Modibo Maiga is rumoured to be on his way out of West Ham United and I, contrary to others, believe letting him go would be a big mistake. Big Sam bought him in the summer for around 5 million, a club like us doesn’t spend that sort of money without believing the guy has the ability or at least the potential to be a first team player. I will now outline the reasons why I think he should stay and be given a proper chance in the first team.
He has the best scoring record in the side this season, despite barely playing, with 4 goals in 16 games in all competitions. Most of those appearances have been from the bench so when you factor that in, his scoring record is even more impressive. He started 2 games in the league cup and scored 2 goals, even when you think about the lower quality of the opposition it is still a guy taking his chance to impress and then being snubbed for Premier League fixtures. The main problem for him has been the lack of diversity in Big Sam’s management style. Unlike Andy Carroll and Carlton Cole, Maiga does not have the physical stature to be an effective lone striker. As far as I can remember, cup games aside, the only opportunity he has been given to play up front along side someone else was in the Everton game when Carlton Cole was wrongly sent off a couple of minutes after Maiga came on. In the league cup games, the side was set up in a more attacking manner with a front 3 and the team would be playing a proper 4-3-3 as opposed to the 4-5-1 that Big Sam likes to call a 4-3-3, he was great in cup games and scored in both league cup appearances.
My main frustration is the fact that Big Sam was the one who bought him and why would you buy a guy like him if you were only ever going to play 1 up front. He struck up a 30 goal partnership with his strike partner Ideye Brown in 2010-11, scoring 15 of the 30 goals so the attention he gained was whilst playing with a strike partner, not a lone striker. It is a similar situation to when Big Sam bought Sam Baldock and Nicky Maynard only to now have neither at the club. My question is: what is the point of buying strikers like that if you have absolutely no plans to use them properly? Ricardo Vaz Te is forced to play in midfield, we have just signed Wellington Paulista who is a similar type player to Maiga and Vaz Te as in he is a striker/winger. Will we ever use him in his favoured position under Big Sam? Or will he be another one of our strikers with great potential who is wasted by the lack of diversity in Big Sam’s tactics as a manager?
I believe that if given the chance to play up front with a striker partner he would start to prove his worth in our squad. Unfortunately when your manager buys in striker after striker after striker it will certainly damage your confidence and I think the best move for his career would be a move away as he won’t get a look in when Big Sam’s favourite Andy Carroll comes back to full fitness however letting Maiga go would be a big shame in my opinion.
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