Guest Post by Tom Conley
I, like the rest of you, was astounded when watching the game last Sunday. The third goal especially was made of the stuff of nightmares. To give the ball away so cheaply in our own half and concede seconds later caused the release of a collective groan from every West Ham around me at the time.
There is nothing quite as bad as being the instigator to your own downfall. But, as Bilic himself has said, we must move forward. So the question is raised, who keeps their place for the upcoming fixture for West Bromwich Albion?
Firstly in defence:
It was clear to most watching that no player in claret and blue on Sunday covered themselves in glory. If there were a change to be made, surely it would mean the inclusion of Italian international Angelo Ogbonna. But whose place does he take? Despite, in my view being the best player on the pitch in the home game versus Everton, James Tomkins had an awful game against Harry Kane. He was pulled and turned every which way by the England centre forward. To then, after being under very little pressure passed the ball straight to Christian Eriksen, who then played through to Harry Kane, whose subsequent shot resulted in Spurs third goal of the afternoon.
So perhaps Ogbonna for Tomkins could be the most logical swap. But what about Jenkinson? The Arsenal loanee has looked a shadow of his last season self. Jenkinson had a torrid time up against Eriksen on Sunday, and most of the attacks seemed to come from down his side. Perhaps shifting Tomkins, who performed impressively at right back at the start of the season, to the right side of defence, and place Ogbonna alongside Reid at centre half.
What about the midfield?
Noble picked up his fifth booking of the season away at spurs, and consequently will miss the game on Sunday against the Baggies. West Ham were boosted by the return of Barcelona loanee Alex Song, coming on as a substitute, and as such, he can be seen as the natural replacement for Noble in the heart of midfield. It is unclear if Obiang will be fit for Sunday, as the Spaniard did not even make the bench for the trip to White Hart Lane. This could again mean a place amongst the subs for young Reece Oxford. Kouyate, one of the only players to come out with some form of credit from the game against Spurs, will surely retain his place.
Lanzini, like Kouyate, can claim some form of credit from the game, even without his goal, proved himself a nuisance for the Spurs centre halves, and would presumably being seeing much more of the ball against a struggling West Brom side. Moses is also likely to retain his place after a decent hour long performance on Sunday. The question remains as to whether Michail Antonio actually exists or is merely a figure of every West Ham fan’s imagination. While Zarate could potentially come in to add a different dimension to the West Ham side, while adding an extra goal-scoring threat.
Now we come to a real conundrum. Andy Carroll. There is no question that on his day, the big Georgie target man can cause problems for any centre half. However, it seems that he becomes a bigger threat when appearing from the bench. Against Tottenham he was relatively anonymous. Maybe an argument can be made for a lack of service. A lack of aerial balls in which he thrives. But, it seems that Bilic is struggling to find a way in which he can accommodate both Sakho and Carroll into the same side. It is clear to everyone that Sakho’s movement off the ball is vital to West ham’s style of play. Pulling defenders out of position, allowing for more space for the three flair players operating just behind him. As such he cannot be dropped at present.
These are all interesting problems which Bilic must address come Sunday at 2pm. Make no mistake, we lost to a very good Tottenham side. But changes will most likely be made in response to this. Will West Ham give a reaction? Or are the nay-sayers to be proven right? That West Ham just cannot operate without Payet.