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The key to our survival?

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So our fifth clean sheet of the season against Newcastle United and we have moved up to 6th in the League, things are starting to look rosy for us Hammers at the minute.

What has been most impressive for me is the fact that we aren’t conceding goals like a thought we would. I thought this was one of our weakest points of the team at the start of the season with only 3 premiership-worth defenders in my opinion; James Tomkins, James Collins and Winston Reid.

So after racking up another clean sheet against Newcastle things are looking tight at the back and finally Jääskeläinen is looking like he is picking up his game and gaining confidence. This to me is a classic Sam Allardyce type of football; big, strong, hard to beat and doesn’t concede many goals.

So is this key fact the reason we are doing so well? Well yes to be honest if your defence is strong and you’re not conceding a goal that’s half the battle won. Is this going to keep us up? Well, time will tell…

With the likes of Joey O’Brien, George McCartney, Guy Demel and Jordan Spence along with James Collins, James Tomkins and Winston Reid its promising if they keep this kind of performance going in the League. I was unsure of O’Brien, McCartney and Demel at the start but they are proving me wrong and I am more than happy with that.

 
But the problem comes if we get a few injuries like we have been seeing lately and the defence has looked stretched with no defenders on the bench. I just hope that we add a couple more to the back in January so we have sufficient cover.

But am I happy with them at the moment?? The answer, I am more than happy, they are doing themselves and the club proud and long many it last. To me this is where we have the upper hand over the likes of QPR, Reading and Southampton, our defence looks strong were as they look weak.

This could be where the battle for survival is won!!

Carl Bateson

Follow me on Twitter @BatesonCarl for all feedback, comments and general West Ham banter.

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3 comments

  • Could not agree more car with SA in charge we are no longer a powder puff team that can be had over. we are organised tough, resiliant, and not afraid. The geordies thought this was going to be a walkover WRONG ! I would like to mention the midfield dropping Noble deeper was a good move he now has more time on the ball and is not exposed for pace. diame is a monstwer on his game maybe needs to be more consistant. Nolan he is a great captain and lets not forget his goals ! Carrol upfront will come good he is playing well and he defends like Drogba. ‘You aint seen nothin yet’ I hope !

  • max says:

    Whatever you say about our attacking side, which I dont think is as direct as people make out to be honest, it is only half of the game. Defending is equally important, and we are now well organised & difficult to beat. Gone are the days of fearing every defensive set piece. This has been reflected in the five clean sheets we have kept so far this season. We have 3 quality centre backs in Reid, Tomkins & Collins, whilst Demel, O’Brien & McCartney have also been solid. If you compare us to a team like Southamton, they have actually more goals than us, but their porous backline has shipped goals for for fun, leaving them where they are in the table, with a solitary victory and a mere 5 points on the board

  • Iliyan says:

    Survival? These guys and SA can get us to Europe! Long time no see and why not after all? To my means James Collins is not worth it, somehow reminds me of Ilunga- SA started last season paying credit to him but luckily, he got it right pretty soon. As long as we have Yussi, Tomks, Reid and Demel at the back, we’re all right. My concerns are up front. Can’t really count on your No 4 to be top goal scorer for the season, can you? And with Carrol’s lack of luck and Vaz Te’s injury, I really think that this will be the weak unit further on…

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