Why not give Big Nic a chance?

Stoke City proved a typically tough team to break down on Monday night and overall a draw may have been a fair result; but with the Hammers domination in the second half there for all to see; I guess everyone felt a little disappointed walking away from Upton Park in the rain.

Andy Carroll again had very little delivery to work from, probably as the four best crossers of the ball, Matty Taylor, Matt Jarvis, Yossi Benayoun and Ricardo Vaz Te were absent from the side. Kevin Nolan again looked to feed off of scraps and had a couple of chances to slip one past the frustrating Asmir Begovic in the Potters goal but failed.

 

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Whilst it has been a superb start to the season, you can tell something is missing going forward. We are not as good at set pieces as we really should be, mainly due to Mark Noble hitting the first man four out of five times, and despite the amount of possession we seem to have, the end product is rarely there.

Last week Sam Allardyce declared an interest in bringing Nicolas Anelka to East London if it was financially viable, a statement that seemed to anger West Ham fans.

For the life of me, I can’t work out why?

 

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With Carroll’s future still very much up in the air and the fact that we resorted to bringing on Carlton Cole as his replacement on Monday, a striker is a must for the squad to progress.

Modibo Maiga has looked decent so far in his three or four appearances, but a 4-4-2 system is unlikely unless Nolan picks up an injury. Carlton Cole looked out of his depth in the Championship last season, so god knows how he is going to improve our current side, so why not have a look at a proven, Premier League goalscorer?

Anelka may be past his peak, but if we can nab him for free as it looks as though his Chinese club and him will part ways, and with the possibility of once again working with Big Sam convincing him to lower his wage demands, I think it would be a coup for the club.

We are past the days of offering people like Kieran Dyer and Freddie Ljungberg huge contracts, but I think Anelka would be different.

For starters he would only sign a one-year-deal, so if it didn’t work out, then fine, he moves on. Secondly, he seems to keep fit well and doesn’t pick up needless injuries that would ruin his time at a club. His Premier League experience and goal record could be invaluable, and with that in mind, how much would you have loved to see him coming off the bench for twenty minutes on Monday night?

He gives a different dimension; a different personality. He can score the odd wonder goal as well as the tap ins. Chelsea fans were calling for him to start ahead of Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres at times last year, so he must be doing something right.

 

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A lot of media speculation surrounds his private life and West Ham certainly don’t want anyone ruin the current mentality at the club, but with Allardyce in charge, there is no chance of that.

Big Sam said last week about Anelka: “His professionalism and dedication was why he was such a good player and we never had problems at Bolton at the time he was with us.

“He was the difference – he was the reason we went into the top end, the top four, rather than the top eight.’

“He was disappointed I left, when he came and played for me I had him at a very, very good time – probably at the height of his career, I would think, because he had matured into a dedicated professional. “I think he has always been dedicated but he got sidetracked by certain situations through his younger days but he learnt from that, his experience across Europe.

“He had a girlfriend, who is now his wife, and his family and I think that has matured him – I think Nicolas has still got his family here in London, I don’t think they moved out to China.”

West Ham, as the situation is, cannot afford to go out and splash £8million+ on a striker. We went over our summer budget in order to get Andy Carroll along with deals for Jarvis, Maiga, Diarra and Collins so I can’t see the owners throwing much more money around in January, especially with the Olympic Stadium bid in tatters.

If, and that is a massive if, the financials are suitable for the Anelka deal then why not give him a go?

I am still confident the Frenchman could walk into a number of Premier League sides this season, so if we can have him on the bench to bring on or possibly play him when we change our approach, what is stopping us?

He may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but his talent is unquestionable and he can put the ball in the net, something we are struggling to consistently do.

Should we snap up Anelka? Let me know on Twitter: @brad_pinard