West Ham recorded a brilliant victory away at Stamford Bridge on Saturday but they failed to follow that up against Wolves with yet another insipid display.
Manuel Pellegrini was without the injured Michail Antonio and opted to play Felipe Anderson just behind Sebastien Haller, but the combination simply didn’t work out for the Hammers.
It didn’t take supporters long to notice that things weren’t going their way, either, and they took aim at Haller for his lack of energy and effort up-front.
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That is one hallmark of Antonio’s game, and it allowed West Ham to trouble Chelsea last time out, with Wolves’ back three allowed far too much time on the ball to play out from the back.
Haller is now on a run of seven games without a goal or assist, and until he improves his work outside of scoring, he won’t be of much use to the Hammers’ attack.
Pellegrini also has the unfancied Albian Ajeti at his disposal, and though he is yet to prove himself in East London he may get his chance soon if the Frenchman fails to improve.
While fans are quick to criticise the front-man they would do well to take note of the lack of service to him, with Pablo Fornals and Anderson similarly cumbersome in the opponent’s half.
Despite that, there is a clear impatience with Haller growing, one fan even comparing the £45m man to Carlton Cole.
Meanwhile, David Martin played a big hand in the win against Chelsea, but he may have had a much wider impact on the club through his actions.
