As I write this article Kurt Zouma has seen some issues with his medical and is back in the U.K. The general feeling of this news will come as no surprise to most Westham fans as Zouma has been broken for some time. The only surprise is any club attempting to acquire Zouma’s services would not have a ‘pay as you play’ contact awaiting prior to his arrival for any medical examination. It can be seen as sad decline for what a colossal defender was once who possessed, power, pace, agility and although some might disagree leadership. The image of him walking around after a friendly with icepacks on his knees after playing 45 minutes was a damming realisation that he was done as a topflight defender.
Having seen very little of the previous friendlies I decided to watch the Beltway cup vs Celta Vigo in anticipation of how the Lopetegui philosophy was taking shape and how the players were adapting. To my surprise I saw Souchek on the team sheet and one could not help to wonder how he was going to fare in a team where the expectation is possession, passing in tight spaces, high press and playing between the lines. Now I know this opinion may be unpopular with some of our faithful, but surely the basic requirement of a footballer is to be able to play football. Please forgive my somewhat facetious attitude towards Soucek who appears to be a nice decent man. However, last year I found it impossible to fathom how he could play in the engine room (midfield) and complete 8 passes. He showed a couple of nice touches and a few tackles vs Vigo but the old signs were still there, hiding behind the opposition so not to receive the pass, running around looking confused and just criminally slow for a Premier League player. So yes, it is time to move Soucek on, there is just simply no place for him in this evolving team.
Other names potentially moving on are of no surprise, i.e. Ward-Prowse, Coufal and Ings. However, one can be forgiven for thinking Cornet has been a little hard done by as he was never really given a chance under Moyes. Although harsh on Cornet we should trust Tim and the process and allow him and Lopetegui to build a team to have a successful league campaign
Come on you Rip Roaring Gao Scoring Irons
Article by Dominic B