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Who The F*** Are West Ham United?
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F
ollowing promotion to the Premiership via the play-offs last season,
West Ham United have surprised everyone on their return to the bigtime.
Most of all their own supporters who expected the Hammers to be down
at the bottom in a relegation dogfight entering the Festive period.
But with 25 points from 16 games, the Upton Park outfit are just 3
points off a European spot up into 7th place in the League, following
a spirited 2-1 win over Everton at Goodison in midweek.
One of the favourites for the drop, the claret and blue side have
been a breath of fresh air in the top-flight along with fellow newcomers
Wigan Athletic.
And with a host of talented youngsters such as Anton Ferdinand and
Nigel Reo-Corker in their lineup as well as old heads like Teddy Sheringham
and Tomas Repka, the Hammers look odds on certainties to be around
this time next year. Unless they suffer a spectacular drop in form
in the second half of the campaign that is.
Here we take a look at West Ham's manager, their team and key players,
their tactics, strengths, weaknesses, form and stats ahead of Newcastle's
match at the old Boleyn ground.
| Boss
Man: Alan Pardew |
Appointed in 2003, Pardew took West Ham into the Premiership on the
back of stinging criticism from the Upton Park faithful who up until
their play-off win over Preston North End, weren't fully convinced
that the Londoner was the right man for them. After relegation from
the top-flight the Hammers were expecting a big-name manager not a
relatively inexperienced Pardew whose only other job was with Reading.
That was then, today however, Pardew can do no wrong and has well
and truly won over the doubters, both on the stands and in the media,
who were writing off the 44 year-old and his side before a ball had
even been kicked at the beginning of the campaign.
A modern, forward-thinking manager, Pardew has fashioned 7 wins in
just 16 games thus far (hopefully that will read 7 wins in 17 games
come 4.45pm on Saturday evening) and his Hammers side sit pretty in
7th place, just 3 points off a European spot and more importantly,
many above the drop-zone.
And it's the manner in which those wins were achieved that has won
Pardew the plaudits from fans and media alike, for his team play attractive,
attacking football based on pace, power and energy. Pardew is a firm
believer in putting out sides that play football in the right spirit
and he has instilled that into his charges.
As a result he has created a tough side to beat, one that's perfectly
balanced with youth and experience all over the park in equal measures.
A manager who has traveled the world taking in scouting missions to
assess the different formations, techniques and tactics on offer,
the West Ham man, it would appear, is a deep thinker, a manager willing
to experiment and learn.
He is also proving a dab hand in the transfer market, snapping up
Yossi Benayoun for £2.5m, Paul Konchesky for £1.5m, Daniel
Gabbidon, Sheringham, Reo-Coker and Roy Carroll all on a free and
leading scorer Marlon Harewood for £500,000.
The future certainly looks bright for Pardew and West Ham while he's
in charge.
| The
Team: |
In defence veteran stalwart Repka at right-back, Welshman Gabbidon
and Ferdinand (pictured) in the centre and one-time England international
left-back and forner alleged Toon target Konchesky, all make up the
back-four that protect goalkeeper Carroll. With James Collins and
Christian Dailly the back-up in reserve. On paper this is a well ballanced
set-up with a mixture of youth and experience, flair and grit and
plenty of that all important pace in the centre.
Despite this ballance however, West Ham have conceded 18 goals this
season, ranking 9th in the goals against league and have only kept
4 clean sheets in total. This is no doubt a result of their open,
attack minded philosophy more than anything else, but in the centre
the combined inexperience of their two centre-halfs is also a telling
factor. Both are new to the Premiership and while Gabbidon is experienced
on the international scene, he has played all of his club football
outside of the top-flight prior to this season.
In midfield West Ham usually line up with 4 in the middle, Benayoun
(pictured) who was linked with United back in the Summer, operating
on the right flank, Matthew Etherington on the left, and Reo-Coker
and Hayden Mullins in the centre. Like the back-four this is a well
balanced set-up, although lacking in experience.
What they lack in that department however, the first-choice quartet
more than make up for it in pace, power, energy and in Benayoun, creativity.
The engine room is a particular powerhouse for the Hammers with Reo-Corker
(misses the Toon game through injury) the box to box man and his team-mate
Mullins the defensive anchor.
Goals have been scarce from midfield, just 4 in total, but the majority
of West Ham's strikes have been created from this area of the pitch
with that man Yossi the main provider with 4 assists.
The Hammers midfield is an interchangeable one with Mullins equally
capable of joining up with the attack while Reo-Corker can easily
sit and protect, a role he has often played for the England under-21s.
On the flanks Benayoun likes to drift infield or play just off the
forwards.
In attack Harewood (pictured), ever-green Sheringham, Bobby Zamora
and on loan pair Jeremie Aliadiere and ex-mackem David Bellion make
up West Ham's strikeforce with Harewood their main man with 7 goals
in all competitions to date.
Zamora and Sheringham both took turns sharing the other striking berth
but with Teddy's age and Zamora's red hot form (3 goals in his last
3 games) the latter has forced himself into the reckoning and is now
considered a first-teamer.
