West Ham United are struggling a year on from their superb campaign.
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has been speaking to the Daily Mail about West Ham United’s central midfield pairing of Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate.
The duo have featured in all six of the Hammers’ Premier League matches to date but they have been unable to replicate their form from last season, watching helplessly as Slaven Bilic’s side slipped into the relegation zone with just three points from a possible 18.
There is still plenty of time to turn things around, yet Keown feels that in order to do that Bilic needs to change things up in the centre of the park.
“The central midfield pairing…doesn’t work for me,” Keown wrote. “Noble is very good on the ball and helps knit everything together for West Ham, but he needs a platform to build on – someone next to him who is willing to track back and protect the defence – and that is not Kouyate.
“He’s a good player but when it comes to defending he is like a fire engine arriving too late to put out the fire.”
West Ham’s terrible form sees them 18th in the table as things stand, with only Sunderland and Stoke City below them.
A few wins would quickly lift them but that is easier said than done, and with Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace on the horizon it may require a few changes from the manager to get all three points in matches really they should be dominating.
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