Tomáš Souček took an unfair amount of stick when West Ham played out their 1-1 bore draw with Queens Park Rangers last week. Returning from a lengthy injury layoff, the Czech midfielder had much of the blame placed on his shoulders for what was a very poor performance.
Granted, he was awful in that game, but let’s be fair. Even after he was replaced at half-time, things didn’t immediately get better, and it was actually the introduction of Joël Piroe which really kick-started the game into life. As I noted in my player ratings against QPR, Souček was the worst West Ham player on the pitch, but he was hardly alone in playing badly.
What was particularly annoying was that the criticism followed news of Souček signing a new West Ham contract, which seemed to be greeted by some as bad news. I felt that was unfair on a player who has done so much for the club and, as I commented at the time, was likely to still have an important role to play.
Souček Answers His Critics With Two Goals
And so it proved last night against Lincoln City, where he bagged himself a brace off the bench in West Ham’s 6-0 victory.
I’d argued that Souček would never lose his ability to score goals, and he didn’t take very long to prove the point.
Souček is the type of player who is not particularly good between the boxes. His control is average, his passing can be poor and he’s certainly not the sort of midfielder you want dictating the tempo of a game.
But he comes alive in both penalty areas, whether attacking or defending.
He has that ability to sniff out a chance, which can’t be coached. He’s a proven Premier League and international goalscorer, and that instinct doesn’t suddenly disappear because he’s had a bad game or spent three months on the sidelines.
Tomáš Souček has a new West Ham contract
West Ham Are Better Off Keeping Souček
Make no mistake about it, Souček absolutely loves West Ham, but of course that’s not enough. After all, if it were, Mark Noble would still be playing in the middle of the Hammers midfield.
I don’t particularly want Souček to have a guaranteed starting place, and I certainly wouldn’t suggest his two goals against Lincoln mean he should automatically start against Swansea.
But there’s a huge difference between recognising a player’s limitations and deciding he’s no longer of any use.
With Nuno Espírito Santo having so many midfield options, there’s every opportunity to use Souček where he’s most effective rather than expecting him to do things which have never really been his strengths.
He’s still a very capable player who offers something different, particularly when West Ham need a goal.
And after watching him score twice last night, I’m even more convinced that West Ham are better for having him sign that new deal.
Are we not missing a trick here? Taty isn’t delivering, Piroe doesn’t look like he’s interested and Pablo just runs around with little to no end product.
Put Soucek in the middle and he slows down play, doesn’t contribute much in the way of progressive passing and completely divides the fanbase but put him in the opposition box and he’s like a totally different player.
If Nuno is so stuck on playing Pablo who can’t control a ball and offers no end product then why not stick Soucek up there? At least he can finish
Fantastic option from the bench as he moves into his twilight years with the club.
A lovely guy off the pitch as well and always makes time for the fans.
I really hate all this “rubbish/world beater” extreme reviewing we get these days. West Ham Zone are one of the worst at that and many supporters seem to follow this pattern if he played bad this week “bin him” or he scored the winner “what a player” .
Soucek has had to adapt his true talent to fit West Ham. When he joined us he was a box to box midfielder with an eye for a goal and a good engine. The rise of Rice meant he had to become a defensive or central midfielder, which isn’t his natural skill base. I thought it was wrong to throw him straight in against QPR, who knows if he had appeared as a late sub he may have won the game for us.
He’s good value when we’re defending, and good value if we’re dictating the pace, good aerial ability and good finishing. But far from an all round player and other aspects of his game are poor.
Last night i was very impressed with Austbo maybe give Solomon a rest he looks like he needs it. Also happy that Golembeckis got some minutes as he hasnt had much of a look in both Veltman and Walker-Peters did well both changing their positions within the game. As for Soucek he may well be putting Nuno under pressure for a starting place. There seems to be a constant narrative that we start slow and have to find our way into the game and so we are poor i am starting to realise that no team wants to lose against us cup finals are mentioned and teams are always happy to put 10 behind the ball it just takes time and effort to find a way.
Well said Gonzo
I look forward to Tornado Tom scoring more goals for the Hammers
Hi gonzo, the problem is he’s a midfielder who is incredibly limited in midfield, he is laboured on the ball, he doesn’t have a great range of passing, he slows us down, can’t play incisive passes through the lines but he is a massive threat, adds to defensive solidity from set pieces, creates chaos in opponents box and scores goals as we saw yesterday, so I guess the choice is plain and it’s up to everyone to decide their preference. I would like us to be moving away from him starting games but use him as a sub who can make a big impact. Cheers