Pellegrini has first tactical whiff as West Ham manager

West Ham didn’t look cohesive this past weekend up against an out of form Bournemouth team. Despite the Cherries having Callum Wilson back, it was West Ham who had the opportunity to take control of the match, but they were set up all wrong in attack.

It really came down to the striker, didn’t it? West Ham were holding up possession, getting into the middle of the pitch, and taking the ball into the final third. So why then did they end up with one shot on target, and no goals to show? It was the first tactical misstep from Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham, and it’s understandable.

Here it is – the only paragraph about Marko Arnautovic in this blog. He wasn’t there because he couldn’t handle the idea of West Ham still wanting him, and thus, Pellegrini’s plans were altered. Now, with the options at hand, it wouldn’t seem that Andy Carroll would be the first choice starter, but he was and, alas, the issues for West Ham ensued.

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So, Carroll was deployed as the starter, which if supported correctly is a solid choice, however, the rest of the team was not set up for a target man.

The formation was a 4-2-3-1, the same as if Arnautovic was starting, and it just didn’t work. Samir Nasri is an exceptional passer of the ball but needs movement to be effective. Felipe Anderson was fine in his usual role, but again isn’t always looking to go through the air to make a play, and Michail Antonio on the right wing was a complete miss.

Antonio didn’t play bad, but when you have Robert Snodgrass on the bench, it sure makes it seem like it was. Antonio isn’t even a bad crosser of the ball so realistically you could have subbed Nasri for Snodgrass in this match, either way when you’re playing a target man you need to get your best crosser on the pitch.

The formation should have been 4-4-2 with Chicharito alongside him to clean up the over-the-top balls that should have been played to him. This would leave Snodgrass on the right, Anderson on the left, and a holding midfield pairing of Rice and Noble to round out the team.

I’m not saying I hold all the answers or know better than Pellegrini – far from it – but something all Hammers fans know is that when you’re using Andy Carroll, he’ll be much more effective trying to head the ball.

Next. West Ham lack composure in 2-0 loss to Bournemouth; Match Review. dark

With links to now move him out of the team, West Ham and Pellegrini reaaaaalllllly need to see if they are better off without Carroll for an end-of-game substitution, especially with Spurs sniffing around.