The whole summer transfer window has been filled by West Ham United’s need for attacking players. Wingers and back up strikers to Andy Carroll has prompted intense speculation and debate amongst West Ham supporters. But is it just the attack that Sam Allardyce should be focusing on?
Last summer, we purchased James Collins from Aston Villa, to add to James Tomkins and Hammer Of The Year, Winston Reid. I thought then that we needed extra cover in Central Defence, but thought that maybe funds were tight, and we’d just have to take a chance. We were lucky in that two of the three were not injured at the same time.
This summer has seen us pick up Razvan Rat, a left full back that we so desperately needed, after Joey O’Brien filled the role for most of the season. The question I ask is that with the likes of Joey, Demel, McCartney, Potts and Spence, do we have sufficient quality cover at centre back, should any of our first choice be missing?
I’m not a fan of playing full backs in the centre, and I wonder if Alou Diarra may have a role to play there should we need it. He played centre of a back 3 when we trialled a new formation at Old Trafford in the cup, a formation I thought that worked very well. But again, its not Diarras natural position.
My point is that maybe we should have looked at an extra centre back, for cover. Anton Ferdinand has had some troubled times since leaving the club, and bringing him back may settle him down. He is available on a free, and would not command much in wages. Just a thought, the lack of natural centre backs concerns me as it does the lack of strikers. After all, if you don’t concede any goals, you can’t lose a game!