✍ Welcome Tomas Soucek

[carnage]

Soucek is suffering from Mullins syndrome with an element of our support. If a player is not pinging balls 50 yards or scoring 10 goals a season then they are crap.

[MB]

Does seem the better we do the more we nit pick individual players.

In terms of Tomas, if Fornals lays it off rather than attempting the impossible then a good chance he gets on the score sheet at the weekend. They've been a few times like that.

Think he has definitely benefited from LanIni being in the side in recent weeks. Let's him make more forward runs and also gives him an out ball. He looked a bit more sedate with Lanzini there.

[Diogenes]

For me, he is one of our best players. I really do not understand the criticism. Sure, form goes up and down, but he has been and still is one of our best buys 'EVER' and and a key reason of our success over thew past 2 seasons.

[stu1]

I think he suffers from people expecting him to score as regularly as he did last season. It’s not normal for a DM to score as many as he does, so we shouldn’t necessarily expect him to be scoring 8-10 goals a season.

People then start looking at his play on the ball which can be underwhelming sometimes, but it’s easy to overlook just how important his running and aerial ability is. The bloke is a machine when it comes to ground covered and barely loses a header, the amount of first and second balls he wins goes under the radar.

[The Straw]

I think a lot of people in general have been brainwashed (for want of a better word) by Sky, Fifa, social media, instant gratification/criticism culture etc. If you can't see beyond the odd misplaced pass then that's probably your own problem, not his.

He is a fine player. And from what I understand his value goes way beyond just what he does on the pitch (first to training, last out etc) . We haven't had many of those types for far too long.

He is a massive part of the most successful engine room (and team) I've known since my first game in 1994. That header against Sevilla is now part of our history and was crucial in the context of that tie, and maybe there are more historic moments to come from him this season yet.

[Crossd_Hammrs]

Are people really moaning about Tommy?
Sheesh, maybe they should be made to watch videos of what we had before - Kouyate, Sanchez, Nordveit, Kovac ...

[Korea Hammer]

For me, he is one of our best players. I really do not understand the criticism. Sure, form goes up and down, but he has been and still is one of our best buys 'EVER' and and a key reason of our success over thew past 2 seasons.

Are people really moaning about Tommy?
Sheesh, maybe they should be made to watch videos of what we had before - Kouyate, Sanchez, Nordveit, Kovac ...

Yes, his signing was the turning point. His workrate and selfless attitude are second to none. The lynchpin in Moyes' project.

[funky chicken]

The dipsticks that complain about Soucek are probably the same dipsticks that say a striker should be our number 1 priority this summer when we’ve scored the 4th most goals in the whole league! While completely ignoring the fact we’ve conceded too many goals. It’s why they are not Premier League managers.

Look at how well we coped without him at home to Leeds! Straightaway that 2nd goal for Leeds doesn’t happen with him on the pitch, as he would’ve headed that corner away. Was arguably one of Rice’s worst performance of the season too.

[Billy Hunt]

The dipsticks that complain about Soucek are probably the same dipsticks that say a striker should be our number 1 priority this summer when we’ve scored the 4th most goals in the whole league! While completely ignoring the fact we’ve conceded too many goals. It’s why they are not Premier League managers.

Look at how well we coped without him at home to Leeds! Straightaway that 2nd goal for Leeds doesn’t happen with him on the pitch, as he would’ve headed that corner away. Was arguably one of Rice’s worst performance of the season too.

They will also be the same people that have at various times also said that Ogbonna, Cresswell, Lanzini and others should "never play for us again".

If a player has a poor game, or a run of bad form, then off they go in the eyes of the short-sighted

[sendô]

People doubting this lad need to cast their minds back to before we signed him, at about just before the first lockdown, when we had Sanchez in the middle of midfield and we were getting torn a new one week in week out. I forget what game it was, but Soucek entering our midfield instantly improved us.

He's a hard working, hard running grafter. He's never going to have silky skills, he'll never dribble past 5 players and nutmeg the keeper like a Benrahma or blitz through teams with pace like a Bowen, but he's the sort of player you need in your team to allow those players the freedom to attack.

[S-H]

#RespectTheClaretHeadband

[Aztec Hammer]

He has really got himself back into the sort of levels he was at last year, from the Wolves game onwards.

Of course he is never going to be the most beautiful player to watch, but he really did struggle quite a lot for a couple of months leading up to that. He wasn't controlling the ball like he normally would, he was routinely turning up at the scene of the play a second after it had occurred, he wasn't really getting off the ground to compete for headers like he usually does, and he wasn't getting the goals to lighten the pressure overall.

Maybe it's rest, maybe it's a little bit the role change, but he has played himself out of that slumber and is back to where he was at last season.

[mattyD]

Essential player. Indispensable. If he could pass like Dec he'd be worth £150m as well. As it is he retains possession very well, scores goals, defends and does more running than anyone.

[Cockneyboy311]

An absolute warrior and would run through brick walls for the team. 2nd name on the teamsheet after Dekkers.

[Billy Hunt]

An absolute warrior and would run through brick walls for the team. 2nd name on the teamsheet after Dekkers.

Ain't he just. He has played so many minutes, covers so much ground, for club and country, yet dusts himself down, changes a few bandages and goes again. I'd imagine every single one of his teammates adores him too

[Dieter Eckstein]

His biggest mistake was was scoring 10 goals last season. That's a ridiculously high bar for a DM, particularly now Rice is roving forward more and more. I don't think there's been a noticeable drop-off in the other elements of his game this year and the fact that he's still scored 5 goals isn't too shabby anyway for a defensive player. I also think he's one of those players who just naturally looks knackered/in pain all the time so it's easy to take a look at him and think he's struggling. He probably is in quite a lot of pain due to the amount of times he seems to get smacked in the face and the amount of running he does, but I don't have any concerns about his level of performance.

[StevePottsGoalsReel]

I also think he's one of those players who just naturally looks knackered/in pain all the time so it's easy to take a look at him and think he's struggling. He probably is in quite a lot of pain due to the amount of times he seems to get smacked in the face and the amount of running he does, but I don't have any concerns about his level of performance.

If he stays with us for the rest of his career, getting zero protection from referees, the poor lad will look like Sloth from the Goonies by the time he's 35.

:arry:

[Eggs'n'nuts]

MASSIVE!

[Bond Holder 59]

So, first off I’m not sure I buy all this noise about Tomas being available, and this subject was buried on page 8 of the kumb topics so it appears many agree, but then I read today’s club announcement about Kral going back, and ……

I think I recall Tomas being instrumental in getting Kral to come to us. They were pictures of them both in various stands going into the Euros. Some on kumb commented on how Tomas was ‘our best scout’. Moyes went big on Kral identifying Kral as ‘one to watch’ in the Euros.

As this season developed, and noting Tomas had no break between seasons due to Euros, his performances dipped…..his buddy watched from the stands week in, week out. Tomas might have started thinking why did I bother pushing Alex? His head blurred by the lack of progress.

Perhaps discussions with Tomas’ agent strayed into Kral areas and an impression was given/confirmed that Tomas was disappointed? Agent sniffs a bonus, especially as West Ham’s new contract offer was less than perfect, and so ‘leaks’ appeared…..social media warriors do the rest.

What do I know? Back to my comfy chair.
⚒

[Aztec Hammer]

Kral was utter pony. Everyone could see it before he signed. I’m a bit miffed as to how Soucek thought he’d be a good idea. And even more so that Moyes signed off on it.

Bit embarrassing really to sign such an obviously poor player just because he was Czech and available to loan.