What should West Ham do against Chelsea?

I was asked this week, should we stick with 4-6-0 this week for Chelsea? It’s a tough question for a number of reasons. First you have to be in the team to understand what is going on, if a player cops a knock or has a tight hamstring, Big Sam will not tell the media anything so his weakness is not used against him. So for this exercise I will assume that all players are as fit as they were two weeks ago. I would go with 4-2-3-1 for one reason, I want to win, and this is my team.

Goalkeeper

This come down to Adrian or Jussi Jaaskelainen; Last game was bad for the keeper from Finland, he made a costly mistake. Adrian is definitely part of the future at West Ham, and has proven good in the Capital One Cup run. However I will stick with Jaaskelainen because I know he will be determined to prove himself to the team, he won’t let another mistake happen and he has done a lot of good since he came over from Bolton Wanderers.

Defence

This is what will separate joy from pain, and although Winston Reid is out, as shown earlier this year at Anfield we are not a one-man show at the back. Razvan Rat should keep his place, I thought he was solid last week, and I trust him the most in the left back role. James Tomkins, he has played well since coming back and he has very good heading ability when set pieces come into play, he is in good form and is a key to victory. James Collins, has had some shaky times at the back this year, but is experienced and should know his career is at the crossroads. Guy Demel, has been solid at right back and it’s a no brainer he should keep his place.

Two holding midfielders

For this I am bringing Mohamed Diame into the team, he is a great holding midfielder, and as we know from last year can do something special against Chelsea. Mark Noble is the other, say what you want I rate the guy for his ability as a holding midfielder. Some people whinge about not scoring or whatever, his job is to chase, tackle and defend in in the midfield, not score. If these two here can have a good partnership they will stop the supply to the strikers and provide us with a chance to counter attack.

Central midfield

Ravel Morrison, he is simply brilliant and should be playing for England; I bought a shirt with his name for a reason. Stewart Downing, if we are going to win we need some good supply into the box, and Downing can do that on the right, he is the man for the job. Matt Jarvis, the man on the left, Matt is probably the quickest player in the team, we will need some pace against Chelsea if we want to hit them on the counter attack or get some through balls. His crossing ability is very good and is a solid player, although he is out of form, there is no better time to shine than now.

Striker

This is the hardest of them all it’s either Carlton Cole or Kevin Nolan. Cole is gaining fitness back and did score in both the friendlies recently, however I can’t gauge his fitness levels. Nolan has been out of form lately; he has blamed ” a force field” around the goals which means he is getting the shots out there. He has a habit of quiet spells then smashing them in, he is the captain and it is a derby, the best time to show what your made of and hit the back of the net.

Bench

Joe Cole – He needs no introduction. It’s hard to bench the man, but he would come on. It’s a hard call but that’s what you have to do as a manager.

Either Nolan or Carlton Cole as you need a spare striker.

Jack Collison – I feel Downing is better on the right than Collison, but he would most likely get on during the game.

George McCartney – He is still recovering from injury and not 100% confident in his body.

Adrian – Obviously.

Leo Chambers or Dylan Tombides – These two boys have been playing very well in the reserves and deserve a chance to see what the big time is all about. While unlikely to play, there is no better opportunity to blood a youngster and no better opportunity for a youngster to step up .

Alou Diarra – Played the full 90 in a friendly and says his ready to go. Is very experienced and can talk the talk, let’s see if he can walk the walk. A player knows when they are ready to play and what there body feels like. He’s worth a go.

At the end of the day I don’t know what is going on inside the club. Who is carrying a injury, who is not doing what is required at training. However playing four defenders and two holding midfielders should stop Chelsea getting supply into their strikers. The main thing is we play as a team, with everyone knowing their role and know what is required, and when the chance or half chance comes, take it.

4-2-3-1 gives us a chance to win the game, while I believe most of us will accept a draw over a loss, everyone wants us to win. We can win this game.

COYI