I smell a Rat! Razvan’s arrival, along with rumours of us wanting to strengthen the full back positions at West Ham has raised question marks over the futures of Joey O’Brien and Guy Demel.
JOB and Demel made 33 and 31 appearances respectively. Joey was somewhat of a utility man and an unsung hero, playing left back and right back and being #7 in the average performance rating (See my last piece). Demel was also a consistent performer throughout the season also.
Razvan Rat will play left back and I imagine he will be first choice in that position too. That then pushes JOB to 2nd pick at left back; he is however 5 years younger than the Romanian captain. I feel that signing a left back to push JOB out the side is not an intelligent way to spend the money when perhaps there are weaker places. It is however unknown what role Rat will have.
I’ve seen people moaning that Big Sam doesn’t give youth a chance, but Sam is paid to succeed. He picks the team that he feels will help him do that. I don’t feel it’s a question of giving youth a chance with using Dan Potts but I do feel that if he is good enough then he would/should be given the chance. Also, with Jordan Spence being released he obviously isn’t good enough for Big Sam, it’s not a question of never playing anyone who is young or an academy product.
With Joey having to cover Demel when he was injured and also having George McCartney out for the majority of the season it may just be “strength in numbers” factor which is being looked at for the full back positions.
In summary, both Demel and JOB have earned their positions this season and could well be the first choices next season unless more signings come in. With Rat, JOB, McCartney and Potts available at left back I would guess that position is not going to be further strengthened. However with Guy Demel being the last remaining right back, this position could do with a further strengthening to avoid having to use Tomkins in this position.
Razvan rat is our first choice left back. Not JOB who is a right back. So demel is not our only choice for right full back we have JOB daaa.
On top of that, left back was our weakest place on the field if it wasnt why are we playing a right back out of position there. Plus JOB is only a Squad player. He’ll be lucky 2 make the bench this comming season.
Pointless article
Obrien was excellent this year
Demel is right back the rat is lb.
Pointless
JOB played 20+ games at left back. FYI.
All the full backs played have been solid and consistant, but if we are to progress we need more pace and goals scored from these positions next season.
I would personally like to see:
Rat LB
JOB RB
Demel RM as he is better going forward rather than defending.
Also Taylor filled in at LB
im sure you write “articles” for the pure sake of it.
Rat will be first choice LB and JOB will probably take over RB with Demel (imho he gets caught out of position too often) as cover. With Rat and JOB wide and Reid + Collins/Tomkins center we should have a soplid back four. Remember JOB chipped in with 4 assists this season and Rat has a decent cross in him too so i expect they will be pushing forward when appropriate.
If we finalize the deal for AC imho the right wing is the one other position we need to buy for. Someone with pace in abundance with a cross on him to match. Someone akin to Jarvis but working on the right. There are a few decent ones to be had. Add a goalkeeper to fight Jussi for the nr.1 spot and the first 11 is more or less settled.
Bring in a few youth players on the bench for cover and give them the cup games… Potts, Hall, Lee (maybe), Morrison (if he patches things up with Sam) are a few that i think are ready to be around our first team. Then send the more promising ones from the dev squad on loans to get experience like we did with the above last season.
I agree with Ro O’Brien with Demel as cover at RB, and RR at LB with McCartney as cover or Potts, I feel that we need some cover for the central midfielders as players do get injured, and we need some pace through the midfield. That way we could rest Nolan and Noble, and Collison appearing to be a sub, so at least 2. Then we get to the right wing and we need to have someone that can cross. This would mean that assuming AC signs we could have supporting from the midfield. We also need another keeper, jusss in case (excuse that attempt at humour). So will Sam find what he needs, based on the tabloids we are linked with every player that is available both in the UK and abroad. With our budget it’s more likely to be more signings like Rat, a bit older but experienced.
The ideal would be to get a blend of youth and experience and the academy players getting loan experience and then coming back to see if they can make it to the first team.
As usual we will all have to wait and see, in the meantime we will all have to endure the hype & tripe that features in the media.