This time last season, us Hammers fans were revelling in the start we had made in our first year back in the Premier League; just 2 points off 2nd spot after 6 games. This start really set us up for a comfortable top half finish, never really having to look behind our shoulders at the dreaded relegation places. This time around it has been a very different story, having achieved just 1 victory in our opening salvo of matches. So what’s gone wrong? And what can Big Sam do to arrest the slide?
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that it is in attack where our problems lie. Indeed we have looked good in the main defensively. But we simply haven’t been scoring enough, nor in my view really looking like scoring much of the time. The main focus given to this from what I hear and read from fellow West Ham fans and journalists alike is firstly the continued absence of Andy Carroll. While this has been a huge blow, it should not mean that we are scoring as little as we currently are. After all we only had Carroll playing in all of 60 minutes of those opening 6 games last term. The striker used for the rest of the time was the often-maligned Carlton Cole, who didn’t find the net once in that run of games. Yet we still managed 3 wins.
The other issue raised is that of the failure of the club to find an adequate replacement for the injury prone Carroll in the summer transfer window just gone. Again there is truth to this but there seems little point in wondering what could have been. Instead we should be focusing on using what we currently have in the squad to better effect. We also all know the system Allardyce likes to play with a lone front man and nothing seems likely to change that. So we have to find a way of fitting around these tactics. The answer in my view is to play the man whose goal won us the play-off final in 2012 to send us to the Premier League, Ricardo Vaz Te.
He is certainly not everyones cup of tea, and many dislike his languid style and laziness that he sometimes shows in his defensive duties, but I feel he gives us something different creatively speaking from many other players we have. During last season, he scored 3 goals and assisted 4 in just 18 appearances, 6 of which were as a substitute. This was a significant amount in the context of our season. During those crucial opening 6 fixtures he scored 1 and assisted 2. This is notwithstanding that he has scored more goals than any other West Ham player since signing in January 2012, a fact Vaz Te pointed out in the statement he released after handing in a transfer request this summer. In addition this season he has scored 2 goals in the 2 cup games has started in.
Although we know he considers playing on the wing as out of position for him, I believe he contributes there considerably. Leaving aside the bare stats, from watching games he carries much more variation in his creative powers than many of our other players. He often likes to dribble towards the goal, rather than just cross as soon as he picks the ball up, sometimes cutting inside and laying the ball off for players making forward runs such as Kevin Nolan. When in form he is also not afraid of shooting from range, which he is capable of doing to great effect as we saw in the Championship campaign of 2 seasons ago. We have seen it this season too, in the form of an unstoppable free kick against Cheltenham in the League cup. Such variations can give opposition defences real problems, as they know he is capable of conjuring different tricks with the ball.
Contrast this with Matt Jarvis, the man whom most of our attacks seem to be channelled though this season (and much of last). For me he is often far too predictable, usually simply running to the by-line and hitting a high and hopeful cross into the box. He may be able to produce the highest number of crosses in the league, but how often does a real chance arise from it? His 0 assists last campaign tells the story. It is extremely rare for him to ever cut inside or get a shot away, which means opposition teams know what he is going to do almost every time. I don’t dislike Jarvis, and he does work hard, but this cannot be our only source of attack. From the glimpses I’ve seen of Stewart Downing in a West Ham shirt, it seems to be much the same story as Jarvis. These high crosses are too predictable and often a waste of time with no-one capable of capitalising on them without Carroll in the side. While we do have Joe Cole, we cannot rely on him being fit for much of this season.
Having Vaz Te on one of the wings should therefore give us more creativity, and hopefully be more likely to provide greater service for the likes of Modibo Maiga and Nolan, neither of whom have been able to make an impact this season. I think he was justified in feeling aggrieved at not getting a look in at the start of this season so its time for Big Sam to swallow his pride and give Vaz Te a go!
Written by James Coker
what we have missed for so long is a fox in the box type player someone to spin off his marker and finnish vaz te could do that and he has pace but he must be played in a central position anybody has to be better than maiga but why not give eliott lee a game and play wait for it 442 with vaz along side him nothing ventured nothing gained
Much the same yet again tomorrow. Predictable football instigated by fat Sam useless floated, high crosses, never play out from the back and all blame on the ref. Yawn. When will fat Sam set us up to give our squad the chance of a result. Oh well.
Think it’s about time all the doom and gloom merchants start to button it – Sam is better than anything we’ve had for years, he knows what he’s doing and will continue to take us foward. COYI