James Collins is returning from a lengthy injury, and it is wondered whether Sam Allardyce should be putting him back into the starting XI straight away, or whether he should be made to wait for his chance. He is more than likely available for the match against Tottenham Hotspur, so should he play or should he be made to wait?
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After joining West Ham United for a second time, there were high hopes for James Collins, or ‘Ginge’ as he is more commonly known and I don’t know why but the Collins who came back to us, is not the one who left for Aston Villa in 2009. He has been a bit of an inconsistent performer for us since his return to the Boleyn Ground, and despite showing some great performances in games against the likes of Manchester United in the FA Cup where he scored twice and against Manchester City, he has made some very costly mistakes against the likes of Swansea City and Reading and our points tally has suffered a bit due to his mistakes.
Winston Reid has been one of the star performers of the season for West Ham, so it isn’t even worth discussing whether to drop him in such a big game for the club, so it is really a case of who will partner him, with the candidates being Collins and James Tomkins.
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After a brilliant season in the Championship, I had great hope for Tomkins as a Premier League player, but it never really happened for him in the early stages of the season. He was messed about and moved about by Allardyce, he was playing quite a bit, but was just never put in his favoured position, often playing as a defensive midfielder or full back, and it was clear to see that his confidence had been knocked. However since the injury which Collis picked up, Tomkins has finally been played in his favourite position, centre back, and it is clear to see his confidence building. He was one of very few players to perform well against Aston Villa and has done well overall in recent matches.
Due to the fact that Tomkins has played so well, and taken his chance to impress while Collins has been out, I would leave Collins to wait and play Tomkins. After all the mistakes and inconsistency from Collins this season, I don’t see why Tomkins should be dropped after playing so well, it would be a huge knock to his confidence and I don’t think that it would be worth the issues it could bring to Tomkins. However even without the confidence issue, I would chose Tomkins over Collins, but I definitely feel that Collins should feature on the bench.
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Collins has made a few dodgy back passes yes, apart from that he has been fairly solid. However since he went off injiured we have what 9 in 12? Something like that. That’s relegation form. I think its no coincidence our dip in form has coincided with Collins injuiry. Although I believe tomkins is our future I think for now it has to be reid collins and we see in the summer once we are safe, and I’m pretty sure alladici feels the same. Come on lads I can’t face another barrage from those annoying lot from the north COYI!
Definitely agree with you, I was at the Villa match and thought Tomkins was the MOTM. Big Sam should keep him starting until he has a reason to drop him.
We all know that Big Sam is a stats man, and the stats show that with Collin at the back, we concede far less than with Tomkins at the back.
Even if he does make the occasional mistake, we are still more defensively sound with him in the team.
It pains me to say all this because I so want Tomkins/Reid to be our CB partnership going forward, but given that we need points now to secure safety, I’d have to go with Ginge.
That being said, Sam has been tinkering with 3-5-2 recently so who knows? All three may play.
Tomkins messed about by Big Sam???
…. What you mean to say is what you are suggesting here, that Collins should play alongside Reid as they are the better pairing (form permitting).
We have psycho supporters who think that they know better than the manager (and an experienced one at that). Big Sam rates Tomkins and with that tried to accommodate him in midfield. That’s NOT the same as messing him about!
Put a little thought into your posts!
Besides, the reason he was left out to begin with was because he went to the Olympics, didn’t play and missed a full pre-season.
Reid on the other hand declined the opportunity to go to the Olympics, trained hard and has been first pick ever since.
No malice to Tomkins, but he made the choice to go to the Olympics (though of course he can’t be blamed for not being selected) and you have to live by your choices.
True. He made that decision and instead of getting a desired head start & possible Olympic medal, his pre-season got hampered and he consequently lost his place to Reid who ironically declined his Olympic place in order to cement his place in the side.
But I think this is a good thing for Tomkins as it will make him stronger, wiser and more determined in the future & all the better for West Ham!
simple answer NO, need attacking options like Paulista
At centre back? That’s bold!