Tactical rigidity costs West Ham yet again

Article by Brandon Freeman

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Ahead of the opening game of the new Premier League season there was an air of hope from West Ham fans that we may see a more attacking and more dynamic starting 11 than last season, and a hope that we may be able to grab a fourth successive win over our London rivals. However, as kick-off neared the air of hope slowly ebbed away as the team news was announced and Sam Allardyce once again showed how fan disapproval would have no affect on how he picks his team. Even after the considerable money invested into the team, Allardyce still chose to leave three of West Ham’s most exciting summer arrivals out of the starting 11. Although I cannot blame Sam for not starting Enner Valencia who has been fighting to regain fitness and is still perhaps two weeks away from being ready to start a game, I was still bitterly disappointed that Mauro Zarate and Diego Poyet were left on the bench.

Despite Sam Allardyce on many occasion playing down the importance of pre-season results, surely he cannot fail to recognise the importance of individual player form in pre-season and the impact it should have on squad selection. Therefore, I again struggle to see why Carlton Cole, who had a fairly average pre-season at best, was started ahead of Mauro Zarate who showed some glimpses of the exciting player that he is and was also one of the few players to score in pre-season. Surely this just once again goes to show Sam’s reluctance to stray from what he knows, a characteristic which must also lie behind his decision to start Ricardo Vaz Te, who alongside Carlton Cole, produced little excitement during the game. However, two new signings who Sam did give debuts to were thoroughly impressive. Aaron Cresswell showed all the attributes necessary to thrive in the Premier League. The 24 year-old was an ever-present force on the left of the pitch, continuously showing the energy and desire to get forward and get involved in the attack. As such Cresswell was named man of the match but was pushed hard by Senegalese midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate who also played phenomenally. Kouyate showed some fantastic athleticism, chasing down the ball whenever West Ham were not in possession, and was also highly menacing going forward.

Positives aside the turning point of the game was the dismissal of Kyle Naughton, which handed the initiative to West Ham to go on and win the game. However, when Mark Noble missed from the spot, the pressure was on West Ham to get the goal which would them in the driving seat. Having the numerical advantage I expected Sam Allardyce to make the necessary changes to capitalise upon the number of chances the team created, so we can quite rightly feel outraged that we come away having lost a game that we could have potentially won. However, once again Sam’s reluctance to play with two strikers up-front means that we never attempted to get the goal whilst we had the advantage, and never was a lesson so well learnt as when James Collins received his second yellow and then the impetus was with Tottenham to try and win the game. Perhaps this week-end Sam Allardyce may have learned a lesson that he needs to put on a second striker and play with two up front when the opposition are there for the taking, rather than refusing to make a change, and simply hoping a chance will be taken. Although I highly doubt it!

What did you make of the team selection in our opening game and what changes would you like to see for next week’s game against Crystal Palace? Leave your comments below and follow our Twitter page @e_westham for the latest news and views, all things West Ham.

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