What to say about West Ham? They are the very definition of a midtable club. Ambitious to a point, but hampered by history and finance. They have a young, exciting squad and a manager in Zola who will look to utilize that vibrancy. They have a solid defence with depth at center back and the under-rated Robert Green between the sticks. With a good matchup, I wouldn't argue against including Hammers at any level with particular focus on Jimenez and Cole (see below). But I don't think any of them save for Jimenez are more than a spot pick up based on match-ups.
Possible Starting XI: Green, Ilunga, Upson, Gabbidon, Spector, Collison, Noble, Parker, Dyer, Jimenez, Cole
Players to watch:
Luis Jimenez - So, here's what we know...he's Chilean, his nickname is "El Mago" which is "The Wizard" in English, and he comes to the Hammers on loan from Inter. From that we can take away that he is likely to be either an attacking midfielder (assuming there is another viable striking option like Dean Ashton healthy) or he will be that most valuable commodity, a striker listed in midfield. Given that he only has one match in Week 1, my advice would be to see how Zola deploys him and how he looks and if he looks ready to adapt and prosper in England then you might want to pick him up on the Barn Door.
Carlton Cole - Consider him the exact opposite of Kenwyne Jones. They are similar in that they are both big targets who are much more than JUST target strikers. Why are they opposites? Well up until last year Kenwyne Jones had surpassed expectations with his performances and then fell off whereas Carlton Cole had consistently been a disappointment UNTIL last season when he started putting together a string of pretty good performances that showed us all why anyone had rated him highly in the first place. The question now is whether he can replicate that form now that the Hammers really don't have too many other options at striker. Ashton may come back and contribute but certainly no one is counting on goals from that quarter. Really, there are no other established strikers on the roster. If Cole doesn't get it done, things could start getting ugly for the Hammers again. At 9.99 to start the season, he isn't the greatest bargain out there but he's worth keeping an eye on for the first week or two.
Mark Noble - We here at the blog like Mark Noble. Like the way he plays, like that he takes some kicks generally including PKs, and have previously liked his bargain price. The trouble this season is that the cat is out of the bag. He is starting the season at about 9.7. That in and of itself isn't a terrible price but that is now the baseline, not the high point coming after he scores a goal. The downside here is that he's never produced enough to be considered as a premium midfielder for whom you'd be willing to spend in excess of 10 to have in your line-up. Given who he is as a player, it seems unlikely that he will break into this category - he's more box-to-box midfielder which means the occasional goal and assist but also the more than occasional card. Here's guessing that, much to our chagrin at the blog, this is the year Mark Noble goes from being a quiet bargain to being someone you only consider when the match-up is really favorable (think vs Derby from two seasons ago).
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