✍️ Welcome Michail Antonio

[HammerMan2004]

Really good to see him play well yesterday. Though I have to say it’s about time.

If all that right back stuff hadn’t kicked off with Sullivan saying he’d always play further forward Antonio could have been doing this more regularly at wing back.

[hammerman11]

good to see him back but he has some way to go to be back to normal.
a couple of good runs but second half he was all over the place with his passing. needed to be subbed at 60 mins. hopefully with two weeks training he will be fitter.

[Centre Half]

Can't knock his application yesterday but the acid test will be if Moyes plays him there for a sustained period of games

Will he throw his toys out the pram again and go sulking to Sully? Will the half hearted efforts seep back into his play? Let's hope lightning doesn't strike twice

[hammerman11]

A FULLY FIT AND FIRING ANTONIO IS A GREAT ASSET LETS HOPE HE DOES THE BUSINESS AT ANFIELD

[thejackhammer]

Better at Wingback then anywhere else. Just hope he realises it himself.

[Smonnie]

A FULLY FIT AND FIRING ANTONIO IS A GREAT ASSET LETS HOPE HE DOES THE BUSINESS AT ANFIELD

Pardon?

[Beavis Danzig]

Better at Wingback then anywhere else. Just hope he realises it himself.

imagine the player he could've been if he spent two years working at it instead of deciding he was bigger than having any defensive responsibilities and running off to our esteemed chairman.

[Colours never run]

Unlike others, I have no issue at all with Antonio playing on either wing as I'm comfortable seeing him haring up and down the line doing what he does best charging with the ball either relieving pressure, or doing the kinds of good work in the final third.

He's at his best when he's got acres in front of him just waiting to be exploited and don't really like seeing him with his back to goal as that isn't really his natural game. He wants to be facing mainly forward but he's also not adverse to occasionally helping out in our half although clearly not his strength. It's right back I had a real issue with and thankfully those days are long gone for both him and us.

Wingback or Forward, is where he's at his best for me bombing forward. Striker as a last resort (not terrible, not great either).

[S-H]

Antonio can play in any position when he puts his mind to it, the trouble starts when he doesn't fancy it anymore and thinks he should play elsewhere on the pitch.

He may have been able to throw his toys out of the pram under Slav, but there is no way Moyes will stand for any of that, I reckon Antonio knows it, especially after being dropped for tardiness, the tough love approach which is working wonders on Arnie, could be just what Antonio, and his alleged ego need.

[westham,eggyandchips]

Thought he was terrible apart from the assist. Obviously needs time to get match fit though.

[stu1]

Unfortunately for Antonio he doesn’t really fit in to our current system. He is clearly best suited to playing on the wing in either a 4-4-2 or 4-5-1/4-3-3 depending on how you look at it.

As CNR mentioned he isn’t a striker as he is better when facing forward than when he has his back to goal. He has however done a decent job when asked to play up top running the channel etc when playing against the big 6, showing great application and effort despite the fact he’s been sulking for the last two years (what a load of b*llocks).

Antonio is without doubt not a right back, I don’t even need to bother explaining why, it’s pretty obvious if you’ve watched him at all during his career.

Then there is RWB/LWB which is probably the position he’s most likely to occupy in our current formation. He is clearly better suited to RW/LW but unfortunately that’s not an option. Antonio is not defensive minded and he lacks the defensive concentration to play RWB/LWB to level i’d hope for. We might get away with it against teams in the bottom half and particularly at home, but I’m sure opposition teams will begin to target him in that role as it’s not his game.

Unfortunately if he does have a bad game there I’m sure he’ll get battered from pillar to post on here whilst many convienantly forget he’s playing out of position. Whilst any mention of this fact will probably lead to comparisons with Victor Moses or Antonio Valencia, again overlooking the fact playing in Chelsea/Man U’s defence is very different to playing in ours.

[psychoscoredthelot]

thought he played quite well

[Graza]

Good game for him at the weekend. Looked blown after 60 or so - to be expected given the length of lay off he had, but he really benefitted from being the left sided wing back as Cresswell could cover him. If he'd been the other side it might not have gone so well.

Involved in both games, really made then think about where he was while his legs lastest and generally a nuisance. Getting him and Arnautovic back in the team together really showed how slow and pedestrian we are without them, both running at players with pace and power.

I probably agree that he's better in a winger position where he can go forward more, but no problems with his application or getting back in this one. With everyone fit where does he fit? Right wing back? Left wing back? Center Forward floating wide with Arnie? Not sure, but we look a different team with him on the pitch.

[Smonnie]

There was a notable occasion when he lost the ball (boo!) but then ran the length of the pitch to get back (yay!)

[WestHamIFC]

Absolutely tore it up in the 1st half before fading badly in the 2nd - presumably due to:

• a. Lack of match fitness

• and

• b. the Watford coach tactically addressing his obvious, overwhelming threat during the first 45

Wing-Back actually seemed to really suit him, since receiving the ball a bit deeper meant that by the time he reached their Full-Back he had already turned to face him head-on and he had reached his full pace (as opposed to receiving the ball with his back to goal while marked by their Full-Back, or having to accelerate from a standing position).

The amount of times he was able to knock the ball past the Watford Right-Back and beat him for pace as he collected the ball on the other side during the 1st half was embarrassing.

Defensively he worked really hard too, tracking back when required.

Looking forward to seeing him play more in this role.

[Aceface]

He must be at slight risk of a sale in the summer, not because he's a lost cause but because his value is probably relatively high on the open market relative to his actual impact on the pitch in recent times. Good age, recent England call-up, versatile, English tax – even Sullivan would struggle to get less than £25m for him.

Second only to Bilic in terms of having a career that splits into distinct Payet and post-Payet segments.

[Rio]

Absolutely tore it up in the 1st half before fading badly in the 2nd - presumably due to:

• a. Lack of match fitness

• and

• b. the Watford coach tactically addressing his obvious, overwhelming threat during the first 45

Wing-Back actually seemed to really suit him, since receiving the ball a bit deeper meant that by the time he reached their Full-Back he had already turned to face him head-on and he had reached his full pace (as opposed to receiving the ball with his back to goal while marked by their Full-Back, or having to accelerate from a standing position).

The amount of times he was able to knock the ball past the Watford Right-Back and beat him for pace as he collected the ball on the other side during the 1st half was embarrassing.

Defensively he worked really hard too, tracking back when required.

Looking forward to seeing him play more in this role.

Wing back suits him down to the ground. Soon as he realises that himself, the better for him, the club and a lot of peoples harmony

[Ladzini]

He must be at slight risk of a sale in the summer, not because he's a lost cause but because his value is probably relatively high on the open market relative to his actual impact on the pitch in recent times. Good age, recent England call-up, versatile, English tax – even Sullivan would struggle to get less than £25m for him.

Second only to Bilic in terms of having a career that splits into distinct Payet and post-Payet segments.

We need a more technical winger who makes the right decision after beating someone, which Antonio does sometimes, but not often enough. He also can run his way into a hole often. If we could get 25/30 for him I would take it, provided we sign someone who is twice as intelligent as he is with the ball, even if it means they aren't quite as strong or as fast...




Oh wait, I've just described Sofiane Feghouli.

[Hammersfaniow]

Out for the rest of the season. Must be an actual tear in the hamstring to keep him out for that long

Maybe played his last game for us if Jinxed predictions come true in the summer

[stu1]

Maybe played his last game for us if Jinxed predictions come true in the summer

Let’s hope not.

Apparently he left the field in tears yesterday, putting to bed the rumours he doesn’t care anymore.