West Ham midfielder Tomáš Souček has admitted that the players must take their share of responsibility for the club’s disappointing Championship campaign, insisting that changing the manager doesn’t absolve them of blame.
Speaking to Czech publication Sport.cz, Souček acknowledged that results and performances haven’t been good enough and that West Ham must rediscover their winning mentality. He also made it clear that failing to return to the Premier League would represent failure.
It’s difficult to disagree with that sentiment, although I would argue that there wasn’t an awful lot wrong with the players’ attitudes during the 2-1 defeat against Blackburn Rovers. Most of them appeared to be trying their best, and there were periods when West Ham attacked well down both flanks.
Parker Must Find The Answers
Mads Hermansen had something of a nightmare in goal, while Manor Solomon was ineffective when introduced from the bench. But I don’t think the overall performance was primarily a question of effort or attitude, which is why I’d argue that Scott Parker is the man who needs to fix things through better instruction and some new tactics.
As for Souček himself, there was a point during the Blackburn game when I thought we were crying out for his goalscoring ability. West Ham really only have two proven goalscorers in Jarrod Bowen and Tomáš Souček, and I felt the Czech midfielder should have been introduced much earlier.
Even in his brief appearance, Souček managed to get himself into a good goalscoring position, although his late header was saved. It was another reminder of something West Ham have been missing, particularly when the forwards have struggled to make an impact.
Souček is right that the players have a responsibility to improve, but from what I saw at Ewood Park, I don’t think a lack of effort was the biggest problem. Parker now has the international break to work on the team’s organisation and tactics, and that’s where I’d expect to see the most significant improvement.
I think the performances of Dinos and Kilman may improve if they have a goalkeeper they can trust to noss his area and a defensive midfielder in front of them, for all their nervousness and mistakes it isn’t all their fault
Don’t think our goalie has ever saved us from a defeat, Mav and Killman have been poor in the last 3 games, but surely that Mads has to be demoted and replaced
He’s right, plenty of effort but mistakes made in goal keeping and defending will always put you under pressure. Kilmans positioning is at times amateur as showen from recent goals we have leaked. This affects Mav to as he doesn’t know what to cover for the best outcome. We also have a keeper who’s confidence is zero. Goalkeepers thrive on confidence. Just look at Pickford, not the biggest keeper just like ours but he is also super confident. Moving the ball forward too slow is also part of the problem but the younger players also need get a bit more clever with the darker side of the game too. Plenty their fo Scott and first thing I would do is give Kilman and the keeper a rest. See how the players filling get on!