Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent has backed Manuel Pellegrini’s decision to bench West Ham United captain Mark Noble at half-time in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Newcastle United.
The Hammers were 2-0 down going into the break at the London Stadium when Pellegrini hooked his skipper along with Andriy Yarmolenko to bring on unproven striker Albian Ajeti and Manuel Lanzini.
A fightback was made when 3-0 down, clawing it back to 3-2, but the match ended in another defeat for the hosts which has left many questioning whether it’s time for a change.
Plenty of West Ham fans were surprised at the move, but Bent believes the under-pressure Chilean manager made the right call:
Sometimes in that type of game when you get pumped and are losing as heavily as you are, you don’t need a midfielder who is keeping it tight and doesn’t really carry a goal threat. If you look at the three other players in there with him, they can all create, then you’ve got Rice and Noble…when you’re 2-0 down you don’t need that, you only need one of them, you need to get another creative midfielder on.
READ WEST HAM’S VERDICT
In fairness, you’ve got to agree with Bent and I certainly agree with Pellegrini’s decision to bring Noble off for an extra attacker.
When Declan Rice is still on the pitch, you don’t need another defensive-minded midfielder and although it came too late, there was a slight improvement.
Pellegrini is understandably under the cosh at the moment though, and a loss at Burnley this weekend would leave West Ham in even more trouble.
Comments.
Loading comments…