Allardyce loves a good wide man who can whip balls in on cue. At West Ham he has shown no signs of changing that habit of a lifetime, stockpiling the likes of Stewart Downing, Matt Jarvis, and Matthew Taylor - all handy from a setpiece or the byline. The problem for most of the season has been that there is no one in the box, getting on the end of the crosses those wide players deliver. Downing may have his critics, but there is no question he has fantastic crossing abilities. The same can be said for Jarvis, and with the Hammers having potentially paid more than £10m for his services from Wolves, it cannot be denied that his talents have been so far wasted. With Downing now out for up to ten weeks after picking up a nasty injury against Liverpool, now even the supply line is being cut. West Ham's lack of strikers can be no excuse. The much talked about 4-6-0 formation Allardyce has utilised should allow for plenty of players breaking forward from midfield. The club captain, Kevin Nolan has built a career on bursting into the box and scoring hatfuls of goals, while doing little else. This season Nolan has one goal from 12 appearances, and has been fairly subdued for large stretches. At 31, are we beginning to see him wind down? Joe Cole and Mark Noble must pick up the baton.
I am from Bangor, aged 24, and possess an MA in Journalism from The University Of Ulster. I have had work published in the Belfast Telegraph and interviewed several local footballers and Olympic athletes. I also run my own sports blog, 'Sporting Thought' in addition to contributing to What Culture.
