Blind Hammer looks at options for restructuring West Ham.
Forgotten Iron may be a Rice replacement
When Trevor Brooking, Billy Bonds, Bobby Moore Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters retired we wondered how on earth we were going to replace them.
The reality is that such great players are rarely replaced with a player of similar mould and standard. The like for like replacement for Brooking has never been seen, Jimmy Greaves was a disastrous exchange for Peters. Clyde Best could never adequately fill Geoff Hurst’s shoes and we had to wait until the brief flourishing of Rio Ferdinand to finally find anything like a successor to Moore. Arguably, we are still struggling to find a goal-scorer to inherit the shoes of Tony Cottee.
Yet teams evolve , find different ways of playing, and can even find success, as West Ham have done in the last two Seasons in Europe.So obsessing about a like for like Rice replacement looks a dead end. We need to recruit in the team, but not necessarily to find an elusive clone for Rice.
If, for example Connor Gallagher was signed he would not be a Rice replacement. If James Ward-Prowse or Maddison were recruited would they fulfil a Rice role? Almost certainly not, but they could all give different strengths and pose different problems for opposition teams.
If we are looking for the ability to shield the defence, intercept and break up play to get the ball to Lucas Paqueta we may already have options for this role, even if not to the marauding current standard of Rice.
Home grown academy product may be Rice replacement option
One option is the forgotten man at West Ham, Connor Coventry. You might think he has fallen like a stone but in fact the Rotherham United Manager Matt Taylor has given rave reviews for Coventry, and has played Coventry in every game since he moved on loan to the Millers.
He said of the midfielder: “I love Conor to bits. He’s been excellent for us. His attitude, his endeavour, his intent, his out-of-possession work and the load got through in a short space of time, We’ve been delighted with all of that.”
He added: “He shows for the ball, he keeps the Millers moving, he tracks back, he competes well, he puts the team first…. He’s been important for us, no question…. He will go back to West Ham in a much better shape, with an understanding of his own game.”
Coventry may not produce defence splitting passes or thrilling runs but he may be able to do a job, allowing a Connor Gallagher, Maddison or indeed our own Paqueta to provide the thrills. He is still only 23 with a developing game.
A similar case could be made for Flynn Downes who is certainly ahead of Coventry in the pecking order at the moment. In all the games I have attended Downes has never let West Ham down.
Yet arguably the player who is the most obvious inheritor of the defensive midfield role is an international player who has performed this defensive midfield role for both club and country at the highest level is Thilo Kehrer.
If Kehrer was not already a West Ham player, I am sure he would now be being touted as a potential Rice replacement, with his record in playing the defensive midfield role at high profile club and country level.
Yet because he has thus far been used as a utility versatile, defensive player across the back for West Ham his skill set in the defensive role seems to have eluded all discussion.
He had an indifferent start but has grown in strength as he has adapted to the physicality and pace of the Premier League. As an interceptor, defensive shield, tough midfield tackler, and man marker Kehrer seems to me to have most if not all of the qualities to players West Ham are currently being linked with across Europe.
Perhaps it is time to look in house and save our bucks for finally setting up the striker power we need to provide the cutting edge in the PL next season.
David Griffith
