Team Focus: Premier League Preview Part 10 - West Brom and West Ham
It was an impressive debut campaign in football management for Steve Clarke as West Brom secured an 8th placed finish last year; the best in their Premier League history. Much of this was down to the impressive performances of Romelu Lukaku as the Belgian finished as the Baggies top scorer (17) last season. His return to Chelsea will come as a blow to Clarke, who has gone about easing the loss of Lukaku with a number of striking acquisitions.
Nicolas Anelka and Matej Vydra have both arrived at the Hawthorns this summer from Shanghai Shenhua and Udinese respectively. Coupled with the acquisition of centre-back Diego Lugano, the business West Brom have already completed before the season kicks off is without a doubt notable.
Vydra in particular is an exciting arrival following his season-long loan spell with Watford last term, netting 22 goals for the Hornets as they succumbed to defeat in the Championship play-off final at the hands of Crystal Palace. Anelka will provide the experience on the frontline, while the capture of Uruguay captain Lugano will solidify a defence that appeared shaky across the campaign.
Winning 75% of his aerial duels during his loan spell with Malaga last season will stand him in good stead and was a more impressive success rate than both Gareth McAuley (69%) and Jonas Olsson (56.1%), with the pairing making 72 Premier League starts between them last year. Strengthening the ranks as they aim to build on their impressive finish is evidently the port of call for Clarke this transfer window.
Bringing out the best in each player in their respective positions will be crucial once again, while ensuring the midfield partnership of Youssuf Mulumbu and Claudio Yacob remain fit for the duration of the season. The duo have formed an effective partnership in the middle of the park, evident in that West Brom picked up more points with each player starting - 39.3% and 41.3%, respectively - than without - 30% and 22.2%.
The primary concern appears to be whether the Baggies can repeat their feats again in the upcoming season. It’s expected that Clarke will continue to bolster his team before the transfer window closes, although the club have gone some way to addressing the need to secure a striker to replicate the goalscoring threat of Lukaku.
Position Last Season: 8th
New Signings (at time of writing): Nicolas Anelka (Shanghai Shenhua), Diego Lugano (Paris Saint-Germain), Matej Vydra (Udinese - loan)
Possible Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Foster; Jones, Olsson, Lugano, Ridgewell; Mulumbu, Yacob; Anelka, Morrison, Brunt; Long
Predicted Finish (Average of Authors): 10th
Following their top half finish upon their return to the Premier League, Sam Allardyce has quickly gone to work bolstering his squad in order to avoid the clichéd ‘second season syndrome’. Andy Carroll arrived permanently from Liverpool following a successful loan stint, with the England international key to Allardyce's gameplan, evidenced in that only Peter Crouch (281) and Christian Benteke (269) won more aerial duels than Carroll (227) in Europe’s top 5 leagues last season.
Bringing in Adrián, Razvan Rat and Stewart Downing further bolstered the ranks, the latter of which arrived this week from Liverpool. While Downing has become the butt of many a joke within the footballing community, the winger executed 46 key passes since the turn of the year - only David Silva, Juan Mata (both 51) and Leighton Baines (49) played more in 2013.
With a 27.9% cross accuracy with Liverpool last season, his ability to find a teammate will be capitalised upon by Carroll as the Hammers look to pick out another goalscoring threat this season. Midfielder Kevin Nolan finished as West Ham’s top scorer last year (10) and was the only player to have reached double figures for the East London side.
Carroll may have missed a substantial chunk of the season through injury but showcased his talents during a consistent run of first team action and it’s hopeful he can avoid another spell on the sidelines in order to replicate that. However, following the release of Carlton Cole, West Ham don’t have an adequate stand in for the England international.
Links with Juventus striker Fabio Quagliarella come as little shock, in that sense, although it remains to be seen whether the Italian would settle for a peripheral role, with club record-signing Carroll expected to be the star man this season.
With the impressive acquisitions this summer already, and West Ham tipped to continue spending before the transfer window closes, a finish higher than 10th isn’t beyond them. If the Hammers begin the season the way they ended the last one, then there is no reason why this isn’t a possibility, especially if they solidify key areas between now and September 2nd
Position Last Season: 10th
New Signings (at time of writing): Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Razvan Rat (Shakhtar Donetsk), Adrián (Real Betis)
Possible Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Jääskeläinen; Demel, Reid, Collins, Rat; Diamé, Noble; Downing, Nolan, Jarvis; Carroll
Predicted Finish (Average of Authors): 9th
