OPINION
West Ham attacker Robert Snodgrass is not having the best of seasons so far and it’s clear for all to see.
The 32-year-old has only played 144 minutes of league action across four appearances this season, with only one minute of that coming in the Hammers’ last three games. (Source: Transfermarkt)
Snodgrass has instead had to make do with most of his playing time coming in the EFL Cup as he featured for 164 minutes in the tournament across his two outings.
Of course, Snodgrass can’t rely on the EFL Cup for any more minutes this season as the Hammers were embarrassingly eliminated by League One’s Oxford United.
In that match, the Scotland international didn’t make any key passes, was dispossessed twice, and his pass completion rate was a woeful 60.7% (Source: WhoScored), so his confidence was probably shattered after that sort of display against lower-ranked opposition.
Also interestingly, Football.London journalist Sam Inkersole implied that Snodgrass’ poor display could be a result of a lack of minutes this season as he looked in bad nick.
So with that said, the 32-year-old was no doubt licking his lips to get some playing time for Scotland during the current international break and potentially have a confidence-boosting game against San Marino.
After all the last Fifa ranking saw them judged as the 210th best country in world football, as per Fifa.com, yet Snodgrass’ latest international break went as well as his season has been going.
The 32-year-old did get some minutes under his belt as he played the full game against Russia, but it was another potentially confidence shattering night for him as not only did he lose 4-0, he was ripped apart on Twitter by a section of fans for his display.
Then to top it off, Snodgrass suffered an injury, as per the official West Ham website, that saw him withdrawn from the Scotland squad ahead of the clash with San Marino.
Scotland beat San Marino 6-0 and dominated possession as they saw 75% of the ball, as per BBC Sport, so it would have been a golden opportunity for Snodgrass to get some confidence back with a feel-good display as well as more minutes under his belt.
Yet instead Snodgrass suffered an injury blow which cost him the chance to face San Marino and as a result, he is surely frustrated.
