Is a fit Mohamed Diame!
Christmas is coming up quickly and this time of year is always pivotal when fixtures approach thick and fast.
Diame’s untimely exit from the Liverpool game last Sunday really hammered home how important big Mo is to West Ham’s success in the premier league this season. Brendan Rodgers’ side scored twice to deny us three precious Upton park points after Diame had left the pitch.
Mo the man mountain has played a crucial part in our successes this year and the only consolation is the recent news that his injury is not as severe as first feared. However, we still have to face West Brom, Everton, Arsenal and Reading without him over the Christmas period, which will be a daunting task.
This got me wondering who will drive the team forward so we don’t lose too much ground during his absence. I fear that without his engine, strength and tenacity we will be dangerously exposed. Can we get Collinson and Diarra fit or should we venture in to the January transfer market?
The other issue for me is how healthy is it to become so reliant on one player and is this something that other premiership teams are also guilty of. Without a doubt the departure of RVP from Arsenal and Drogba leaving Chelsea has shown that both teams miss those individual players and without Suarez and his goals Liverpool would most certainly be sitting at the bottom end of the premier league table!
In my view, ideally you should never rely on one player for the team to perform. Or do we form the option that Big Mo is simply exceptional, and every team needs star players/leaders. And if that leader is absent, someone else has to step up. It goes beyond whether or not that player is the captain. It is about being a leader on the pitch by example, charisma and mindset. Particularly when a team goes behind, do those qualities exist elsewhere within the West Ham squad? Let’s hope so, or it will be a very un-merry Christmas and a decidedly unpleasant new year.