When supporters and pundits mention Marouane Chamakh, they immediately think “FLOP”. This is mainly due to an unsuccessful period with London rivals, Arsenal, but Sam Allardyce has seen something in him which has brought Chamakh to West Ham United.
Now why is Chamakh classed as a flop? Is it because he doesn’t get any game time in the Arsenal side to be able to make an impression. Or is it his poor goalscoring record for the Gunners?
He has only played once for Arsenal this season, in the entertaining 7-5 Capital One Cup victory at Reading – a game which saw him score twice. I would just like to point out that that’s one more goal that Andy Carroll has scored for us this season, and equals the amount scored by our other man striker, Carlton Cole.
So what sort of striker is Chamakh? Well he is a tall striker, who poses a significant aerial threat, and has a good heading ability. He has scored goals in the French League, in the English Premier League and in the Champions League – so he’s certainly no mug to scoring goals in big games. He also holds the current record of scoring in six consecutive Champions League matches.
He has scored a total of 64 goals in 270 league career appearances, whilst also banging in 17 goals in 61 caps for Morocco.
He has signed on a 6 month loan deal, with a view to a permanent move at the end of the season. This is a low risk deal for West Ham – no transfer fee, minimal wages, and if he turns out to be a duff, then we don’t have to buy him, if he turns out to suit our style of play, then we can sign him up for next season.
I’m not sure how much game time he will actually get with Cole playing the best football I’ve seen him play, and Andy Carroll due to return in a couple of weeks. It’s also quite obvious that he has been signed to strengthen the numbers in the absence of Modibo Maiga to the African Nations Cup.
Some players play well for other clubs, not everyone is suited to every brand of football – Joe Cole will be another example of this. But one thing I think we should do with Chamakh is wipe the slate clean, and give the lad a chance to show us what he can do.