Antonio – a player to die for!

By Rich Sprent

When Michail Antonio was signed for around £7m from Championship side Nottingham Forest there were more than a few questioning remarks. Here was a powerful left winger who was scoring goals for fun in England’s second tier. Could he make the step up? Was he good enough? Would he even play? And at £7m a lot of wedge out of West Ham’s transfer kitty.

 He signed and couldn’t get a game. Not until he trained on a full size pitch and opened up the eyes of the manager and every member of the coaching staff.

 I make no bones about this; I love a player who has come up the hard way through the leagues. His reward to be called up into the England squad was well deserved.

His attitude has been absolutely fantastic. His effort and commitment has been an example to everyone at the club. He seems to really enjoy playing football.

 He’s played half a dozen positions this year and has given his all whatever he has been asked to do. His current role is an exciting one. He’s playing attacking midfield with instructions to play up alongside Andy Carroll. With Antonio in an advanced role it gives the team a wonderful option out of transition from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 with hardly a beat lost.

 Now it is well known that Slav has talked for years about the English fixation with static formations. He clearly prefers the flexibility that three central midfielders give to the team.

The experiment to play to Payet failed. The counterweight of having Antonio at wing back being a large part of the failure.

 I previously wrote a list of attributes that this club should be looking for in a top striker. I described everything that Antonio brings and leaves on the field. If he can add goals from an advanced central position then we will have a £30m+ striker on our hands.

 For some reason, the team was setup to wait for Payet to do something. The ball was a stranger to the opposition’s box. This changed over games, against relegation battler’s Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough. City? Least said – soonest mended!

Payet has left and this opens the door for the pace and creativity of Feghouli, Lanzini and now Robert Snodgrass to add to the power and space that Carroll creates.

There are goals in this team.

 A little aside here about Jermaine Defoe and Scott Hogan. I am a huge admirer of both players and I believe that Hogan possesses the attributes to be a good goalscorer in the EPL. Neither are versatile players. They are players who are good around and lethal inside the box.

 Leading up to Christmas we were looking desperate. Five wins out of seven, a change in shape and one player moved on and we look a much better outfit. That we needed goals was no secret. We’ve since put points on the board and things are much healthier.

 So where would a player in the role of Hogan or Defoe play? The manager does not like a basic 4-4-2 approach. Andy Carroll is currently fit and occupiers the manager’s preferred sole centre forward position. Diafra Sakho, who is much more versatile in his style of play is due back in a month. I can see why Slav hasn’t pushed for these players. £15m spent on a substitute or back up player gives him at least one unhappy player.

He was never likely to pair them together.

 The argument about both Carroll’s and Sakho’s injury records is a valid one. However, signing players who won’t gel when everyone is fit isn’t ideal. It limits playing time and style of play.

 The other option is to find an improvement or a back up to what we already have on the books. Lacazette and Batshuayi didn’t work out. Bacca would have been a change in direction in style but that didn’t work.

 The latest is for EPL proven players. There are accomplished EPL strikers out there. Andre Gray and Callum Wilson are both players who arguably could be upgrades on Sakho. Both would be pricey in today’s market.

 Is there a replacement for the big man? Slimani was linked and moved to the Champions for £30m. That’s the issue, £30m to sign someone of a similar ilk leaving a player on £80k pw sitting on the bench.

An understudy to Big Andy then?

Leonardo Ulloa or Aleksandar Mitrovic would have been options to fulfil the big man role upfront in the absence of the Geordie. Again, how happy would these players, who would command big wages and a hefty fee, be to play understudy?

 There are 15 games left of this season. The club management are happy that we will be good for a top half finish as we are. How this team fares over this period will be pivotal on how and who we target in the Summer. Sakho has a year after this season left on his contract. Carroll has two plus a two year option.

These  games are going to be hugely important for both players’ future at West Ham. Carroll simply has to remain fit. Sakho has to get fit and show that he is worth the continued investment in him.

 In the meantime Michail Antonio has sixteen games to show that we already have the striker we’ve been craving for so long.