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Irish Hammer 2:19 Mon May 9
Article on Benrahma

Benrahma so much more valuable to West Ham now he has an end product


It is hard to think of a West Ham United player who polarises opinion as much as Said Benrahma but there are very few — if any — in the squad who offer his type of quality.

It was the Benrahma show in the 4-0 win over Norwich City. Had injury not prevented the Algerian playmaker from being withdrawn, he could have scored his first hat-trick for the club. The 26-year-old has scored 11 goals and registered six assists in 48 league and cup appearances this season, a big improvement on three goals in 36 games in 2020-21.

While the award for Hammer of the Year is likely to be given to Declan Rice, Benrahma would be a deserving recipient for most improved player this season. But despite being one of the club’s main attacking outlets, he doesn’t appear to be universally appreciated by the fanbase. The prevailing view is he lacks consistency, is unable to influence big games and dithers too much in the final third.

But it was Benrahma who converted the winner in the Carabao Cup penalty shootout triumph against Manchester City, scored twice and had one of his best performances of the campaign in the group stage Europa League win against Genk and it was his two assists in the 2-1 win over Aston Villa that proved hugely important.

Benrahma scored his eighth and ninth league goals against Norwich to register 21 goal involvements in the competition. Since his debut in October 2020, only Jarrod Bowen (30) and Michail Antonio (28) have managed more for the club.

Yeah it’s ott but who gives a fuck ! 😀

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Benrahma scores his first goal of the day at Norwich
It is worth remembering the extent Benrahma has gone to become an important member of the team. After every training session at Rush Green, Benrahma and technical advisor Alan Irvine would regularly study video clips. Irvine showed the attacker every chance he had in games and where he was getting them, what was happening and where things were going wrong. They would then recreate those chances on the training ground.

The duo would go away with a bag of balls and some mannequins, and Benrahma would attempt shots in those areas at young goalkeeper Nathan Trott. Now he is the third-highest scorer for West Ham this season, behind Antonio (12) and Bowen (16). It is not just Irvine who Benrahma has shown his appreciation to. When he scored in the 3-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur in March, he ran to the technical area to embrace first-team coaches Paul Nevin and Kevin Nolan. Against Norwich, he ran to the bench to hug captain Mark Noble.

“It was really nice to watch the boys and play 25 minutes,” said Noble, who arrived as a second-half substitute on his 35th birthday. “The game was won by then and it was lovely to get sung happy birthday by the fans. I said to Said before the game, ‘I think you’re going to score today.’ It was a birthday present for myself and after 12 minutes he scored and ran over, which was nice. It was a good performance from the boys and after the disappointment of Thursday it was a good reaction.”

David Moyes agreed. “I think that considering all the things that happened in midweek and how emotions were, it was a really good result,” the manager said. “He (Benrahma) had a really good chance for a hat-trick didn’t he? I thought the team started really well in the opening 20 minutes and that gave us a decent platform to go and work from.”

Benrahma was a second-half substitute in the 1-0 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt. Although he was unable to swing the result in West Ham’s favour, his improvement in front of goal has shown he is capable of cementing a place in the starting XI next season. Whether he plays again this season depends on the injury he picked up towards the end of the game. Benrahma was through on goal and kicked the back of Sam Byram’s boot. He was struggling to put weight on his right foot afterwards and had to be assisted off the field by physios. He left Carrow Road on crutches.

On his performance before that, Vladimir Coufal said: “It’s good for Benrahma’s confidence because as an attacking player he’ll want to score more goals and provide more assists. He always tries to be confident on the pitch. He’s a good dribbler and in games like these he shows why he’s a good player for us.

“It was a very important win for us and another three points on the table. It helps strengthen our chances of securing European football next season, but we are aware we still need to win our remaining games. It was important for us to return to winning ways because we lost four games in a row. Europa League would be better than the Conference League but it doesn’t matter.”

It was an afternoon when West Ham remained in the hunt for a top-six spot, Bowen highlighted why he deserves to be in the next England squad and Antonio belatedly ended his goalscoring drought in the league. But, regardless of the opposition, Benrahma served a reminder he too can produce memorable moments in a West Ham jersey.

TWe 12:14 Tue May 10
Re: Article on Benrahma

Think there's more to come from him. Definitely worth keeping as a squad player if we're going to be in Europe regularly.

Chigwell 11:12 Tue May 10
Re: Article on Benrahma

Too reliant on his right foot and even then he doesn't have much power in it. He can make the odd instinctive pass though to open up a defence.

eusebiovic 9:47 Tue May 10
Re: Article on Benrahma

Obviously skillful but very frustrating to watch...

Sometimes he just takes a shot for the sake of it when clearly it would be better to keep possession and wait for some space to open up.

Manuel 9:31 Tue May 10
Re: Article on Benrahma

If he was going to be a real asset and a regular first teamer it would have already happened, it's not happening now, at least not under Moyes.

So is he worth keeping as a squad player? His stats suggest that he is, but maybe the player wants more than that?

dealcanvey 9:23 Tue May 10
Re: Article on Benrahma

I like him.

Can be very sloppy with the ball in the final third. But then again so can Fornals and Bowen misplace passes.

They can all frustrate at times.

It’s a part of the game our attacking players need to improve on.

