It’s no secret that a lot of West Ham’s recent success is down to some of our brilliant signings – messers Cheikhou Kouyate, Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia in particular – and a lot of credit for our new-look playing style rests with the spark and energy they have brought to the team.But fans may not be seeing so much of these new stars this winer, as Sam Allardyce has announced that he’s preparing to rest some of West Ham’s foreign stars over the Christmas period, and rotate the squad to ensure the stars don’t experience burnout.
It’s a fairly unusual idea for English football, but it might be a very good move from Allardyce – and it’s exciting to think we may even have the depth in squad to be able to pull it off.
The Christmas period is the busiest of the season, and with the Hammers having to squeeze 7 games into 31 days (in hindsight, perhaps it’s a good thing we left the Capital One Cup when we did), it’s shaping up to be a tough time of year.
In previous years, Christmas was the point when we started losing the majority of the team to injury – including one memorable year when only Matthew Upson avoided the treatment room— owing to him utilizing top of the line technology to stay fit (and by ‘top of the line technology’ I mean he was stuffing his boots with newspaper. No, really.)
It’s a problem Sam will be keen to avoid, and one he has addressed head-on, starting with some of our players who have experience playing in foreign leagues – players who will be used to, and conditioned to, taking a break at that time of year instead of doubling their number of games.
According to Sam, ‘New players – Enner Valencia, Sakho, Kouyate and Mauro Zarate – won’t have hit that cauldron of mental and physical output during that particular period. Those players normally have a break.’ Whilst I’m not overly convinced Zarate will need a break in a month’s time, given his current less-than-demanding playing schedule, I’d hate to see Valencia, Sakho, and Kouyate end up injured at that point in the season.
Plus, West Ham have other options – we coped well whilst Kouyate was out, and although I dread to think of how Stoke may go without our fantastic goal-machine Sakho, we have a decent selection of players ready to come off the bench and score. When he isn’t injured, Andy Carroll is a tremendous player and brings a lot of physicality to the game. Carlton Cole has been a new man since this influx of new players, and is tied with Morgan Amalfitano and Enner Valencia for second place when it comes to West Ham’s top scorers this season.
Although it’s unusual in English football to offer players a winter break, Allardyce pointed out that “Sir Alex Ferguson used to send players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani away at Christmas. He gave them a rest and then brought them back in and they kick on.”
It’s a gamble, but it’s one that may just pay off for a West Ham which currently has so much to offer.
What do you think of Sam’s action-plan for December? Is it the right thing to do, or are we selling ourselves short before we even head into this busy period? Do let us know below, or come chat to me @makingthemarrow
