Green Street Hammers
Fansided

7 Things To Take Away From West Ham’s Chelsea Clash

By Scott Johnson

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 15: Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea is fouled by Michail Antonio of West Ham United leading to a penalty during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on August 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 15: Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea is fouled by Michail Antonio of West Ham United leading to a penalty during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on August 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 7
Next

If we play Carroll, we can’t leave him so isolated

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 15: Gary Cahill of Chelsea and Andy Carroll of West Ham during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on August 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 15: Gary Cahill of Chelsea and Andy Carroll of West Ham during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on August 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images) /

Carroll has many strengths as a striker. He is highly physical and great with his head. He gets a pretty good striker with his left foot as well. But expecting him to come deep and dribble forward is not going to happen.

More from Analysis

Leaving Carroll isolate makes him easy to defend against. Let him win the ball and then win the second ball or tackle him once the ball is grounded. If you add support however, he is almost impossible to deal with completely.

Due to our midfield not bringing the ball out, the wingers had to drop deep to collect the ball. This meant Carroll was faced with an impossible task of dealing with all of the Chelsea defence on his own. This is a tactical change that needs to be implemented immediately.

If Ayew had been playing up top rather than on the wing then it changes, as he can run at and beat defenders. He can also run in behind if there is space. You have to play to the striker that you have on the pitch. We did not do that last night.

Next: Goalkeeper in Form