I’m going to start this article with a special mention for our two fantastic centre halves. James Collins has been prone to the odd fatal error this season i.e away at Swansea and Reading but in between those games he has been a rock in our defence and also posed a threat from set pieces, not just in the air either like u would expect. When I saw the team sheet for Sunday’s game I was also unaware that soon to be ‘Hammer of the Year’ Winston Reid would be absent. In place of him we had fans favourite and local boy James Tomkins. What a performance from a man who must be really frustrated at not playing more often than he has done this season. Well done Tonka, fair play mate, you were also outstanding!
So we went in to the game, as expected to, and put everybody behind the ball and just tried not to concede. Thankfully achieved this so, and if it wasn’t for a last gasp clearance off the line by Lucas, we would of taken all three points. Defensively we were solid and I’m not taking anything away from our performance but it was clear to see we were lacking in attacking options massively, which brings me to the main purpose of this article.
Was Carlton Cole’s appearance against Liverpool his last ever start for West Ham? I think it’s obvious. As I said in my previous article, Carlton would be left upfront on his own in total isolation and he was, particularly in the second half. The trouble is, when he does have the opportunity to prove he can lead the line on his own he fails to impress. It has been clear to me for years that he needs somebody to play off him. It frustrates me so much to see him winning a header, but knocking it down to nobody.
You could argue that other players in the side could support him better but the difference between him and Andy Carroll is that when Andy wins a header his team mates can predict where he is going to head it to, with Carlton it could end up anywhere. To set up the way we do away from home you need confidence in your front men or should I say front ‘man’. You need to be confident in your lone striker being able to get the ball down and bring others into play. As much as I respect Carlton Cole, I fail to have confidence in his ability to do so. That may sound harsh to some fans reading this but sometimes the truth hurts, and there is little evidence to prove this is a false accusation.
So here’s a subject to get everyone arguing, does he deserve a new contract? Now I’m pretty sure that I am going to get some abusive feedback in my comments section here, but I’m going to say, No!
As a person and as a dedicated team member I would say yes, but is that enough to earn you a new contract? Of course it isn’t. If we are going to move on as a club we can’t be resigning players that have failed to make the grade on so many occasions just because we like them or because they have been ‘loyal’ as I keep hearing on various forums.
I know that there will be a section of people reading this article thinking, “What about when he took a pay cut last season?” I’m going to put myself in the firing line again here and say to you, What about it? I can understand that people see this as big deal in modern day football and to a certain extent I would agree. My problem is that as a team we underperformed hugely the previous season and ended up being relegated.
In the current climate fans struggle financially every year, just so they can go and support the team they love. Unfortunately I fall into that category and when these players turn in performances like they did that season, I have no sympathy for one of my wealthy heroes getting paid 50% less a week, when it still totals up to more than I earn in a year. If I got paid a lot of money and didn’t fulfil what was required of me, I wouldn’t be in my job very long and I certainly wouldn’t be considered for a new contract.
It’s clear that we need to bolster our strike force if we are going to push on next season. I think we need two quality centre forwards. In Andy Carroll we have one and I hope to god we sign him, but what worries me is if we do so, is this going to wipe out our entire transfer kitty. I would hope not but we are hardly the leagues high rollers given the huge debt we are still carrying. Financially, maybe giving Carton Cole a new deal would be an ideal thing to do, but he certainly isn’t a player that is going to take us towards what we are trying to achieve as the club. In fact not getting the right players in this summer could hurt us even more if we were to struggle in the premier league next campaign.
I personally believe that we should thank Carlton for his efforts over the time he has played at the club. I would also say that I wish him all the best in establishing himself at a new club maybe at championship level or even at a newly promoted side come the end of the season. It’s never a nice fate to have to wave away a player that has been at the club for so many years but unfortunately, I think it’s time to do just that. If you disagree then please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments boxes below.
By Adam Cooper
Unnecessary Condescending comments from H Bevan.
Carlton Cole has had numerous chances to prove he is the man with many different managers and different formations he has not got the talent loyal yes premiership quality no.
Agreed, they were unnecessary but as a writer here I am fed up of the condescending comments I receive for having an opinion, Anne being a regular so I thought I would give as good as I get.
Did Cole not prove last season that in a system where he received support he could perform? 3 seasons ago in the PL he scored something like 8 goals in 11 games before getting injured. CC is a striker that relies on confidence as many do, Sam has his clear favourite in Carroll thus hammering CC’s confidence. It is not as if AC has lit the world on fire with his goal scoring ability for us either yet he seems to have a hell of a lot of support from fans. His 1 goal every 4 game tally isn’t really that of a 17 million pound man.
Correct
I ment juice is correct
he desever a contract he a hammer through and through and we playing the westham way if we was carlton woulnd be scoring week after week
Eh?are you havin a laff? Calton cole? West ham way? Which joke are you having? Think you need to go ba k to hackney marshes! About the level you can safely manage to comment on! Just about the last player we need in the OS! Don’t you want to win anything?!
