It has been confirmed that Jack Collison has been sent on an emergency 1 month loan to Championship club, Bournemouth. At first sight, this decision will probably puzzle most fans. Some will reason that at a time when we are severely struggling to score goals, Sam Allardyce has seen fit to ship out on loan a midfielder who possesses a natural goal scoring touch in the final third. No doubt, they will see this as a prelude to a permanent move in January. That could be the case, but it is also more than possible that Allardyce is loaning him out for this short period to up his game time and sharpen his game ahead of him playing a far greater part in first team affairs.
There is no doubt that Jack Collison’s playing development was adversely affected by that fateful knee dislocation picked up in a mid-week fixture at Wigan a few seasons ago. Prior to that he had come in to the first team and looked an outstanding prospective. Displaying good staimina, excellent technique, powerful forward runs and a marked finishing ability in the final third. Post-injury, he has only, hitherto, recaptured his former performance levels in flashes. Most notably, that excellent double against Cardiff City in the 2012 Play-Off Semi-Final in Cardiff.
Personally, I hope that this loan represents an attempt to build up Collison’s match fitness and sharpness. Because, I still feel he has much to offer at first team level. The former knee injury has to be managed, but that is possible these days. We will need to keep an eye on this one. It could be a test, to give Collison three or so consecutive first team fixtures to see how he stands up to a intense period of matches. We shall see?It has also been widely reported that West Ham are lining up a January free agent move for Malmo’s 22 year old, attacking midfielder, Jiloan Hamad. Hamad has scored 11 times for Malmo in the current Swedish season, which has assisted them to the verge of the title and qualification for next season’s Champions League. There is widespread interest in the player, but he has expressed an interest in playing in this Premier League. Apparently, West Ham made contact with the player’s agent this summer and although no deal transpired, it is possible there may be some sort of pre-contract deal in place. Of course, we all know how much the club’s co-owners love picking up a Bosman bargain, so it could be a runner. Provided that the necessary striker(s) are signed as well. Well one would presume so, but this West Ham and confounding things have an habit of commonly happening!
Elsewhere, I see that Barry Hearn was once again banging his Olympic Stadium drum in yesterday’s Evening Standard. If you get a chance to read the article, you should do so. It goes over all the old disproved ground and need not be repeated here in detail. However, two statements do stand out though. The first was that Leyton Orient have been at their current site for 130 years!!! When in reality it is a verifiable historical fact that they relocated from Clapton in Hackney in 1935-36. The second is that the OS is a mere 750 yards from Brisbane Road. Again, that is just plain wrong, the true distance in 1.5 miles. Leyton Orient can keep feeding the legal profession copious fees on a lost cause, the fact is that all the loop holes in the original procurement process were closed and the 2nd process is water tight. This stadium anchor deal with West Ham is just too important to the future of the OS site, and the delivery of the wider Olympic Legacy in East London, for it to be amended at this stage. Orient should have just accepted the rejection of their judicial review and, instead, sought to develop a strategy to co-exist with West Ham at Stratford. I, for one, believe that it is more than possible.
Finally, some apparent good news on Andy Carroll’s physical rehabilitation from his persistent heel injury. After an initial assessment by Dutch specialist, Professor Van Dijk, Carroll is to be given the green light to step up his rehabilitation work over a three week period. At the end of which, and all things going well, Van Dijk will put a definitive time-scale on his return to full fitness. This initial prognosis by the Dutch specialist has apparently been received with much encouragement by the club’s medical and physio team. So, hopefully a early New Year return is a possibility.
Its just the current dangerous period that have to traverse in the meantime! Hopefully, the return of Downing and Joe Cole will have a positive influence and a new strike partnership of Petric and Carlton Cole will deliver some goals. This is a very difficult period and the manager needs to motivate his players and the players need to show unity and a collective spirit to see us through. This striker situation should never have occurred, but we are where we are, and we have to dig in and fight for the points up until the January window. We especially need to reverse this recent trend of conceding points at Upton Park, we must re-assert our former dominance at home. That is probably the key factor in safely guiding us through to the New Year.
SJ. Chandos.