Who Will Lead West Ham’s Line?

After last weekend’s impressive display by West Ham, we must now look ahead to this weekend’s game. Now, we all know what our record at Anfield is like, so lets just stay away from that topic for as long as we can. The less said about our trips to Liverpool, the better in my opinion.

Looking back to the West Brom game last week, if there was one player you could say would be vital this week, it would be Andy Carroll. The problem we obviously have this week is that the man I’ve just mentioned is ineligible to play. Judging by our previous away games, we are going to set up with a 5 man midfield with one big target man up front. As I’ve said in previous articles, we will go there and try not to concede, probably fail, (with the like of Suarez in the opposition’s front line) and we will end up needing to score at least one goal if we are going to get anything out of the game.

So the question I ask is who is going play in Carroll’s absence? Now let’s honest Big Sam is more than likely going to go like for like, if you can call it that, and put Carlton Cole up front on his own. I know people have different views on Carlton but he can come in and do a job when called upon. However my biggest issue is that no matter what anyone says, he cannot play up front on his own. Don’t take this the wrong way, I like Carlton Cole and I respect what he does for the team, but for too many years now he has been left isolated upfront on his own. In last year’s Championship campaign he managed 15 goals, which is hardly prolific based on the amount of games played and the quality of opposition in due respect. Also let’s not forget that we did actually opt for, dare it say it? a 4-4-2 formation at times last season, which in my eyes Carlton Cole needs to be playing in. I think the reason Cole has not fulfilled his maximum potential is not down to his efforts but down to managerial decisions. Just take a look at his form under Zola. He was getting on the end of some great passing moves because he had the right support. A goal of the month award came his way after rounding off a supreme passing move, with a first time finish away at Wigan. More importantly he even ended up getting an England call up that season.

Looking further down the pecking order what other options do we have? Modibo Maiga is a player that when he has played, has impressed me. Coming off the bench and nicking the odd goal here and there, he looks to me a player that has potential but hasn’t had a good run of games to prove so. Obviously we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes, but the rumour is he doesn’t work hard in training and his attitude is also negative. If this is the case, then this is the last person we want leading our front line. Part of me can understand his frustrations at not getting into the team but the only way to do so, is by working hard in training, correct me if I’m wrong?

Another striker we have (notice I didn’t use the term option) is Marouane Chamakh.

You could argue that he has not had a fair run of games either but to be honest, what I have seen is enough. He is clearly a player whose confidence is at an all time low. After failing to make the grade at Arsenal, I believed that given a run of games, he could maybe reignite the form that saw him snatched from Monaco 3 years ago. How wrong was I? I know that you can’t necessarily judge someone on just a couple of appearances but in this case you could never put him ahead of any of the other striking options ( notice I did use the term options) that we have at the club at present.

One player that has been a huge disappointment for West Ham this season is Ricardo Vaz Te. He has produced very little in comparison to last season, albeit at Championship level. As much I say he doesn’t work hard enough, he is once again being played out of position. With very little options for Sunday’s game why not play a 4-4-2 with Vaz Te in his favoured position. As I said earlier, with the goals that Liverpool have been scoring in recent months, we are without doubt going to need to score at least one! I think with Carton Cole up front and Vaz Te playing off him we could actually do something we haven’t done very often this season. Score a goal on the road!

West ham fans have screaming for a 4-4-2 formation all season and with Andy Carroll not being able to play, I think we really need to look at our tactics and the way we approach this game. Anfield is a place that we have never had any joy at, so why not take a gamble? What’s the worst that could happen? We could lose, hardly the shock of season given our results up there over the past 50 odd years.

Let’s just hope that we can go up there and give a good account of ourselves like we have done in every home so far this season. It is clearly for tactical reasons that we are a different team away from home. Let us hope Sam realises that Carlton Cole can’t be left isolated and Vaz Te needs to play through the centre rather than being shipped out wide if he is going to make any impact. Obviously this isn’t a strike force that I would rave about but given the current situation, what other options are there?

Please feel free to leave comments or your thoughts on how we can overcome not having our main target man for another big game this Sunday?

By Adam Cooper

@adamcooperwhu