Yesterday saw West Ham United get the business done early in the FA Cup. Manuel Pellegrini made changes for his 12:30 kick-off against Birmingham at the London Stadium, and his changed side came through with a 2-0 win. However, when it came to the man of the match vote, the fans were shocked to see Declan Rice left out of the vote.
An important FA Cup third-round victory, but who was your Man of the Match?!
— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) 5 January 2019
The vote that West Ham’s official Twitter account put out gave the Hammers the option to choose one of Michail Antonio, Samir Nasri, Grady Diangana or Xande Silva as their standout performer for the clash, and whilst it was the debutant Nasri who won the vote, the fans would have had Rice over the Frenchman in a heartbeat after his sublime display from holding midfield.
A lot of West Ham fans will be frustrated that Rice was overlooked for the man of the match vote, but the fact that they had so many impressive performers that there was always going to be someone left out will be positive. It may have been a routine 2-0 win over a Championship side, but that won’t matter one bit to the fans who were thrilled to see their side record yet another win under Manuel Pellegrini.
You can read the Irons’ reaction to their man of the match poll here:
@_DeclanRice was our best player!
— Parkers (@Parkerswhufc) 5 January 2019
Rice
— steven cripps (@crippo0) 5 January 2019
Rice. Why no option?
— Andy Dutton (@dutts_87) January 5, 2019
Declan Rice was our best player.
— VINNYWHUFC (@vinnywhufc) January 5, 2019
Rice by a country mile, the amount of tackles he made today was unreal!
Absolutely solid— Sam Mixture (@sammixture) 5 January 2019
Where is Declan Rice in this poll?
— Tom Brookes (@Brookesy89) January 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/AdamSButler65/status/1081573474336944128
Declan Rice was amazing today!
— James Farmer (@JFarmerOWPT76) January 5, 2019
The Hammers would have made sure Rice won the vote comfortably had he been included, and they’ll be keen to see him put in the vote the next time he puts in a display like yesterdays.
