David Cross (1977-82)..178 league games, 78 goals.
John Hartson (1997-99)...60 league games, 24 goals
First column, rule one. Don't make a mug of yourself. So
here goes.
The case for the signing of Brian Deane. . .
Most people can remember their whereabouts when the
big news events were breaking. Like the assassination of
Kennedy, the death of Princess Diana or the day West Ham signed the
world's most expensive goalkeeper.
I was playing football in Cameron Street, a long goal kick or so
from Upton Park. My Grandad, Ron, came home from a long day at the
docks with a copy of the Evening Standard and, unusually, West Ham
were on the back page. In those days, it needed to be something
special to remove Arsenal
or Tottenham from the 'splash' - and this was it. The
headlines confirmed that Phil Parkes had joined West Ham from QPR,
for £565,000
.
The days of West Ham shattering records, deals that made the rest
of football sit up and take notice, might be a thing of the
past...but in this day and age of loan buys and cheap, make-do
deals, the club
hasn't lost the ability to surprise.
Which takes us to Deane.On the face of it, a CV that includes England caps and the honour of scoring the first goal in the Premiership, doesn't count for much in what is obviously going to be a real promotion struggle. (Thoughts that it was going to be easy were dispelled with performances at home against Millwall and Norwich, when the team ran out of ideas).
Yet, come the end of May, if an instant return to the
Premiership is achieved and the free transfer arrival of Deane
proves to be the signing that finally made West Ham feel at home in
this awful division, then you might like to look back and remember
where you were when Deane arrived
from Leicester.Personally, I was looking out of the 23rd floor of
the tower at Canary Wharf, wondering whether to jump... Not so much
because the signing was Deane, but the message it sent out. The
performance at Coventry didn't improve the mood. It's a
natural reaction. See a big guy up front, hit it long. Chuck it up
there and let him fight for it. It's a dated, one dimensional
game that has no place in modern football.And certainly no place at
this club.
West Ham and long ball go together like roast potatoes and eggs
custard, but Alan Pardew knows that. We have to trust the new
manager, recognise his knowledge of the division and the
demands that the club will face in the coming months. In the past
(and long before this season), the club has lacked
variation in attack. And even this season, Jermain Defoe and David
Connolly are goalscorers, but are they a partnership?
Neil Mellor, on loan from Liverpool, is a promising young player
with heart and committment, but he is still learning about
leading the line and how best to use his height and weight. Now
Pardew has the option of Deane - a player who can hold up the
ball,compete in the air, win the knock-downs, create chances for
Defoe and Connolly and attack the ball at set plays.
Connolly, for instance, was a revelation in this division last
season, playing off of Neil Shipperley...another big lump up front.
Pardew, who tried to sign the Irishman for Reading in the summer,
will be aware of that. Tony Cascarino, a good judge of players
and who played with Connolly for the Republic of Ireland, says he
needs a big man to carry the load. Pardew, you would expect, has
done his homework. Just because West Ham pride themselves with
getting it down and playing it right, it doesn't mean
they can't play with a target man
.
The statistics at the top of this column are evidence of that. I
grew up watching Cross leading the line. Before McAvennie and
Cottee charged up the goal charts, Cross was a rugged
powerhouse of a centre forward. The sort of old fashioned,
lead-with-your-elbow and put your-head-in-where-it-hurts
striker. Cross was called 'Psycho' long before
Stuart Pearce hijacked the nickname and once scored four goals
in one night at Spurs. (And what a night that was!)
More recently, Hartson saved the club from relegation when he was
signed by Harry Redknapp. The volleying of Eyal Berkovic's
head apart, Hartson was a revelation. At his best, he was
dynamic, mobile, threatening. Sold for £7million to Wimbledon,
he was good business on his way in and great business on his
way out. Hartson, like Cross, added his weight to the West Ham way.
They could play too, but they dominated defenders with their
strength and power in the air. It didn't stop teams under
John Lyall or Redknapp from playing with the style West Ham
fans demand. And, with Cross, promotion was achieved in 1981.
Which brings us (eventually) back to Deane. Ultimately, if
Deane's physical presence brings goals for Defoe,
what does it matter how those goals are achieved? Pride gets
you nowhere.
No point being the 'Academy of Football' if that
means another season worrying about squeezing into the dressing
rooms at Rotherham, is there?