West Ham Should Play 4-3-3
West Ham should switch to playing in a 4-3-3 for the remainder of the season. It is the best formation for the current squad and one of the few ways that they’ll be able to consolidate current form.
As we have gone over several times the current squad has many faults. The 4-3-3 at least as much as is actually possible minimizes those while still giving West Ham enough attacking threat and defensive balance to compete with the rest of the Premier League.
Up Top
The only striker in the squad worth his weight is Andy Carroll. Simone Zaza will be back in Italy soon and Andre Ayew is going to be playing in the African Cup of Nations for a large part of this season. Carroll should spear head the formation from the advanced central striking position. From there he can play as a pure target man.
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West Ham simply must maximize his ability there because Carroll can be excellent at it. With his physical size and prowess he can make the most of any long balls that the defense or midfield play up to him.
Beside him as inverted wingers should be Payet on the left and then either Manuel Lanzini or Michael Antonio. Both players offer a lot of attacking threat. Lanzini is a strong technical player and Antonio quite frankly is just quick. Either of them offers a great option as the wide outlet in a 4-3-3. With Carroll controlling balls and playing them in it should only be a matter of time before players of their respective qualities find some manner of success in the formation.
In Midfield
The midfield is incredibly important in a 4-3-3. They need to be combative and creative while having high motors. They’ll often be outnumbered and need to use tactical knowledge and simple teamwork to overcome their adversaries. In the holding pivot at the bottom of the three Noble should play. This season we have seen exactly how limited he has become but he has intangibles that the side needs.
He is a high character player and his leadership is something the squad needs. Unforntuantley his range of passing and speed are something that have let him down this season but having two partners of higher levels of athleticism beside him can help disguise that. He still reads the game well and thus will be able to make the most of the position.
The two box-to-box midfield destroyers on either side of him should be Obiang and Havard Nordtveit with them providing the necessary hustle and work West Ham should have a pretty good engine room from which to work.
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At The Back
Finally the back four need to be solid. I don’t think that West Ham have the talent to play with attacking wing backs frankly. They just don’t. What West Ham can do though is provide a suitable base from which the team can move forward. On the left is Aaron Cresswell. Beside him should be Kouyate and James Collins. I don’t know why James Collins doesn’t get more time on the pitch but he should. He’s a damn fine central defender and good at organizing the defense.
Quite frankly West Ham’s big issue (if you could name only one) has been that the defense are about as organized as a schoolboys book bag. James Collins sorts out that problem. Now, the wild card, Reece Oxford should play right back. He’s right footed and good on the ball. He offers enough athleticism that he can play the position and it’s important that West Ham start blooding him sooner rather than later.
With Collins beside him he has a great opportunity to learn in the Premier League as well as be supported properly should anything go wrong. He strikes me as a potentially better Micah Richards and would eventually of course end up moving back to the center but gaining experience on the right would only benefit him and the team as a whole.
Next: West Ham Summer Transfer Review
West Ham have to sort this season out. Recent results have been good but they cannot rest on their laurels now. It simply isn’t good enough. Standing still is moving backwards in the Premier League. Let’s see some more improvement out of this team.