Much has been written in recent days about our strikers. Some good, some far from it.
But as we head into the tail end of the season, and embark on a new chapter in our history, the who’s going and who’s staying gossip is much more prominent.
I think it’s safe to say that Emineke will be going back to Fenerbache when his loan finishes at the end of the season. Apart from his brace away to Blackburn in the FA cup back in February, he hasn’t exactly set the world alight. A big, strong forward who puts himself about, he can sometimes appear to be somewhat lazy and lethargic.
I don’t think we will miss him and I doubt he will miss us. Probably the best solution for all concerned is for him to leave in August.
Next is Enner Valencia. A marmite kind of player. You either love him, or you hate him.
I must admit to posting some tweets about how great he is after his braces against Man City and Bournemouth, but apart from those goals, what else has he done this season? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
He plays like a man possessed for Ecuador, but when he plays for his club it’s like he can’t be bothered – it’s like he would rather be elsewhere. Like someone just going through the motions, collecting his hefty wage packet, and going home.
His goals to games ratio is simply not good enough for the price we paid for him. I think Slaven Bilic would be expecting more from him and if a club came in for the striker in the summer, and offered upwards of £10m for him, we should have their hand off and take that it.
Next up is Andy Carroll. Often frustrating. Rarely brilliant. Always talked about.
Every player has an absolutely outstanding game now and again, as form can come and go. So was big Andy’s amazing performance against Arsenal at the weekend just a flash in the pan, or something we should expect more of?
There is no doubt that his hat-trick was no more than he deserved for his effort, and he thoroughly deserved his Man of the Match award. He was everywhere in that game. Back defending for corners, dropping deep to collect the ball to lay it off for a wide man, and in the box when a cross came in; he was simply unplayable. You can’t defend against that. No defence in the world could stop him when he’s in that sort of mood.
The only thing that lets him down is his fitness, or his inability to stay injury free.
He has spent more time on the treatment table than I’ve spent at school in my lifetime, but if his injuries are a thing of the past, he can be a real asset to our team. He’s grown up immensely since getting married and becoming a father and is now showing his true potential.
Before people jump on my back and say he’s had one good game in four years, he has always had that ability, it was just his lifestyle and his injuries that were letting him down. If it wasn’t for yet another disgraceful refereeing decision at home to Chelsea, his goal would have been the winner.
Will he still be at the club next season? If he can stay injury free, whether he makes the Euro squad or not, will be a massive factor in deciding where he plays his football next season.
And lastly, it’s Diafra Sakho.
Much has been written about him in recent days. So much so that it’s difficult to know who and what to believe.
If the stories are to be believed, his days could be numbered.
After apparently being told he was not starting against Arsenal, he allegedly stormed off sulking, later claiming he was injured and unable to play anyway.
According the ever-reliable @ExWHUemployee on Twitter, he has become increasingly frustrated and annoyed that Dimitri Payet has had an increased contract so soon after joining the club, and that he feels threatened by the club continuing to look for, and openly so, a new striker to bring into the club.
There is no room for petulance at the club and no player is bigger than West Ham, or is automatically given a starting place.
We’ve already seen that Slaven Bilic will not put up with any sulking, or any player trying to disrupt the dressing room or undermine him, with the incident which saw Morgan Amalfitano kicked out of the club on his backside back at the start of the season.
I fear we haven’t had the full story on the Sakho ‘incident’ so I eagerly await a conclusion to this story.
In my heart of hearts, I feel that Sakho may be on his way when the curtain comes down on this amazing season.
Of the four strikers we have, I think only Andy Carroll will be at the club next year. I may be wrong, but I have faith in the manager and the two Davids to find even better replacements.
