Could Antonio be the right back West Ham want?
With many West Ham fan’s split over Bilic decision to force Antonio into a right back position I’m going to argue the case for why Bilic might have some method in his madness.
A week or so ago I wrote an article about why West Ham needed a new right back, so you may be asking why I think Antonio could be the answer to the right back question so soon after I said he couldn’t be. Well in short I’m not entirely convinced that he will be…straight away.
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So far Bilic has been right whenever he’s made adjustments to style of players and positioning, and I understand what he wants from putting Antonio in at right back. On the face of it he’s got everything you need to be a solid modern full back: pace, power, a drive to get forward and bucket-loads of determination.
My only criticism of the man when he’s put in defence is that his mindset is not quite right. He doesn’t know when to hold and when to push, or when to make a cute pass and when to smash it long. And why should we expect him to? He’s not played very often in that position.
In Bilic and Julian Dicks, Antonio has two of West Hams best defenders of recent times to help coach him every day. With constant training and Antonio’s hard work we could see him learn the positioning and the necessary mindset, without having the outlay of bringing a proven right back in.
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Think about Tottenham system that they operated last year. Rose and Walker are by no means the best defensive fullbacks in the league but their positioning has improved massively over the last 18 months. This, combined with the revelation that was Eric Dier in defensive midfield, allowed them to build a solid defence that would also contribute to the attack.
By picking a naturally attacking player and asking him to move back, you automatically have an extra weapon to hurt the other team with. There’s no comparison when you look at the difference between Walker and Antonio in an attacking sense.
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The addition of Nordtveit and holding onto Obiang allows us to start exploring a true defensive midfielder role. As we attack the two centrebacks are the last line, with the defensive midfielder just in front and the fullbacks pushing on. When the other team breaks down one of unguarded flanks the DM moves across as a fill in full back, allowing the centrebacks to hold their position and the attacking fullbacks to move back into line.
This form of play would allow you to get the best out of Antonio as a defender, and I truly believe Bilic knows what he is doing. Bilic believes Antonio can be the best right back in the league for West Ham, and a Antonio obviously believes it too, otherwise he wouldn’t have signed the brand new contract this summer.
Keep the faith in Bilic. He’s not about to sell west ham down the river.