With 17 goals between the trio, it's their strikes that have been
behind West Ham's excellent start to the season and in Harewood, they
have the pace and power needed in this League while Sheringham provides
that experience and inventiveness, even at his age. A remarkable footballer.
| Tactics: |
West Ham line up in a 4-4-2 formation which is quite fluid in that
it can accommodate a 4-3-3 on the offensive or a 4-5-1 when on the
backfoot, or rather the players can. This shape suits them perfectly
as they have natural width on the flanks and two traditional centre-forwards
in Harewood and Zamora. When Sheringham plays the shape changes slightly,
the ex-England man tends to drop off just loitering ahead of the midfield
with Benayoun coming in off the right to make up the numbers.
The Hammers are a forceful side at home in that they like to dictate
the tempo and take the game to their opponents. On the road, as we
witnessed at St. James' Park, they are more reserved, less expansive,
playing a counter-attacking style. They have the players to play both
styles so again, they can alternate whether they are at home or on
the road, really.
They use the width of the pitch well and this is their main area of
attack, the central midfielders win the ball, play it to the wide
men and get up in numbers to crowd the opposition penalty box. This
can leave gaps in and behind the midfield areas but the back-four
tend to squeeze up high which gives the midfield an extra layer if
you like. With plenty of pace at the back they can afford to do this,
although against pacey forwards one of Ferdinand or Gabbidon will
stay back.
| Strengths
& Weaknesses: |
West Ham have various strengths, the quality of their players for
one. Some of whom are proving more than capable at this level. But
their main strength is their attitude. They just don't give up and
the stats prove this. They rank second in the League for picking up
points when coming from behind, 3 wins and 2 draws which is an impressive
stat.
Another strength of theirs is their goal threat, they have failed
to score in just 3 games this season and they have one of the highest
shots on goal ratios of any side in the Premiership. They like to
get the ball forward and they like to get numbers into advanced possitions,
with 24 goals to their name, the third highest in the Premiership.
They are also a very hard working side and have tremendous pace, power
and energy right throughout their team. They recover that ball quickly
and it's no surprise that most of the games that they have been involved
in, have been 100mph affairs. They work the opposition and they get
a lot of mileage out of the game.
Away from the football pitch their most obvious weakness is their
squad size - it's tiny. One of the smallest in the Premiership and
an injury to one or two players in any given area of their team would
seriously hamstring their ability to pick up points. Fortunately for
them, they have been lucky in that they haven't had many this season.
Out on the pitch their main weakness is in defence. While individually
they have capable performers and the back-four look balanced on paper,
18 goals against and only 4 cleansheets suggests otherwise. That's
3 more than the number Newcastle have conceded and United have been
terrible in defence, despite our own impressive tally of cleansheets.
And it's not hard to see why they concede goals. As touched on above,
West Ham's central defence is inexperienced at this level and can
get caught out, especially with the off-side trap.
Due to the pace both Ferdinand and Gabbidon have and because the midfield
get forward in numbers, the Hammers like to play high up the field
and intelligent forwards can exploit this inexperience and that dangerous
off-side trap of theirs. Someone like Michael Owen...
On the flanks Konchesky can go walk-abouts and while both he and Etherington
are hard working, the pair aren't the most disciplined of players
and tend to switch off. This can leave gaps and draw others out of
position, as they themselves attempt to fill the holes.
Further upfield they don't have many obvious flaws aside from a lack
of quality in certain technical areas but from a defensive perspective,
cutting off the width and isolating Harewood from his midfielders
can condense their play, forcing them into playing square balls across
the field ripe for interception and forcing what is a dynamic midfield,
into a flat, static four.
Up front they can be very direct, forcing Harewood and Zamora into
wide positions will limit their considerable aerial threat and central
presence and force the likes of Etherington and Benayoun infield.
Meaning large gaps down the flanks should either of the two centre-forwards
lose the ball from out wide, which given their limited ball control
and crossing abilities, is a high possibility.
| Form
& Stats: |
West Ham have 25 points from 16 games to date and have won 4 of their
6 home games, losing 2 and drawing the other while scoring 12 and
conceding half that. On the road they have played 9 matches, winning
3 of them, losing 3 and drawing the other 3, having scored 11 and
conceded 12 in the process.
They have lost just 2 of their last 6 games, a 3-2 defeat at Ewood
Park and a 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United. Overall they have
a pretty decent record, especially at home.
On recent form alone (last 5) they are 7th, the position they actually
occupy in the Table which suggests they have been consistent at picking
up points this season. Indeed, they have never lost 3 games in succession
so they have yet to hit a bad run of form.
West Ham games are high scoring affairs with a total of 43 goals scored
in the 16 League games they have featured in, that's 2.6 goals per
game.
When the Hammers take the lead, they usually go on to pick up points,
losing just 2 of the 6 games they have scored first in, winning the
other 4.
They also have the second best record in the League from coming behind
to pick up points, winning 3, drawing 2 and losing 3.
They have only failed to score in 3 games this season, the third best
record in the League, however the opposition have themselves, only
failed 4 times to find the net against the Hammers.
Their record against the bottom sides is impressive too, winning 7
of their 9 encounters, losing 1 and drawing the other (at St. James'
Park). This is the 3rd best record in the League.
However, they don't have such a good record against sides in the top
end of the table, winning none of the 7 games they have played, losing
4 and drawing 3. 15 other sides, including Newcastle, have a better
record against sides at the top of the table.
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