The circus is over and, despite not fully strengthening certain areas in the squad, we can all be relieved that our best asset is still with us. Of course we wanted a left-back and possibly a goalkeeper, but keeping Mo Diame was arguably the biggest achievement and he’ll be hugely important to us as we approach the tail end of the season.
Swansea visit today in a game that we must win in order to keep clear of the drop zone and also to help regain the form we had at the beginning of the season. Now that our injury crisis seems to have eased, that isn’t as impossible as we all initially feared.
Recent weeks, or even months, have flagged up the major problems that have contributed to our severe lack of form. A combination of a lack of clinical finishing and concentration lapses in defence mean that we have often lost games we should have drawn and drawn games that we should have won.
Hopefully now that Andy Carroll is returning from injury and Wellington Paulista is getting back to match fitness we can start finishing off the crosses Matt Jarvis and Joe Cole are putting in every week. We have attempted more crosses than any other side in the top flight this season, which says a lot about our attacking threat, but that threat ends when there’s no one in the middle to finish.
Defensively, Emanuel Pogatetz adds some strength at the back and, from what we’ve heard from Middlesbrough fans, he’s going to be an important addition to our back line and ‘should’ help the likes of Winston Reid and Guy Demel start keeping clean sheets again.
We have a good home record against Swansea, and Welsh teams in particular, but we’ll only be able to continue that record if we keep Michu quiet, which we all know isn’t an easy task.
I feel that if we can keep Michu out of the game for as long as possible then we have a good chance of getting something from this game. But it all goes down to whether we can get the balls in to the box for Carroll, Cole or Paulista to finish off.
Playing Swansea is never easy, but we have undoubtedly got the quality to pick up a very well needed three points. A point would, in hindsight, be a good result, but three points are vital. Irons!
Match in Numbers
7 – Swansea are unbeaten in seven Premier League games.
1 – West Ham have kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 top-flight games at Upton Park.
0 – Three of Swansea’s last four away games have ended goalless.
4 – Swansea striker Michu has scored four Premier League goals in London this season.
9 – Swansea have not won on any other last nine visits to Upton Park.
1 – The Hammers have won just one of their 11 games against top-half teams this season.
8 – Sam Allardyce’s West Ham have claimed just eight points from the last available 36.
All Time Head-to-Head (all competitions)
West Ham United – 25
Draws – 12
Swansea City – 17
