You’re only as good as your strikers is the old cliché totted out by aging pundits…bearing that in mind I’m going to run the rule over West Ham’s four main protagonists. Cole, Carew, Piquionne and Baldock.
Baldock
The sprightly upstart purchased from MK Dons brought in to add much needed pace and guile to a Hammers side that is somewhat laborious at times. We haven’t seen much of Sammy so far but from the glimpses that we’ve all seen on YouTube, we can see that he’s very much the fox in the box (last cliché I promise) that we’ve been lacking since the days of a certain Jermian Defoe. I’m not sure how but at West Ham over the years we’ve seemed to stock-pile strikers all of a similar ilk: Cole, Carew, Piqiuonne and Nouble are all target men without much in the way of pace or finishing prowess; all needing several chances to score a goal. Baldock promises to break this mould by being that coveted commodity in football…a striker who roughly has a 1 in 2 ratio.
Carew
Johnny Carew needs no introduction, here’s a man who has danced on the European stage for Valencia in the bubble that is the Champions League (even starting the 2001 final) and laterally for Aston Villa in the competitions younger and uglier sibling the Europa League. Carew is the very apotheosis of a target man. Not particularly mobile anymore; he works best when surrounded by pace like he was at Villa when he had Young, Downing and Agbonlahor doing his running for him.Carew is far more dominant aerially than the other target men at our disposal and his hold up play is of higher standard. As Carew didn’t undertake pre-season with the squad; expect him to be used sparingly in these early stages of the season but as he builds up his fitness expect so see him pushing Cole for the position of the team’s focal point.
Piqiounne
Freddie Piqiuonne…perhaps the greatest enigma of all of our playing personnel. A man who has shown he’s both capable of brilliance but all too often is anonymous. It’s Freddie’s Jekyll and Hyde performances that have prevented him from ever being a mainstay of the first-team. He does possess quick feet and has the close control and skills to beat defenders at this level. Freddie started the season in the side after it was deemed he was a better option than Carlton Cole as the lone front-man. But a couple of anaemic performances coupled with Cole’s rising fitness levels meant that he was soon dropped. His main strengths lie in his quick feet, aerial ability and unpredictability. On a personal note I’ll always have a soft spot for Freddie after notching the winner against the spuds last season.
Cole
Carlton Cole is arguably the most frustrating striker I’ve ever witnessed down the Boleyn. Here is a lad with all the attributes to be a top striker…but all too often he disappoints; with the moments of genius…come the missed sitters. Cole has started the season in fine form with four goals already to his name. He is perhaps an amalgamation of the aforementioned strikers in that he’s a lot quicker than Piq and Carew but also maintains the ability to hold the ball up, though he’s not as physically imposing in the air. Cole showed loyalty this summer as he could’ve joined Stoke Rugby Club and remained in the Premier League instead he has shown that he has the desire to return this club to where it should be. His header against Portsmouth was superb and it’s my hope that he eventually develops and blossoms in a partnership with Sam Baldock.
