West Ham’s predictable tactic from JWP’s inswingers

James Ward-Prowse was something of a dead weight in the game against Burnley. He was far from alone, of course; the whole of West Ham’s midfield failed to function for much of the match.

Edson Alvarez was anonymous, Lucas Paqueta spent the game throwing tantrums and giving the opposition the ball, whilst Tomas Soucek waited until the end of the match to get involved. Ward-Prowse was probably the pick of a bad bunch, and I totally understand that he may be ineffective during some games.

West Ham’s predictable tactic has come from Ward Prowses’ in-swinging corners

We have, after all, purchased a dead-ball specialist who can win the game from a corner or free-kick. He’s pretty good at it too, as can be seen by his assist count this season. But in tight games, his deliveries become crucially important, and on Saturday at Turf Moor, he was off the mark.

Everyone is allowed an off day, of course, but Ward-Prowse keeps repeating the same error from in-swinging corners . . . they all go to the near post, and the opposition knows it. There seems to be far more variation from West Ham and Ward-Prowse’s outswingers, which is where most of the goals have come from.

Opposition coaches are onto our tactic

I have no doubt that JWP is under instruction to whip the ball into the near post, but it’s become incredibly predictable. They’re not bad deliveries either; it’s just that opposing managers place their best headers of the ball in that area, which means a major tactic has been blunted.

I’m sure it will work again on occasion, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Ward-Prowse scored directly from a corner at some point. But perhaps it might be wise for the team to mix it up a bit in training. I would imagine that former Hammers coach and dead-ball specialist Paul Nevin would have noted the trend and corrected it.