Carl Jenkinson has by and large been a good loan signing for West Ham. This season alone, the England U21 right back has scored two goals in two games and that is particularly impressive for a defender.
Some West Ham fans have questioned Jenkinson this season and referred to him as a liability. Ultimately, Jenkinson is a defender and it is his job to prevent wingers from getting crosses into the box and getting into dangerous areas. Jenkinson has started this season very slowly, and his performances in some of the early fixtures were lacklustre at best. In the modern day, pundits and people in the media question the defensive abilities of most full backs, Jenkinson is certainly a full back whose defensive abilities could be questioned.
Carl Jenkinson has not fully cemented his place in the West Ham team, due to shaky performances in some games, Slaven Bilic has opted for the defensively reliable James Tomkins. If Jenkinson can continue the form he has had for the previous two games, I see no reason why he shouldn’t progress and make the position completely his own.
Of course in the Crystal Palace game, after scoring the opening goal, the English right back conceded a penalty which made it 1-1. In terms of his attacking ability I don’t think he needs much improvement, as he has demonstrated in the previous two games, he can score and assist.
The defensive side of his game is the area which needs most attention. Because there is no denying that at least some of what Jenkinson’s critics are saying is correct, he is at times a liability. It is all well and good being able to attack, in fact it is quite reassuring. However, as a defender you have to know how to defend well. I hope that he is working on defending in training because to be fair, if he can become a better defender he will be a well-rounded full back.
The defending skills must be improved as otherwise Jenkinson might find himself in a similar situation to the one he was in at Arsenal. Whilst Tomkins may not be the fastest player to play at full back, he certainly is more dependable defensively. Many West Ham fans would prefer defensive stability to attacking presence when that attacking presence is over-compensating for a distinct lack of defensive awareness.
Furthermore, if Carl Jenkinson continues to look questionable in defence, we know already that Bilic is not the kind of manager to sit around and be patient, he will make changes if things aren’t working or players are not playing well. If the Arsenal player on loan to West Ham continues to look unconvincing, he has one redeeming quality. That quality being his speed. For example, James Tomkins is not the fastest and therefore Bilic might feel that for all his defensive vulnerabilities, Jenkinson will be able to at least keep up with the fast and tricky wingers, of which there are many in the Premier league.
Overall, I want Jenkinson to retain his place in West Ham’s starting 11 however he definitely does need to tighten up his defensive game because he does cost the team at times. To be honest, if he doesn’t improve defensively, I believe the club can recruit a better right back for our first season at the Olympic stadium.
Having said that, I never like to see football players not improve and I want to see Jenkinson develop not only as a West Ham fan but as a football fan, because I think Carl Jenkinson could become a great asset to the England national team if he delivers on his undeniable potential.
I first used the “nearly man” tag for Tom Henman years ago and over the years it has become standard use for so many media columnists.
I guess it is an old style version of going viral
Disagree! hes had one bad game, recognised, apologised and got to work improving. I for one love watching both our full backs get forward and go on the attack. Refreshing, sometimes dangerous but soon much better than O’Brian who gets a nose bleed at the half way line and can’t defend for shit. Keep it up Jenks, we know your a hammer!