Mex Martillo 7:27 Tue May 10
Re: Article on Benrahma

I definitely ha a lot of time for Said, especially as he is coming back to form. I am not sure why but that Africa Nations Cup did nor seem to help him.
Let's see how he does against City, that's a big test and if he shines there it could be a very interesting game.
Thanks Irish

the exile 10:00 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

Sometimes you just have to take the rough with the smooth. There's no denying his stats, which are pretty decent. There's no denying his skill on the ball. But his football brain and his pace are highly questionable. I just hope he will continue to improve. For me he still isn't a guaranteed starter but is definitely a valuable squad player. It's disgusting how some on here seem to want him to fail.

ATBOG 9:52 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

Bar Dec, Dawson and Jarrod Bowen I think virtually all our regular players have had drops in form relative to the natural progression of the season. I think it's fair to say this is down to the squad size. You can compare the likes of red scouse and say their best players have been playing week in week out for 3/4 seasons but apart from the slight additional quality they may possess it's much easier playing for those cunts when the officials and media are effectively on your side and willing you on in one way or another.

fraser 8:03 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

He's scored the most goals per minute in our squad in the league this season.. Yet has no end product..

Hammer-ed 7:10 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

He had the chance to shine against Frankfurt. Other then Bowen, the Frankfurt coach was very weary of his abilities and his dribbling skills to open up defences.

stepney hammer 6:52 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

He's very frustrating, he'll often have a brilliant first touch or beat a man to create space only to then balloon the shot over the bar / wide or get the pass wrong.

He is not particularly quick or strong either. So he's often easily caught and dispossessed. When he got injured yesterday was actually a good example of this as even though he was through on goal he was caught by the defender before he could get his shot away and unfortunately got injured as a result. Also in the recent game against Chelsea, he did really well to win the ball in dangerous positions a couple of times high up the pitch, but wasn't quick enough to do anything with it, Chalobah caught him and easily manoeuvered him off the ball both times.

It's strange though because his numbers for goals and assists are pretty good, especially considering he isn't a guaranteed starter like Antonio or Bowen who are the only two ahead of him this season for those figures.

I am not certain how well suited he is to a Moyes team though and I think more often than not when everyone's fit he'll be starting on the bench. It would be useful to see him get 90 minutes more, but Moyes will usually favour Fornals in Benrahma's best position.

BillC79 6:17 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

I don’t understand the dislike of him. It’s not as if we’re blessed with goal scorers - so to get 11 and 6 assists is pretty good.

Plus his dribbling gets fans off their seats - it’s fun to watch rather than percentage football. His decisions can be infuriating at times but we’d be mad to let him go.

bell 6:01 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

An end product? Behave.

Lee Trundle 5:45 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

Do we have 2 Arthur's playing for us?!

threesixty 5:30 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

British football fans tend not to like players like Benny unless they ALWAYS produce.

Its always been that way. Even Joe Cole at Chelsea got all the creativity beaten out of him by Mourinho.

Benny's are always seen as luxury items in British leagues.

For me, I think players who can actually dribble past players at the highest level are a necessity in the top divisions and in Europe. Even if they dont score. Mainly because they create space. They keep defenders guessing and they unlock the game really. Its one of the reasons I liked Arthur when he played higher up.

Right now we only have 2 players that do this, Arthur and Benny (sounds like a burger chain...)

I wish we had a few more.
10 goals from a player like that is actually pretty good this season, especially when he barely plays 90 minutes. For Brentford in the championship he got big numbers as he player every game I think.

Would be mad to let him go esp as he is gaining so much experience at the top level.

Mad Dog 5:23 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

I'm wondering if benny shagged COYI's missus given his hatred of him

I certainly hope it isn't because of his ethnic background or religion.

Benny seems to play better thr more confident he is. At least even when he is out of sorts be at least tries stuff. When he is on form more comes off. Whe out of form it all goes pear shaped for him.

He definitely needs to spend the summer down the gym with a bucket of creatine.

Nick QQQ 5:03 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

Weird article. I'd say he has actually gone backwards this year. Yeah he has the odd cameo but his consistency is the problem.

Lee Trundle 4:48 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

Cum On Benrahma 2:30 Mon May 9

You seem fixated about him scoring against Championship teams.

I just wonder, were the times he scored against the likes of Man Utd and Spurs during the time you disappeared from this board?

SecondOpinion 2:53 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

Both goals deflections

Moncurs Putting Iron 2:49 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

Benrahma so much more valuable to West Ham now he has an end product - No he doesn't. Not yet.

Will read on but this opening statement is not a good start.

Lily Hammer 2:45 Mon May 9
Re: Article on Benrahma

Although knowing there is a talented player in there, I had almost given up on Benny, for all the reasons we’ve talked about, over and over again, but the last few games, before yesterday, I noticed little encouraging signs, where he showed a bit more direct aggression in beating his man in dangerous areas.

Without getting carried away, after his second (excellent) finish, I thought it would do his confidence a world of good, going in to these last two games, and he might have big things to say vs City and BHA.

Typical shit West Ham luck that he got injured just as things might have clicked for him. I thought it looked bad as he was helped from the pitch, and leaving the stadium on crutches doesn’t stir much hope.

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