Releasing training videos is now par for the course before each West Ham United Premier League game: It is part of the media work to go behind the scenes at Rush Green to show the team in various stages of coaching and preparation as the season progresses. How well that work transforms into a performance against Spurs will depend upon the eleven on the pitch.
Predictably – if you’ve been following the saga – Niclas Fullkrug was again absent from the ‘Inside Rush Green’ video of the training session yesterday which indicates that he is nowhere near fitness – or else West Ham are trying to pull off a spectacular counter bluff against Tottenham.
I know which one I’d suggest after the latest response from our high-ranking source at the club confirming to Gonzo that Fullkrug ‘had lost fitness’ after his injury.
Apart from the embarrassment this causes that The Irons’ prime striker signing and – Tim Steidten’s chosen pick – has yet to start a game for West Ham, the reliance which our team now needs to place on 34 year old Michail Antonio (who played 80 minutes on Tuesday before an arduous journey back from Jamaica) is deeply worrying. If memory serves me right, Antonio hasn’t managed eighty minutes for West Ham this season – even with a full week’s preparation.
It means despite the nine-figure spend in August our team still goes into the crucial Premier League run – up to December without a proven, first choice front-man. There is a burning need to recruit again in January. Until then West Ham will continue to strike fear into their opponents by cobbling together an Ings – Antonio compromise.
It is more than just embarrassing now. It needs addressing in January with a recruit- either loan signing or permanent deal- who is able to offer The Irons an option of a goalscorer who is fit and preferably under thirty!
