After West Ham failed to score in 90 minutes and 40 seconds of a game against National League North side Kidderminster Harriers, fans were out for blood and wanted someone to blame. Unsurprisingly, Andriy Yarmolenko came out on top of the hit list once again.
Since arriving at West Ham in June 2018 following an £18m transfer from Borussia Dortmund, Andriy Yarmolenko has struggled to make the kind of impact that many expected. A key player for Ukraine at international level and a Dynamo Kyiv legend, there were high hopes for the winger and his almost unrivalled left peg.
Yarmolenko arrived in a transfer window where Manuel Pellegrini and Mario Husillos spent £90.81m bringing in names like Felipe Anderson, Issa Diop and Lukasz Fabianski and Yarmolenko was actually one of the first to get up and running with his two goals in a win against Everton on Matchday Five already endearing him to the West Ham faithful. That 3-1 win at Goodison Park was West Ham’s first of the season and Yarmolenko would quickly become a creative spark that West Ham would look to in possession. He had the ability to cut in from the right flank and shoot or play incisive passes into the penalty area.
But after his good start, Yarmolenko’s form was interrupted by an achilles injury that he picked up just four games later against Spurs. The Ukrainian would be set to miss the rest of his first season with West Ham, a huge blow for a player that had spent much of the season before being injured with Dortmund. And when Yarmolenko eventually returned in the second week of the following season, things looked a little different. The early promise of the Pellegrini era had somewhat dissipated and West Ham were now lurching between looking a coherent and cohesive unit one week to looking like a set of complete strangers the next. And Yarmolenko’s reinclusion in autumn 2019, although less impactful than his first stint, was relatively successful. With goals in wins over Norwich and Man Utd and in a draw with Bournemouth, the Ukrainian had gone from being someone who was able to impact games across 90 minutes to a player that lacked form and fitness but could still pull out the occasional moment of magic to help the team.
Again though, just as that season tailspun into its worst stretch, eventually leading to Pellegrini’s departure, Yarmolenko would suffer another relatively serious injury in an abductor tear he sustained against Southampton. This would keep him out of most of the early part of David Moyes’ return to the London Stadium and he would find himself limited to an impact substitute role after Jarrod Bowen was signed from Hull City in that January window. And Yarmolenko would still prove his worth in this period with a crucial goal in a 3-2 win over Chelsea, a game that brought about the change in belief in the group; we were going to stay up.
But Yarmolenko wasn’t going to become a key player again. Injuries, poor form and lack of fitness had blighted his first two seasons with West Ham and the team had rightly moved on. £115k a week and a big name, Yarmolenko would have to settle for a spot on the fringes. He played just 362 minutes across 15 league appearances last season, equalling an average of 24 minutes per game and has clocked up just 84 minutes across 11 league appearances this season, under 8 minutes per game.
Now, I understand the frustration with Yarmolenko. I feel it too. He struggles to impact games when coming on and doesn’t seem to do all that much for us in the cup competitions… But it is worth remembering that this is a player that hasn’t strung a run of domestic starts together since November 2019.
After the Kidderminster game, Alex Kral was heavily criticised on social media. Subbed at half-time, the Czech international had struggled for security in possession and hadn’t been able to dominate the midfield despite the level. Rightly, many chimed in with the fact that Kral hasn’t really had a run of games since his appearances for the Czech Republic at the Euros last summer.
Why isn’t the same defence afforded to Yarmolenko? There must always be a scapegoat.
West Ham didn’t play particularly well against Kidderminster for 45 minutes but after that, the main story was one of a National League North side defending exceptionally well against players with much bigger reputations. Matt Preston, on loan from Solihull Moors, had the game of his life and headed, blocked and tackled everything and goalkeeper Luke Simpson made crucial saves when called upon. But the structure was most impressive. Happy to drop deep in their shape and trust the system to force West Ham wide and into unthreatening crossing positions, Kidderminster were able to deflect much of the talent differential through discipline, trust and confidence – a hugely important combination for any team.
Afterwards though, the narrative on forums and on social media swirled around Yarmolenko. The Ukrainian has become a lightning rod for West Ham fans’ ire; blamed for cameo appearances in games we were already losing rather than the players who have played 90% of those games.
His salary is not his fault, our ownership negotiated that with him and his team when he was signed and all he can do now is deliver to the best of his ability. And yet he is often maligned for a perceived lack of interest or effort; Yarmolenko was slammed for not celebrating Declan Rice’s last gasp equaliser and for diving to try and win a penalty when played through by Pablo Fornals…
Two things:
Yarmolenko’s attitude and effort was epitomised by his recovery sprint in the 116th minute to interrupt a Kidderminster counter and win the ball back for his team after Said Benrahma had lost the ball from a short corner. Perhaps this is a better barometer of how much he cares.
The dive has been massively overcooked. It’s clear to see on the replay that the Kidderminster defender, Nathan Cameron, pokes out his left leg and catches Yarmolenko. Should Yarmolenko go down? No, it looks comical when he does. But players aren’t playing with the benefit of three camera angles to be able to perceive what it’ll look like on a replay, he feels the contact and crumples. He should be criticised for going down softly but that’s an entirely different thing to manufacturing contact.
And frankly, Yarmolenko didn’t have a bad game.
There was widely held bemusement when Moyes subbed Nikola Vlasic off in the 77th minute rather than Yarmolenko but Vlasic had struggled to drop off the last line and take possession in deeper areas to find passes into others in dangerous positions; we needed someone who could create a chance rather than someone who could finish it. And Yarmolenko had already created our best chance of the game in setting up a shooting opportunity for Bowen in the 60th minute.
Perhaps most importantly, Yarmolenko was playing with his head up in advanced areas, something of vital importance when playing against a defence sitting so deep and evidenced by his one-two with Benrahma where he set-up another excellent chance for an equaliser.
And Yarmolenko would go on to add value in extra time too with his comfortability rotating with Bowen for the central striker role proving invaluable in allowing both to flourish from the right in different periods. There was a perfectly weighted pass through to Benrahma who failed to cut the ball back across to Bowen, a simple pass through to Bowen in the box where many would’ve just crossed and a lovely angled run and cutback to Bowen where he was caught marginally offside. And it was his shot towards the far corner that led to the winner following Bowen’s flick and Cresswell’s cutback.
Undoubtedly, Yarmolenko hasn’t been the player we all hoped he would be and he’s failed to impact games in the way that you’d expect given his talent. But there’s a reason Moyes keeps picking him and as frustrating as he can be at times, he was crucial to most of our best moments against Kidderminster.
It’s fair to criticise a player when their performance level isn’t there but it’s hard not to feel that Yarmolenko has become an easy scapegoat whenever things go wrong. His performance against Kidderminster was fine, he wasn’t brilliant but he absolutely wasn’t bad either. And his application was unquestionable. Just because he’s not all sprints doesn’t mean he’s not trying, it’s not exactly his style to bound around the pitch; not that it would be for a 32 year old never blessed with pace and with a long injury history…
Yarmolenko will be replaced in the summer when his contract runs out and I hope that we can look back on his time at West Ham with fond memories of his best moments rather than a distasteful dismissiveness of his character tied to his contract more than his performances.
Declan Rice said in his interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap this week that certain players weren’t up for the fight and their egos prevented them from giving their best when we needed them. There’s a reason why Yarmolenko wasn’t rooted out alongside Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller, let’s remember that.
Jack Elderton 