Three things we learned from West Ham 1-1 Stoke
The fact Antonio is main threat underlines Hammers' striker troubles
The dubious goals panel will have to be consulted when deciding the scorer of West Ham’s opener, but Michail Antonio will be more than happy to claim it, and continue his remarkable record of scoring from headers this campaign. Should he be awarded the glanced effort in the 65th minute, which went in via a deflection off Glenn Whelan, then that will be six headed league goals already – not bad for a winger turned full-back, utilised as an auxiliary striker.
Such a stat glosses over the real issue for boss Slaven Bilic. Antonio is no striker, and has never pretended to be, even recently admitting that he doesn’t like heading the ball.
Only Hull (13) have fired in fewer shots on target on home soil this season than West Ham (14), and when you have spent so much money on improving your forward options, this lack of potency is not good enough.
No player touched the ball on fewer occasions than Andre Ayew in the first half. Even Adrian had more touches. Yes, he can hardly be blamed for his anonymity having just come back from injury, but the Hammers need him to start firing, and fast.
“It wasn’t a particularly nice game of football,” Bilic complained post match. “First half we were flat.
We didn’t run behind, it was all too feet. It wasn’t good enough.”
His solution to such lacklustre attacking football? To push Antonio further up the pitch, when Bilic had Simone Zaza sitting on the bench. The fact that Bilic didn’t turn to the Juventus loanee says it all about the progress he has made since arriving in the East End.
Ashley Fletcher did inject a bit of life into the Hammers, but he is still very raw. Then there is Andy Carroll, who has suffered yet another setback in his comeback from injury. One Hammers fan close to the press box mused: “Bruce Springsteen has got more minutes under his belt here than Carroll.”
All of a sudden, a Hammers arsenal that looked exhilarating on occasion last season looks desperately short of quality. Not what Bilic needs, with everything that is going on off the pitch at the moment.
Goalkeeping errors cost both sides dear
In a game as cagey as this, it was always going to an error or a moment of magic that was going to decide the encounter, and with both sides struggling for even a glimmer of fluidity, the former was always going to be more likely.
Much has been made of Lee Grant’s late career renaissance, stepping up to the Premier League for the first time at the ripe old age of 33, and he has not looked out of place, putting in some stellar showings, with his heroics against Manchester United a particular highlight.
The true test of a top quality stopper is maintaining levels of concentration when they are idle for much of the game. The likes of David de Gea and Hugo Lloris often go long periods without involvement in the action, then all of a sudden pull off a world class save to ensure their team secure a crucial three points – that’s what makes them the stand out.
The same cannot be said for the two ‘keepers on show at the London Stadium. Grant was the first to slip up, with a flicked header from Michail Antonio finding the net, via a slight deflection off Glenn Whelan. Grant seemed to get down to the ball in stages, and could only get a weak hand to the ball, pushing it onto the post and in.
Then, Adrian, who also had very little to do all afternoon in the home goal, came flying out of his goal, allowing Jon Walters the opportunity to loop the ball over the onrushing Spaniard into the path of Bojan to equalise with 15 minutes to go.
If Adrian stays in his goal, the threat is significantly less. The Hammers were in need of a boost, where even a narrow win could draw attention away from skirmishes off the pitch. Adrian’s rashness put pay to that.
New stadium still doesn’t feel like home, with the pitch now a concern
“Maybe the pitch is a little bit slow. Whether that is by design or not I don’t.” Mark Hughes complained in his post-match press conference. “It clearly isn’t a football stadium. I had to put in some contact lenses to see the other side.”
There is little left to say about the London Stadium that hasn’t already been criticised. Again, the atmosphere was flat, there was an air of apprehension about whether or not fans would be at each other’s throats, with the action on the pitch doing little to generate any excitement.
Even the dynamic Dimitri Payet couldn’t really get going, completing just three dribbles all match. It wasn’t just Hughes who was left frustrated by the playing surface.
“I can agree with that [Hughes’s claims about the slow pitch],” Bilic admitted in his post-match press conference. “But that can’t be the excuse for our poor play.”
Obviously the lack of quality didn’t help matters, but the real downbeat feeling around the stadium was palpable even before kick-off. The distance from the pitch remains an issue, but now the pitch itself is becoming a concern. The problems surrounding the move to Stratford are showing no signs of relenting.