West Ham Must Solve Sebastien Haller Puzzle
For West Ham to succeed while Michail Antonio is injured, David Moyes must solve the puzzle to get the best out of Sebastien Haller.
West Ham have been hurt by the injury to star forward, Michail Antonio; the Englishman has scored three goals in the Premier League. Well, goals are important; Antonio’s main asset is his work rate and speed. These two attributes have made him a handful for defenders and complemented David Moyes’ tactics perfectly.
Antonio’s injury means that Sebastien Haller will likely continue to deputise as the striker, during the 30-year-olds absence. Haller played on Saturday against Liverpool, and his performance divided West Ham fans opinion. Some Hammers believe he needs better service and others think he needs to put more effort in.
The one thing that can be understood from the game is that Haller upfront did not work for the Hammers. The Frenchman is an extremely talented player but needs the game plane to be set-up around him for there to be an impact.
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Moyes has resisted changing the gameplan that led to the club’s four-game unbeaten run before their loss to Liverpool. The Hammers won games against Wolves and Leicester City before drawing with Tottenham and Manchester City. The gameplan was perfect against sides that were going to have more possession than West Ham.
But now the team are going up against Fulham and Sheffield United in their next two matches; both sides are currently in the relegation zone. For the Hammers to have had a positive start to the season they must win these two matches, anything less and a lot of good work will have been undone.
The club are currently 14th in the Premier League with a positive goal difference, two wins could see them climb into the top half of the table, but two losses could see them drop towards the relegation zone. To avoid the latter, Moyes needs to find a way that will get the best out of Haller.
Understandably, the Scot will not want to change the formation that has proven so hard to break down. But the attacking system must be altered while Haller plays as the striker. The current system is not going to work against teams that are set up to defend.
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The 26-year-old’s West Ham career is on a tight rope at the moment, and if he fails to lead the line, his future could be in doubt. There is plenty of talent in the squad that should be capable of providing the ‘correct’ service to Haller, and the striker needs to make sure he is in the right place when it comes.