Christmas 2015 is approaching, and yet again, West Ham United find themselves in the midst of an injury crisis. It seems the same story every year for the club. It doesn’t matter which manager is in charge, it seems to have become a club tradition; starting the season well, then it starting to wane by the festive fixtures.
With Dmitri Payet, Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia, Victor Moses and Manuel Lanzini all missing at the moment, to go to Old Trafford and get a point and a clean sheet was excellent. We still put out a team which could compete with one of the biggest clubs in the world, which I feel is the difference between this year and last.
We could still call on our record signing, who, it’s fair to say, is feeling himself way back into the fold. Andy Carroll is a good player, but we have to play to his strengths. We could call on our £7m summer signing who hasn’t been given a chance yet, but will find himself starting the next game vs Stoke. Michael Antonio will be wanting to make an impression on Bilic and the fans, which can only work out well for us. We had Alex Song, an International midfielder, and a player still on the books of Barcelona, who will progress in the coming weeks too. Mauro Zarate is enjoying a new lease of life under Slaven Bilic, and although frustrating at times, has improved his team performance immensely since last season.
Valencia is close to a return, and he can quite easily fill that lone striker role which Sakho has played so well this season. Lanzinis injury does not seem long term, so no doubt he will return soon also. No doubt we were always going to miss Payet, but we have to prove that we are not a one man team. So fingers crossed, the festive fixtures may be ones we can look forward to, with the other injured players returning over the start of the year.
Maybe ’tis the season to feel jolly’?