West Ham fans have rightly been complaining that I haven't been writing much about West Ham lately, but let's be honest, what is there to say?
You can only say, "It's been a brilliant start but let's not get carried away" so many times. When the team is struggling, there's always something to say. You're calling for players to be dropped, for the formation to be changed, for the manager to be shown the door...
But Sam has made me and all his other critics eat our words. The football may not be pulsating but it is not all crude hoof ball either. The summer signings were superb. The team has been knitted together as an effective unit. We are coping even with inadequate options for the full back berths. If we can get Carroll scoring, we could be very difficult to beat. If Benayoun can find his heart we could be even harder to beat.
But things could yet go wrong. Stoke tomorrow is another huge game, especially after Southampton and Reading won at the weekend. I'm still looking at the bottom. My first concern remains survival. I remember Blackpool. And Sheffield United. And Birmingham. There's usually one team that collapses over the second half of the season. The sooner we are through 20 points, and then 30 points, the better.
If we lose Carroll, we may struggle. If we lose Nolan to injury or suspension, it would be a disaster. If we lose Noble, his critics may understand what he offers. If we lose Reid, we will see how inadequate our full backs are. If we have lost Jarvis, we may struggle to beat Stoke.
So, the less I write about West Ham, the better! It means things are going well. And long may that continue!
So, HF. If Yossi and Jarvis are out, who slots in those places? Maiga is one, but I cant figure out the other. Taylor? I wonder if 4-4-2 might be in order. Maiga on one wing with AC and Cole up top? Might be interesting. Or possibly Taylor as the 4th midfielder and Maiga and AC up top.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you haven't written more about wet spam considering it's your cup final next week.
ReplyDeleteAnd so say all of us. Coy I
ReplyDeleteI'm still hoping Jarvis makes it, at least! Maiga has looked poor, THAT goal apart, and the cupboard is pretty bare after that. I fear O'Neil and Taylor which will leave us very short of fire power.
ReplyDeleteI agree about Maiga. THAT goal seemed to give him the impression that all he has to do is touch the ball and magic will happen. Believing his own press.
ReplyDeleteBut whenever I think we are short of manpower, Sam figures out a way to overcome that. Still, I see a 1-1 draw tonight.