I like ward-prowse but I can’t say he’s ever had a game where I’m like “wow he absolutely he ran that game” which is what you get with great centre midfielders. He’s single handedly won us games with his deliveries but his contributions outside of that are often pretty forgettable.

Tbf, Downes is younger, and while he was great at Ipswich (watched him there plenty since it’s my dad’s team) it’s definitely a big step up (regardless of it from them or by way of a season at Swansea). The loan might do him a world of good and he could still prove a good squad player.

One big factor ultimately though is that Downes’ best attributes are his consistency in performances, ability to win the ball back and to retain possession, he’s not at all a creative player really. Ward-Prowse is all those good things but with a better range of passing and the x-factor of his set pieces. Maybe Downes can compete for the Alvarez style role post-loan (which I think would mean working a little extra on his defensive positioning), otherwise I have to admit he’ll never be a starter when Ward-Prowse is fit

JWP has been great for West Ham to be fair and assists give you a boost in any rating system. It is what it is.

I thought we were going to really struggle with whoever replaced Hugo, I could see it taking a few years and maybe even two or three poor GKs before we had someone, but Dewey has been so good. It’s genuinely a good thing that we’ve not heard that much from him, because a lot of the time with goalkeepers you hear their name a lot when they’ve dropped a bollock. Like Hugo Lloris kept doing last season.

He’s been so unlucky this season. The number of absurd saves he has made, only to concede by some shitty deflection, bad decision, penalty, or just having Eric fucking Dier play a high “line” makes me feel bad for him.

And he’s such a lovely guy.