West Ham strikers, eh… just like bloody buses – you wait around for ages for one, then four come along at the same time!
Okay, maybe I’ve gone a bit OTT, but the Hammers could be facing the most unfamiliar situation of having all our strikers fit at the end of the season. In fact, if reports are to be believed, Niclas Füllkrug and Michail Antonio could be fit to fight it out with Evan Ferguson and Danny Ings for a place up front in the West Ham team.
It would mark a famine-to-feast transformation for Graham Potter, who has had to field a team with hardly any attackers and central defenders since joining the club. He could now have an embarrassment of riches at his disposal, although the new manager would be mindful to beware of the West Ham striker curse.
So, one step at a time, I guess. Indeed, it would be progress enough if Ferguson features against Brentford tomorrow, looks half-decent, and avoids injury.
It will be interesting to see how Potter deploys Ferguson in his first outing for the club, but I suspect the gaffer will be tempted to start Lucas Paquetá as a false nine and maybe introduce Fergie alongside Ward-Prowse in the second half.
Either way, it’s just nice to have options so I guess the Hammers four-pronged attack will have to wait for now.
Irony not lost here. Entertaining read Gonzo. Thanks.
COYI
Ings and Antonio are no longer premier league propositions, it seems unlikely that either of them will be renewed. Fullkrug was just beginning to show some quality after his first injury before being injured again, there’s only 14 games left during which he still needs to come back and get up to speed again. Ferguson we need to see, he could just as readily break down and hardly play at all as keep fit and play well.
“An embarrassment of riches” ? Hardly; Danny Ings, Michael Antonio, Niclas Füllkrug ? I hardly think so ! OK, Antonio gives his all & occasionally scores, but he is getting old & recovering from what could have been life threatening injuries. It is entirely feasible that he will never kick a ball for West Ham again. Ings is only here for payday & very rarely does anything on the pitch – although he has not been used in a system that suits his “strengths”. Fullkrug has suffered from protracted injuries & “might” be quite good &, again , has been used in a system which might not suit him (we haven’t seen him play often, or long, enough to work that out yet). And Ferguson . A potentially great signing; but for how long ? Given those realities, how will we have “an embarrassment of riches “ ?
Fight it out with Danny Ings for a place up front. You must be having a laugh, Ings was finished as a premiership player along time ago.
Tempting fate. Ferguson needs to avoid a reoccurence of his ankle injuries that have blighted his last 2 seasons