We caught up with Michael Oliver, from Read West Ham, to give us the lowdown on West Ham ahead of Arsenal’s game with them on Saturday.
1) What have you made of West Ham’s season thus far?
If you had offered me 10th place at the start of the season, I couldn’t have bitten your hand off faster for that! It shows progression from the year before, and that we’re moving in the right direction. However, with that in mind, I can’t help but feel this season should have been so much better. Third place at Christmas, one loss in 11 was followed with a slide to a current tenth place, and only one win in 11. A few results have gone against us, not holding onto leads, but I can’t help but feel we deserve to be in the running for a top six finish, instead of now meandering our way to a lower top-half finish.
2) Is there a certain player who has caught your eye for the Irons this season?
Only one player this season has been consistently great, and that’s Aaron Cresswell. We have been crying out for an attacking fullback for years, and we finally found one! Cresswell’s delivery is second to none, and he’s always on the front foot asking questions of opposition defenders, not to mention how defensively solid he is as well. I don’t think anyone anticipated that he would be our signing of the season, and he is, and is rightfully tipped to be Hammer of the Year this season.
3) You have come unstuck against Arsenal lots in recent seasons, can you win at the Emirates for the first time in nearly nine years?
I think we can beat Arsenal. A lot of recent fixtures between the sides have seen West Ham take the lead, four of the last five in fact. We just have made habit of losing concentration briefly and allowing Arsenal to score an undeserved goal in most occasions, which leads to panic at the back which is just a recipe for disaster against Arsenal. We’ve proven this season we can beat the big teams by keeping a solid formation and taking our chances. Fixtures past the likes of Carlton Cole and Modibo Maiga were the guys tasked with scoring the goals. Today, I have much more faith in Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia to do just that.
4) Alex Song is a former favourite in north London, just how big an influence has he been to West Ham this season?
Alex Song has been massive for West Ham this season, and is a big reason why we play this new ‘on the deck’ style of football. Alex Song joined with the caveat that West Ham wouldn’t play the ‘direct’ style that has so oft been connected with Sam Allardyce. Song just brings composure to our midfield, he’s a class player. He hustle’s opponents, wins the ball in crucial areas, and gets attacks going. From September to December he was the best player in the team week in week out. However, since the turn of the year, it’s been reported that some bigger clubs are hoping to sign him at the end of the season, and I think that’s turned his head. He doesn’t look as interested, he’s been sloppy on the ball. Too often he’s been trying ‘hollywood’ passes, piercing defences which haven’t come off, trying to be a match winner. He’s focusing on next season it looks like, instead of this season, and was rightfully dropped against Crystal Palace. I hope we can sign him at the end of the season, but whether he want’s to commit remains to be seen.
5) Do you worry about West Ham when you lose 3-1 at home to relegation-threatened Crystal Palace and in big games where they should be winning?
It’s instilled in West Ham’s culture for every now and then to throw in a real stinker of a performance when we’re having an ‘up’ season. Fact of the matter is we aren’t a consistent side, certainly not since the turn of the year for one reason or another. At Christmas, we were in third and sitting pretty, and whether West Ham fans should rightfully think this way, we though a top six finish was a real possibility. We’ve gone off the boil since then, one win in eleven, and look like a team that has nothing to play for. Ten points off Southampton in seventh – that’s the position we *should be in right now following the first half of the season. I think this is a team that are meandering their way to a top half finish and want to build on it next season. That loss to Palace was inexcusable in my opinion, but it’s just the latest of a number of ‘let down’ performances West Ham have put in since the New Year. I’m used to it.
6) If you had to sign three Arsenal players who would they be and why?
I’d love to just take them all! But if you’re limiting me to just three players, then here goes (largely influenced by my unfathomable love for certain players).
Mesut Ozil. The lad oozes class. I think on his day he’s the best creative midfielder in the Premier League. The stats show this, but I know everyone isn’t a stats guy. People will say he’s lazy, but he’s covered the most distance of any Arsenal player since his return to the team following injury, so that argument is put to bed. He sees passes that aren’t there, and pulls them off anyway. How people can expect him to replicate his Madrid production when he’s gone from Ronaldo, Benzema and Higuain to Giroud, Welbeck and a cluster of no name strikers that aren’t there anymore (Park, Chamakh et al). He’s one of the true world class players we have in the Premier League.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is one of my favourite players to watch. I don’t think I can forget that Champions League game against AC Milan where he absolutely tore apart that then vaunted Milan defence, especially Abate. His positional versatility is rare, he looks accomplished across midfield and in really anywhere in the attacking third. He can cross, he can pick a 60-yard cross-field pass, his change of pace is something else, he can run past defenders as if they’re invisible – probably the player with the most natural ability England have right now (bog off, Raheem). Finally, Olivier Giroud. Now, people will attack him for not being clinical enough. I get you, because he isn’t, but with these guys behind him if he put every chance away Arsenal would win 8/9-0 every game, and that’s no fun. Giroud’s link up play for a striker is second to none, we’ve all seen that Wilshere goal many times, it’s simply brilliant. Giroud is the ultimate team player. I think he’s a great player to have on and off the pitch. You know, except for all that infidelity nonsense. I don’t care if you are beautiful, Olivier, stay true to your woman.
7) Can a result against Arsenal reignite your season?
Like I said before, I think our season is just about done and dusted. Our nonchalant play in the last two months have all but put to bed our hopes of securing a Europa League place by conventional methods. I’m just hoping we play like angels so we finish at the top of the Fair Play league and qualify via that route. I just don’t want this season to end on a bit of a damp squib. A win against Arsenal will go a long way towards that.
8) Final question. What are your hopes for the remainder of the season?
My hopes for the remainder of the season is for the team to rally, and finish in a respectable eighth of ninth place. Try to attain as close to 55 points as possible, and see this season a building block for something special next season.
Follow Michael on Twitter: @themikeoliver_
