There is an argument that football has become too beholden to statistics but there are certainly a few which sum up West Ham United’s uninspiring FA Cup fourth-round victory over Burton Albion pretty neatly.
To borrow the words of former England manager Glenn Hoddle, Nuno’s limp Hammers were ‘poor’ and ‘very passive’ during a first-half performance which could be prescribed as a cure for insomnia.
West Ham United did not have a touch in the Burton Albion box until the 20th minute. It took a further 18 for Callum Wilson to curl a timid shot into the arms of Brad Collins. Not only their first shot on target, but their first shot full stop.
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Fortunately, Nuno had nearly £60 million worth of attacking talent on the bench. Gary Bowyer, in the home dugout, could only look on in envy as the big guns stocked up on ammunition.
Taty Castellanos brought a presence previously lacking up top, while Crysencio Summerville continued his ‘almost unstoppable’ form with a rampaging solo effort five minutes into extra time.
A sixth in seven games for the winger, and another FA Cup strike after his opener against Queens Park Rangers in round three.
On a day when Nuno handed first starts to Keiber Lamadrid and Mohamadou Kante, while handing minutes to weekly benchwarmers Soungoutou Magassa, Kyle Walker-Peters and Adama Traore, concerns over a lack of quality squad depth were greatly exacerbated.
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Arguably nothing summed up the gulf in class between the usual starters and the fringe players more than Adama Traore’s dreadful display, contrasted with the impact Summerville made when he came on in the Spaniard’s place.
Adama Traore completed only one cross as West Ham United survive Burton Albion scare
Adama Traore warms up prior to West Ham United's game with Manchester United.
Credit: Izzy Poles – AMA/Getty Images
On his final FA Cup outing in a Fulham shirt, Traore was ‘jeered off’ at Craven Cottage after producing what fan site Fulhamish described as a 3/10 performance.
We, at Hammers News, were not quite so brutal. Traore was one of five West Ham players rated ‘5/10’ in Staffordshire.
In 83 minutes on the pitch, the former Barcelona speedster completed only one cross. More often than not, Traore found himself face to face with a Burton full-back and, after failing to throw his marker off the scent, turned and passed the ball backwards. On the few occasions when he did manage to engineer a yard of pace, Traore aimlessly sent his cross looping over the penalty area.
If you remember that infamous ‘Bebe crossing show’ YouTube video during the Manchester United flop’s ill-fated spell at Old Trafford, this was a pretty accurate reconstruction.
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A graphic asking West Ham United fans to grade Keiber Lamadrid's performance on his West Ham United debut.
Credit: Getty Images/Rob Newell – CameraSport
Konstantinos Mavropanos was Nuno’s biggest goal threat before Crysencio Summerville entered
That Konstantinos Mavropanos mustered the second-most shots of any West Ham player, meanwhile, is equally indicative of a performance lacking both quality and ideas before Summerville’s game-breaking introduction.
The big Greek centre-back had four attempts, all of which came from set-piece situations. You would normally expect a Premier League outfit to rack up the open play shots against a team stuck in the League One relegation zone.
Burton actually outshot a team nearly 50 places above them in the English football pyramid. It epitomised the lack of cutting edge from Nuno’s toothless, gummy outfit that their most likely route to goal – before Summerville took matters into his own hands – appeared to be a Mavropanos header from a corner kick.
“[Until Wilson’s effort in the 38th minute, there was] nothing even close to getting a shot on target or an attempt on goal. It’s been very, very passive. It’s a passive performance from West Ham,” Hoddle said as a drab first-half limped to a close.
“I’m pretty sure Nuno wants to get them down the tunnel and give them a kick up the backside and say, ‘This is the FA Cup guys, we’ve got to play better than this.’
“You’ve got to say, West Ham have been poor. They’ve got to improve. If not, they could go out today.”
They avoided the same fate which befell London neighbours and FA Cup holders Crystal Palace in round three, at least. But no matter who they face in round five – West Ham will discover their next opponents on Monday evening – Nuno will have to weigh up whether he can trust Traore and co against even the most lowly opponents left in the pot.
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