Hammers goal keeper Lukasz Fabianski is going to have a late fitness test just before the home tie against Burnley at the London Stadium this afternoon. Fabianski has missed the last two games with a thigh injury that threatens to de-rail a very stable defensive unit. Darren Randolph has deputised for Fabianski and looks likely to continue this afternoon.
The general concencus from the club's medical department is that playing 'Fab' would be an unnecessary risk, especially given the current fixture glut. David Moyes has to set his team up for the visit of Sam Allaryce's West Brom on Tuesday, so he has to juggle with his player's fitness levels.
Fabianski has been in fine form recently, and looked to be like his old self following his hip operation last season, but with any injury that threatens to recur caution is the byword. The Polish international came back too soon following his operation, and was further sidelined.
Darren Randolph deputised well against Everton and Stockport, however he was fortunate to not be tested to any real extent in either match, today's visitors, Burnley, will prove a much sterner test, Chris Wood just loves scoring against West Ham, as does his colleague Ashley Barnes.
Hammers have 'limped' through matches recently, unfortunately Sean Dyche's team play in a similar manner to their manager's voice, gruff and tough, they also possess considerable talent throughout their team, so today's game will be a real test for David Moyes and his players, particularly Darren Randolph if he is selected to start the game. - Ed
Comments
not fit don't play
Why take a risk...Randolphs a better back up keeper than the previous nightmare so for me a no brainer
You know as supporters we
You know as supporters we sometimes are our own worst enemies. I sometimes wonder if our improvement this season has been due to lack of fans in the stadium baying for blood of players under performing. Supporting is just that, encourage, cajole, boost egos etc and get the best out of players .. our tendency is to attack, belittle and discourage ... and players respond accordingly ... as supporters we are sometimes incredibly harsh, critical and demeaning ... maybe we need to change our mindset and make players feel ten feet tall instead of the reverse ... I now await the torrent of abuse coming my way for having the gall to state this ...
You are totally correct! And
You are totally correct! And it was the same back at the Boleyn, we used to sit next to a guy who would start slagging the team of before they even took to the pitch, unfortunately we seem to have one of his cousins sitting right next to us in the Bobby Moore upper as well.