Gokhan Tore was named Man of the Match on the Sunday on the official West Ham twitter account following his display in the 1-0 victory over Bournemouth.
Tore skipped past his opposition defender to break into the Bournemouth penalty area before picking out Michail Antonio with an exquisite cross which was headed into the back of the net.
Tore's 1st assist in Premier League #PremierLeague #gokhantore #beşiktaş #bjk @BesiktasUsa1903 #WestHam pic.twitter.com/onTjjcePKq
— talat ulutas (@talatulutas) August 21, 2016
The 24-year-old made more key passes than any other player over the 90 minutes (4), made three successful dribbles and pulled off seven crosses including the one that resulted in the goal.
Tore was given his third consecutive start within a seven day span going into the Astra clash today. The Turkish international has been picked by Slaven Bilic out of necessity with Sofiane Feghouli, Dimitri Payet and Lanzini all out.
Ideally Bilic would not have wanted to rush Tore back so quickly considering he only recently recovered from a knee injury and missed most of the pre-season. Three starts within a seven day spell is taxing at times of peak fitness let alone coming back unfit off the back of being sidelined.
West Ham crashed out of the Europa League at the qualification stage for the second season running after losing 1-0 against Astra.
For some reason Tore was lambasted after the game with fans ripping into the winger – just take a look at the social media reaction: West Ham fans slam Gokhan Tore on social media following Astra defeat
It was not a first either, Tore also received a similar reaction against Chelsea, Astra and even against Bournemouth on the weekend.
Tore is not match fit, only recently recovered from injury and joined late into the transfer window. It is way too early to start judging a player after just three starts, especially a new player still finding his feet.
The explosive winger is the type of player that thrives when the fans are behind him. A confident Tore is capable of providing magic. If West Ham supporters want the best out of him singling him out because he’s the new guy may not be the best way to go about it. He did not put on a stellar display against Astra but to be fair, who actually did? The entire team was poor, the boys had an off day… it happens.
It is worth reminding that Slaven Bilic is the reason Tore joined this summer. The Hammers head coach has wanted his star man since he took charge last summer. Bilic worked with the Turkish international for two seasons during his time in charge of Besiktas. The 24-year-old scored a career high eight goals and provided 11 sides in his second season under Bilic and excelled in the Europa League with standout displays Tottenham and Liverpool.
Tore won the league title with Besiktas last season and turned down Champions League football for the opportunity to work with the manager he refers to as being like a father to him. And just to emphasise how much respect he has for Bilic, Tore was orphaned as a child and ever got to know his actual father.
Tore and Bilic got on from the get go. As Tore stated in his first interview after joining West Ham: “He is the best manager I have worked under and he is like a father to the players. You feel like you are family.”
Bilic has finally landed his star man after a year of pursuing him and deserves to be given at least a chance to prove why he has so much faith in Tore.
See More
5 facts you need to know about West Ham signing Gokhan Tore
The post West Ham news: In defence of Gokhan Tore appeared first on Turkish Football.