What A Right Mess!
The right back position for West Ham United has become one of those precarious situations that was vaguely envisaged, but no one thought would actually happen, Carl Jenkinson was originally retained on loan from Arsenal following a sucessful initial season at the Boleyn, however he was soon judged to have been found wanting as a right back playing for a Slaven Billic managed team and, prior to his season ending injury, was not being used in the starting line up with centre back James Tomkins being preferred instead. With Joey O'Brien as back up, Tomkins made the right back position his own and Sam Byram was brought in from Leeds United as ,'one for the future' during the January transfer window, everything was looking rosy! Cue the calamities, Jenkinson is ruled out for the season, and goes back to Arsenal even though West Ham will still be paying £50,000 per week for his services, Tomkins picks up a spate of injuries including a nasty gash on his forehead that alone should have seen him having some time off to fully recover, Byram replaces Tomkins and then gets injured at the dreaded 'Chuffwell' training ground, he recovers just in time to be ineligible to face Liverpool in tuesday evening's FA Cup 4th round replay at the Boleyn. Tomkins then has to be substituted early on in the defeat by Southampton with an injury that will keep him out for a fortnight at least….Leaving Joey O'Brien as the only recognised full back available, although the term recognised is relatively paradoxical as most fans haven't seen him for so long until recently that he had become a bit of a 'missing Antonio', although not any where near as expensive. O'Brien himself has spent virtually the entire season injured and was rumoured to be on the way to re-unite with Sam Allardyce at Sunderland during the transfer window, however someone at West Ham had the foresight to veto the move and let Joey leave in the summer, it was deemed, correctly as it now transpires, that O'Brien was worth more to the club as emergency back up than the paltry fee that would have been received and the saving of his wages. On his day Joey O'Brien can pick a pass, go forward and also defend well, but it is a lot to expect of a player who has rarely featured this season to hurl him into such a high profile and important fixture, it is to be hoped that he doesn't (a) break down with another injury or (b) get himself sent off for lunging at what will probably be a very pacey Liverpool line up. - Ed