If we played the west ham way hed score every week? Sorry kevin but no he wouldnt
He does not deserve a contract. Putting it simply he is not good enough. Anyone who thinks he ‘proved’ himself last season is being incredibly ignorant. He simply proved he is an average striker in the context of the Championship, as a goal tally of 15, where he was the main striker for say, 45 games, is absolutely dreadful for someone to be deemed ‘premiership quality’. You can argue he is loyal, which is fair enough, but the cold hard truth is he is nowhere near good enough, and he can’t be offered a contract based on one season however many years ago, or an average return in the second flight.
Carlton Cole ,Over paid Over rated Over and Out !!! 5ok a week for what ?? he wont even break a sweat !!
Don’t get me wrong I like big calton but sentiment aside he is not prem class! And no matter what he has done for us before or how loyal he has been, he is simply not the first class striker we need to take us to the next level!( OS).End off! It is unfortunately as simple as that! As for playing the mystical “West ham way” well he is no Sir Jeff Hurst! Nor more importantly is he “Deano”! And while we are at it You can say what you like about big Andy, but you just have to feel the lift the crowd, team and club get whenever he steps onto the pitch to know what kind of player he is! COYI!
He cant play the lone striker role and considering thats what he asked to do week in week out should anyone be surprised he doesent score enough goals.who is available to suit allardyces game for the right money ? Someone guarenteed to score regularly in the premiership.bony looks okay but £12-£15 mil on a 4 year contract @ prob 50-60k a week =20+ million investment.not sure gollivan will stump to that.allardyce will be lucky to get 20-30 mil in total.west ham wont pay 17 for carrol plus 80k a week.no doubt through the summer we will be linked with loads of exciting players and maybe this year we might get one .if cc goes good luck to him
I for one would be distraught to see Carlton Cole leave. He sums up everything you should want from a footballer at your team.. Given more opportunities by that I mean a second striker to play with I believe you would see a 10 goal premier league striker every year which may not seem a lot but when added to his loyalty and example what more do people really want.. I wouldn’t want to see a team like Fulham or stoke take a gamble on him and he come back to haunt us.. He simply needs to be given a chance
Think its fair to say carlton has bin given plenty of chances any one who cant see that must be blind !
Another great article, I think cole has had so many chances over the years and he is not the quality of striker that will get you in Europe. That is what we must be looking at from now on. Also it seems Hugh bevan wants everyone to respect his opinions but as soon as someone disagrees with him he says they lack a general knowledge of football. COYI
Thanks bruce COYI
Loyalty is all well and good , but we cannot reward loyalty at the expense if the club, anyone on here saying we should give Cole a contract is only thinking with there heart and not there head .and as for Andy carrol we would be stupid to let him go
Thanks god h Bevan isn’t in charge of transfer policys
The football West Ham play with CC is far more fluid then with AC. With AC its just lump a set piece forward and him to either finish it, which is rare, or flick on to someone else. CC brings more to the team example the second half against Chelsea. Granted he doesn’t do it on a permanent basis and probably shouldnt be in the first team but he can be a good sub. Get AC to fuck anyway, west ham need a better striker
Ac and CC both are shit to be honest, we would sign messi but hes not tall enough for big sam hahaha
Ac is overrated and cc is old news, 140k a week wages between the two, but then again its all about big sams style of play with a big man on hes own up the front neither are consistant enough.
If ac was 8m and you can play someone upfront with him who can read him well and has good finishing abilities we would smash it..
Anyone disagreeing with this well thought out posting has obviously not seen Carlton’s hot and cold displays over the last 5 years, or they’re his Mum…….
Another good read.
I’m having a bit of a Rafa moment here but just look at these facts about cole 06-07 played 17 goals 2 07-08/ 31-4 08-09/ 27-10 09-10/ 30-10 10-11/30-10 11-12/ 14 12-13/23 2 now in 2010-2011 he scored 8 in 11 that’s not bad a great ratio but what about the other half o the season??? Best scoring season in the championship does that not answer the question on its own???And we haven’t always played 1 up front have we!!!!! Now his been a good servant to the club but its time to move on to !!!!!! Rafa moment over COYI
I am a legend at this club, without me west ham would be dead
A decent, well written, thought provoking article; bound to get the Boleyn faithful deliberating within the ranks. However, I think you’re talking bollocks. If we don’t resign Carlton Cole that would leave us with no recognised strikers at the club, let alone strikers that fit our system of play. I agree that you shouldn’t resign players out of loyalty, however, what you have said in this article is utter nonsense xx
Hahahah well theres is no way craig carter wrote that because he has got neither the vocabulary or the spelling ability to write the words you have..also he doesnt rate cole in slightest as ive sat next to him for 5 years and listened to him moan about him…nice try though, i should imagine this either one of the lads from the coach, or dave salmon..or maybe rob sewitt haha
Craig carter! Your talking utter nonesense if you really think we should keep Carlton cole 2 goals in 14 appearances this season is not what you call premiership quality!