work ethic that eventually led to Hal Robson-Kanu’s winner.
Now, nobody is saying that Diangana is a better player than Anderson, but it is clear that he has a spark and a little bit of magic, and when the Hammers were looking as flat as they were against Everton on Saturday, those traits certainly wouldn’t come in wrong, even if it was just as an impactful substitute.
The sooner that Pellegrini can get Diangana back in his squad, the better.
