Many West Ham United fans have been discussing what went wrong for want-away winger Felipe Anderson during his second season at the London Stadium.
Anderson has reportedly held talks with SS Lazio over a potential return to the Stadio Olimpico as Hammers boss David Moyes looks to cash in on the Brazilian, who has previously been touted as a potential target for SSC Napoli.
Moyes is said to see the Brazilian as a player he can make do without next season, and believes the funds raised from selling the 27-year-old could go towards signing players during the summer transfer window that can help move the Irons back up the Premier League table.
Anderson struggled for form during the recently concluded English top-flight campaign with the two-time international only scoring once and providing four assists over 25 appearances, despite boasting nine goals and four assists over 36 outings in his maiden term.
Hammers fan Dan Woffenden has now sparked a vigorous discussion on social media over what went wrong for Anderson at the London Stadium, having shared a thread analysing the Brazilian’s 2019/20 season.
Woffenden has noted that Anderson ranked first among the Irons first-team for touches (2,299), attacking third touches (1,039), successful dribbles (84), ball carries (1,822) and second for passes completed (1,328), pressures (751) and successful pressures (172) during the 2018/19 season.
Come the 19/20 season, Anderson would then rank second for successful dribbles (66), third for attacking third touches (517), fourth for ball carries (932) and seventh for passes completed (725) and successful pressures (104), showing how his time in possession of the football reduced.
His position on the field also altered heavily during his second campaign at the London Stadium, having started the season by often taking up more central roles whilst Arthur Masuaku played at left-back but was later forced to drop deeper more often when Aaron Cresswell played full-back.
Playing deeper to aid Cresswell meant Anderson was making a reduced impact in attack but for some West Ham fans, they argue this is irrelevant and suggest the Brazilian is simply too lazy to cut it at their club.
he’s a bottle job pulls out of every tackle and every defender he come’s up against know’s that ,that’s where it’s all gone wrong,get rid of him asap#bradyout. https://t.co/o8a36uSI2l
— John Pope (@boleynjohnny) August 3, 2020
Anderson is talented no doubt he also had a great first season but for some reason this second season he looked like he did not want to be there he seems uninterested and that’s so sad as on his day he can be outstanding
— Nigel West (@NigelWe50188559) August 2, 2020
Great analysis again Dan. IMO the problem is his attitude & lack of effort/work rate. That’s why we were able to sign him in the 1st place. With his talent, all top European teams should have been interested. They weren’t, that explains everything.
— Mark Hexton ⚒⚒ (@Hammerhexy) August 3, 2020
Haven’t seen a player as infuriating as him for years at West Ham mate. Unbelievable talent and should be our star player, but lazy, inconsistent and a coward. If he had someone like Snodgrass’ heart and commitment then we have a proper footballer on our hands. So frustrating
— Pricey (@lpricewhufc) August 2, 2020
How Anderson’s role changed with Cresswell on the pitch did not go amiss for some Irons supporters, who argue the left-back is as much to blame for the attacker’s offensive plight.
Great stuff Dan. The heat map shows all for me. Cresswell plays narrow to avoid getting beat for pace on the outside thus dragging the wide men back. Fornals heat map from LW similar?
Saying that Anderson’s ball retention is awful. He was poor vs Wolves & Spurs, rightly dropped.— Kris Johnson (@kjohno10) August 3, 2020
Also had most tackles for an attacking player and 5th in whole team
— nolahammers (@NolaHammers) August 2, 2020
Given the data put forward, some West Ham fans are optimistic of what Anderson would be able to offer if he is still at the London Stadium next season and not sold amid the reports suggesting the 27-year-old is on his way out.
Excellent thread highlighting why you can’t just dismiss Anderson this season as ‘lazy’. I’d love to keep him and try and get the best out of him. https://t.co/vXkWxABceA
— apu vyas (@apuvyas) August 2, 2020
Great thread. Maybe he’s worth keeping if we use him in the right way
— joel (@joelchesh41) August 2, 2020
Top drawer thread on Felipe Anderson. Easy to overlook him but his form last season and early this season suggest David Moyes could yet get the best out of him https://t.co/6xDlZUDALQ
— Corey (@CoreyKemp_) August 2, 2020