A Few Signings West Ham Should Be Looking At?

I can now confidently say that West Ham are safe. We’re level on points with Fulham and Big Sam has brought in enough experience to know what to do. So, I shall now take this opportunity to look at the other clubs who have the potential to go down as players become very, very cheap and go quickly (we should know this) when a team gets relegated. I shall be picking from club at the bottom to Stoke City (everyone under us). And there are some cracking players in this battle, several who would improve our squad.

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I do not just want to pick these players for the sake of it, I will choose them for the areas that I believe we’re weak in. First of all, I would buy another keeper. I’m a big fan of Jussi Jaaskelainen, he’s been great and overlooked by pundits. But he’s 37, and as his time is coming to an end, I think we need a keeper of high quality if we want to be competing with high flyers in the Premier League. I don’t think Spiegel will fill his boots, neither will Henderson. I can only think of one keeper from the clubs in threat.

Julio Cesar- This man was the best goalkeeper in the world three years ago, and has started every game for Brazil this term. Then I’m as baffled as anyone to find him at the foot of the table, on the verge of getting relegated. He won the Champions League in 2010. Although this decline, he is still world-class on and off the field. I cannot recall the amount of times he has saved Clint Hill and Christopher Samba from embarrassment. Also, he has worked with Rob Green (Judas Iscariot) off the field and the improvements have shown.

I also believe we need another centre-back. We only have three, all very good, but in the modern game, a fourth is needed for depth. And he needs to be just as good as the other starters. Like when Chelsea had John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho starting, and William Gallas, who was on par with them, on the bench. I have two in my head that would fill this final mould.

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Ryan Shawcross- He as at his peak age now of 25, and stuck in a rubbish, negative team. So it’s about time that he came to a winning, negative team. He has leadership, as proven by the captaincy, and he is a perfect centre-back. Tall, massive head, bald. He also just runs into people! Bit like James Collins. I think we should take a gamble with him because if it doesn’t pay off, he can just go down to Stoke City, who’ll be relegated by then!

Sebastien Bassong- He is just a ‘beast’ at 6 ft 2, plenty of Premier League game time in him and always makes an impact. I could go as far to say that if there was no Rio Ferdinand, he could be the best centre-back in England. The only concern about him signing is our fans. He’s ex-Spuds, and that never goes down well (at least this one is coming to us, and not taken away).

Another position that needs filling is the position Mohammed Diame is covering at. With concerns of him leaving at the end of the season, on a free by the sounds of it, we just don’t have good enough players to fill the second centre-midfielder. Jack Collison is my first, as he is always a threat with the ball at his feet, but even he has issues with his knee and needs covering for. And yes, Mark Noble is “Mr. West Ham”, but I don’t think he is good enough to start, week in, week out. He gives the ball away too often, and is neither creative nor stubborn enough to fill the more attacking nor defensive roles. He’s stuck in the middle, ‘no mans land’! Who would I choose to replace him?

 

Lee Cattermole- One of my favourite centre-midfielders. He can sit there, in the centre circle, for hours and ease his way onto players, centre-backs get the ball, and he retreats to his central role. The only concern I do have is that he literally cannot score. He has scored once in 177 games in the Premier League. Therefore, I would go for someone just a bit more creative in attack.

The player who I dislike (for want of a better word) the most is Ricardo Vaz Te. He is a striker, and if we put him in that position, he would be very average compared to all the others we’ve got. But we play him on the wing! Why? He doesn’t have the acceleration of a winger, nor the first touch. He is too slow at picking team-mates out and has shown no improvement since Big Sam signed him at Bolton Wanderers. Therefore, we need a second Matt Jarvis. And while, I think, any player can take his place, the one I would choose is:

Jason Puncheon- He is the definition of leaps and bounds. For years he sat behind Alex Oxlaide Chamberlain, either going out on loan or getting left out, but since the Ox’s £15 million departure, Nigel Adkins had nobody else but him. And in the last nine games of the 2011-12 season, he took the job of bettering him and nurtured him like a new born child. And as soon as he got game time in him, the confidence grew, and he started scoring goals and creating chances, by the time he got to the Premier League, he was pumping. I think Southampton have given him everything they can, and it his time for him to move on (again, wouldn’t be favoured at Upton Park as he did keep Millwall up a couple of years ago).

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Now, a major problem about West Ham at the moment is that we have about 4 massive bulks of strikers, there to head a ball down over and over again. This means that it is left to the midfielders to receive the knock downs and score (because of Big Sam’s reluctance to play two up front) and the fact of the matter is, that these midfielders are not out and out goal scorers. I have two solutions for this method.

Adel Taarabt- He is Kevin Nolan; only better. He has potential to score 20 goals a season if he had the service, and we could provide that. Andy Carroll can get it for him. He is proof that money can’t always by you class, as Adel Taarabt (£1 million) has showed up most of his team mate! (I know, another ex-Spud. But at least he wished he’d never signed for them).

Adam Le Fondre- In the Championship you can miss one or two chances early in a game and come back very strong. But in the Premier League, if you mess up, you will be punished and I believe this why the Hammers haven’t scored too many goals. We don’t have somebody who is bound to score. That somebody has to Adam Le Fondre! If he only has two shots on target in a game, he’ll get two goals. Unlike a Carlton Cole, who needs six shots for one goal. We need this reliability if we’re to survive another season in the Premier League.

Now, I’m aware that these players aren’t the only one I can pick. In fact, writing now, I’ve just realised that I forgot about Newcastle United (or Les Toons). So if you agree or disagree with my thoughts then let me know.

Until next time,

Rhys Lloyd ( @bruticus6 )