By Rich Sprent
You and I may be dreaming of a right back for Christmas (or at least the January sales) but don’t hold your breath.
Slav has clearly picked his shape and system for the season. Antonio, despite being strongest as an out and out right winger, looks set to continue as a wing back. His displays as centre forward have shown exactly the sort of bustling strong pacey striker that we need at West Ham. Whether the closest we have to that, Diafra Sakho, is still at the club come February remains to be seen.
So that right back? Well, Slav wanted Antonio as a full back if you remember? The amendment to that plan is that he now has a huge workload at wing back. His honest hard work and commitment to the cause cannot be faulted and it is easy to see why the manager keeps him there.
With the Croatian back on the training field there is every promise that Antonio will improve in his defensive duties. If there is a player at the club I’d bet on busting a gut to improve it would be this lad.
Byram is due back soon. Reece Burke, despite a hip injury, will also be back. That’s two others to cover at right back. The other option, in a flat four at the back, is Havard Nordtveit. Certainly not everyone’s cup of krupps but he did a job up at Liverpool. He has got off to a poor start but there is a useful player in there who can fill the unglamorous role of utility player.
So what of the other requirements in the window? Zaza is set to go back to Italy; Callieri set to leave for Spain; Tore is crocked for the year; Feghouli is out of favour. Then there are the players who’ll join the Algerian off to the African Cup of Nations: Diafra Sakho (if fit and still with the club); Cheik Kouyate and Andre Ayew.
Of the list, Kouyate is set to be the biggest loss. Whether he is in his powerful midfield role or at the back in a three he is an essential player for the team. The others have been cameo players so far. Sadly, despite arguably being the best striker at the club, there’s no guarantee that Sakho will regain either his fitness or even be in claret and blue come February.
The AFCON runs from 14th January to 5th February. That’s four league games if our players reach the final: Palace & City at home; Boro & Saints away.
So is there a need to replace these players at all?
If Slav isn’t interested in playing with a traditional full back then in all honesty, probably not. Yes, we would all probably say that we could really do with one. It’s not us picking the team however.
Yes we clearly need a striker. But then again, you can hear the board already as they’ve said it enough times over the years: ‘There is no value in January’. They’ve only paid transfer fees for Demba Ba and Sam Byram in the winter window. We were in a relegation fight when we got Demba. Other clubs were sniffing around Byram and so we moved for him.
The AFCON is probably the best thing to happen for two of our players. Feghouli and Ayew are desperate for some form. It is clear that Ayew’s role in Slav’s team is to play in an inside right role.
Against Burnley he was the only player to actually read and collect a Carroll knock down, albeit in the 77th minute. This could be essential over the remaining games if they both can stay fit.
Ayew’s versatility in the forward positions gives versatility. He has had a nasty injury and that can mean he will need time to get the sharpness back. .
As for the Algerian? Getting some form in that competition has to benefit him and West Ham. If only to generate some interest to get him off the books. The boss sent a clear message when he failed to even select him for the bench last week: Fight for your place. The rest is down to him.
Trying to see the owner’s point of view it is an interesting situation. This team has the quality to play themselves out of the mess they find themselves in. The next two games will probably decide if the purse strings will be readily opened to strengthen or not. Win and we should be mid table. A defeat or two and I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t all change on a number of levels within the club.
The die is cast as they say. Big Andy is back. There is a focal point for the team. With some matches under his belt for his and the team’s sake then things should start to improve. The need to hit the Geordie’s head from deep should be curbed and Slav should be all over that in the coming weeks.
New signings? I really am not expecting much to happen unless someone is there to improve things AND is available at a deal that suits us. Also worth remembering is that the manager’s contract is up at the end of the season. He knows the score and is clearly determined to win doing things his way. If that means Antonio at wing back then I cannot see him asking for another back up player.
If we match last season’s results for the comparative remaining games then we are due to finish on 46pts. That’s a little close for comfort above the drop zone. But if Slav pulls it off and gets his team playing as he believes he can then it will be really something to watch on the run in.
Good post Rich.
The afcon cup actually starts with 2 weeks training which begins at the beginning of January, which is worse for us.
I think we definitely need someone up front in Jan due to losing the 2 dud loan signings, and also Sahko. I hope we get at least one decent forward in.
It would be nice to see either / both Byram and Burke filling the RB spot with some competence, and also Burke covering CB, but I think the 3-4-2-1 will be kept in most games just to keep some continuity in the team, to build on.
Burke and Oxford must be our future at CB. We all know their potential is good enough, but how long before they are ready for continuous Prem action is something else. I suspect we will find out during the second half of the season.
With Pike Browne and Quino on the bench already and Martinez banging in goals again, things look good for the future, but we need some future now please.