It has certainly been a week of ups and downs for West Ham. First the high of the great win against Spurs, and then the low of losing a game against Manchester United that we went into thinking maybe, just maybe, we could win. Although we delivered an inspiring second half performance against Spurs, we made too many mistakes against a slowly improving Manchester United, and threw away a game we could have and should have defended better in.
There’s been a lot of focus on our striker situation, but I’m starting to get more concerned with the central defense. I know we’re all counting down the minutes until Andy “Ice Jesus” Carroll comes back, but truthfully I’m more interested in how quickly we can get seasoned central defender Winston Reid back on the pitch.
I just miss him so much.
Last year’s Hammer of the Year is currently out injured while he recovers from an ankle injury suffered in training. He’s optimistically stated he will be back on the pitch in a month’s time, but until then I’m not sure Collins and Tomkins have adequately filled the Reid-shaped hole both on the pitch and in my heart.
Last year, he started for (and clearly contributed to) 11 of our 12 clean sheets. This year we have rather surprisingly managed three clean sheets in the league without him (we also are tied with Everton for most clean sheets in the Premier League this season.) This is certainly good news on paper, but I don’t feel confident in how we’ve defended in recent games – particularly against United and Liverpool.
Not everyone has performed poorly in his absence, although consistency seems to be ever evasive. Tomkins has been putting in a lot of work on the pitch and has looked invested in the games he’s playing in, but the details leaking out about his assault of a police officer are terrible news for the club, and show a lack of professionalism on Tomkins’ part.
Demel and McCartney (not centre backs, of course) have played well – Demel has done some great work in getting the ball into the box, and McCartney was outstanding against Sunderland (although lucky to stay on the pitch against United.)
I feel differently about James Collins. I was overjoyed when he returned to West Ham as I really rated him as a defender. I loved him throwing himself in front of the ball in a kamikaze manner, and saw very little get past him. This year, worryingly, I’ve seen a different Collins. Miscommunications seem abundant, and his main trick seems to be aimlessly hoofing a ball up the pitch (which was admittedly almost a genius move against Spurs – was that not the save of Lloris’s career?)
I miss the stability and consistency that Winston Reid brings to the back four. When he’s out there they have a different look and structure—they look organized, cohesive, and when I see the ball coming towards him I have a lot of faith that he’ll do his best to keep the ball out of the net.
It’s certainly not easy to keep a clean sheet against United and Liverpool, but it’s essential that goals scored against us are not down to miscommunications and clumsy mistakes. For me, the best way to avoid those is to have Reid on the pitch.
Are you looking forward to Reid coming back, or will we pick up once we’ve got the likes of Carroll and Vaz Te back? Am I being harsh on Collins? Let me know below or tweet me @makingthemarrow
No, Collins is lacking the pace and is being turned inside out Emily. I’d play Rat instead of James now & put him on the bench. Yes our Maori Warrior Reid is a big loss. West Ham’s trouble is the owners have spent their budget on 2 players who are injured. Carroll could be our downfall, as with buying an injury prone player West Ham have not up to this stage invested wisely. Look, I’m not panicking anymore, the show is almost over. We are on 14 points. If we stay on 14 pts going into the New Year, then I can’t see West Ham staying up, as with 26 pts required from just 18 games after new year, that’s too much pressure and our club knows from experience that a club can get relegated on 42 pts. We can’t move into the Olympic Stadium if we are in the Championship, but at least then we may keep our beloved Boleyn ground.