Why West Ham need a new Right Back
Amid West Ham’s hunt for a striker many fans are also wondering how many other players will be brought in for different positions, however it seems calls for a right back may fall on deaf ears.
David Gold has taken to Twitter to confirm that Slaven Bilic believes that Antonio is a suitable right back for the team in the premier league. Now I haven’t tended to disagree with the manager very often over his year in charge, but in this regard I do.
Antonio was also one of our best players going forward last year…To forgo the attacking threat he brings and put him in defence is, in my opinion, a huge waste of talent
Antonio played a large number of games last season as a right back, and I really can’t fault his effort when he’s been put there. However against the bigger teams and under situations of pressure his inexperience and lack of defensive awareness had been put under sharp scrutiny.
His physicality and pace makes him a tough opponent for the opponents without many tricks up their sleeve, but he had a torrid time of it against Martial in the United games towards the end of last season. In the FA Cup replay at Upton Park he gave the ball away cheaply for the first United goal, something that is more forgivable in a right wing role, but not when you’re in the back line.
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On top of his defensive worries, Antonio was also one of our best players going forward last year, offering the power and raw physicality that Payet and Lanzini just don’t have. I’d much rather see him powering up the wing trying to create scoring opportunities than looking to shut down an attack against one of the big clubs. To forgo the attacking threat he brings and put him in defence is, in my opinion, a huge waste of talent.
Byram is the only other ‘specialist’ right back in the squad, but he doesn’t have much top level experience in spree of his good work ethic. I do not think we should be splashing out on a world class right back but someone with top league experience and a bit of defensive tactical know how would be a very astute signing.
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Daryl Janmaat is a name that has cropped up many of times and I believe he was one of Newcastle’s only bright sparks last season, and as they’ve gone down this season I don’t think he would command an astronomical fee.
Mathieu Debuchy, given that Arsenal now have both Bellerin and Jenkinson at the club, would also be willing to move and if the club haven’t inquired already I would be very happy to utilise his experience in our relatively youthful squad.
Given how many games we are planning to play this season to carry on without any substantial right back cover would be a mistake, and if we are to be fighting at the business end of the table again we need to keep more clean sheets than we did last year.
A new, experienced, right back to match the solidity of Cresswell on the left would be one of the best signings we could make this summer, and I think West Ham could be caught wishing they had changed things later this season if Antonio is our main right back.