Strikerless West Ham Find New Approach Thanks to Lingard Gamble

Jesse Lingard (centre) has oozed class since joining West Ham on loan, playing with speed, skill and energy. Photograph: Getty Images
Jesse Lingard (centre) has oozed class since joining West Ham on loan, playing with speed, skill and energy. Photograph: Getty Images
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Strikerless West Ham Find New Approach Thanks to Lingard Gamble

Jesse Lingard (centre) has oozed class since joining West Ham on loan, playing with speed, skill and energy. Photograph: Getty Images
Jesse Lingard (centre) has oozed class since joining West Ham on loan, playing with speed, skill and energy. Photograph: Getty Images

The deadline was approaching but West Ham were not in a rush. Although there was a clamor for them to sign a new striker after Sébastien Haller joined Ajax for £20m at the start of January, the right option never appeared. Bids for Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri and Montpellier’s Gaëtan Laborde were rejected, interest in Reims’s Boulaye Dia fizzled out and although David Moyes targeted Joshua King last summer, West Ham were content to stand aside when Everton hijacked Fulham’s move for the Norway forward.

It seemed that West Ham were showing a familiar flaw: failing to build from a position of strength. Allowing Haller to leave was undeniably a risk given Michail Antonio, only established striker left in the squad, is susceptible to hamstring injuries. It left Moyes without depth up front, threatening to derail an unlikely push for Champions League qualification.

Resentment towards the club’s board resurfaced. There were grumbles when Antonio toiled in the recent draw with Fulham, his weariness betraying him when he pulled up during the second half. It was a predictable turn of events. Three days later, West Ham lost 1-0 after lining up without a striker against Manchester United in the fifth round of the FA Cup, with Andriy Yarmolenko struggling as a false nine before going off injured.

It exposed the reliance on Antonio. Mipo Odubeko, an 18-year-old striker, is raw. As January wore on, though, it became clear West Ham were prepared to hold back. Finding value in a depressed market was not easy. With Moyes in charge, recruitment is less scattergun. Previous attempts to cover holes in attack during winter windows make for grim reading, while even Haller was essentially a panic buy at £45m, swept in at short notice after Marko Arnautovic left in July 2019.

In that context it was worth pausing for a moment. Was it wise to spend for the sake of PR? Did giving the 29-year-old King a big contract represent good business when West Ham have so often caused long-term problems with short-term fixes?

Time will tell if West Ham, who are also without Angelo Ogbonna in defence, made the right call. Although there is no alternative to Antonio, who is a doubt to face Tottenham on Sunday, there is still cause for optimism. Moyes has been defying the odds all season and he did attend to other parts of his attack last month, signing Jesse Lingard on loan from Manchester United.

The challenge is finding ways to adjust and although Lingard is not a striker, his nimble movement in an advanced role helped West Ham overcome Antonio’s absence during their 3-0 win over Sheffield United last Monday.

This is where Moyes often shines, hunting for bargains who can lift his team’s level. Lingard arrived hungry after a tough period, having missed a significant chunk of the season due to having to self-isolate “a few times” after coming into contact with a number of people who had Covid‑19. The 28-year-old has shown no signs of rust. He marked his debut with two clinical goals in the 3-1 win over Aston Villa and his dynamism troubled Sheffield United, who could not handle Lingard’s interplay with Jarrod Bowen.

West Ham are benefiting from a player with a point to prove. The arrival of Bruno Fernandes pushed him down the pecking order at Old Trafford last season, when he finished a disappointing campaign with one league goal, and he was often singled out for criticism when United struggled.

It is partly down to image. Lingard’s occasional exuberance on social media has led to criticism, even blurring his contribution on the pitch. But this is a player who has scored in two cup finals and who has helped England reach a World Cup semi-final. Moyes would not have signed a troublemaker and Lingard has quickly made a positive impression, hitting it off with his new teammates.

There has been only one slip-up: trying to take the ball off Declan Rice after winning West Ham’s first penalty of the season. But it was soon forgotten. It was better to focus on how Lingard earned the penalty, fastening on to a stray ball near halfway and exchanging passes with Bowen before being chopped down when through on goal.

Lingard oozed class, playing with speed, skill and energy. The numbers backed it up, showing he put four of his five shots on target, had 61 touches, and made 36 passes. West Ham had another way of playing. Tomas Soucek offers goals from midfield, while Pablo Fornals, Saïd Benrahma and Manuel Lanzini bring creativity. But it was Lingard who made the strikerless system work, giving West Ham flexibility without Antonio as a focal point.

It is obvious why United did not agree to an option to buy in the £1.5m loan deal. Yet the short-term arrangement is working for West Ham. If anyone can make their gamble pay off, it is Lingard.

(The Guardian)



Motorcycling-Double Dakar Winner Sunderland Chasing Round the World Record

Rallying - Dakar Rally - Prologue - Alula to Alula - Alula, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2024 Red Bull GASGAS Factory's Sam Sunderland in action during the prologue stage REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
Rallying - Dakar Rally - Prologue - Alula to Alula - Alula, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2024 Red Bull GASGAS Factory's Sam Sunderland in action during the prologue stage REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
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Motorcycling-Double Dakar Winner Sunderland Chasing Round the World Record

Rallying - Dakar Rally - Prologue - Alula to Alula - Alula, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2024 Red Bull GASGAS Factory's Sam Sunderland in action during the prologue stage REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
Rallying - Dakar Rally - Prologue - Alula to Alula - Alula, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2024 Red Bull GASGAS Factory's Sam Sunderland in action during the prologue stage REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo

Double Dakar Rally motorcycle champion Sam Sunderland is gearing up to ride around the world in 19 days, a record bid that the Briton expects to be mentally more challenging than anything he has done before.

The bid, launched on Thursday, targets a record of 19 days, eight hours and 25 minutes set in 2002 by Kevin and Julia Sanders for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe by motorcycle.

To beat the feat, which is no longer recognised by Guinness World Records because of the dangers involved, the 36-year-old will have to ride 1,000 miles every day and on public roads across Europe, Türkiye and into the Middle East, Reuters reported.

A flight will take him on to the Australian outback, New Zealand and the Americas. From there, he and the Triumph Tiger 1200 go to Morocco and loop back through Europe to Britain.

What could possibly go wrong?

"I don't think you can ride around the world and cover that many miles a day without having a few hiccups along the way," Sunderland told Reuters with a grin.

"When I try and compare it to the Dakar it's going to be probably, in some sense, tougher. Not physically but mentally.

"In the Dakar you've got a heap of adrenaline, you're super focused, things are changing quite often which makes you have to react. And this is like: 'Right, those are your miles for the day, get them done'. It's more like a mental fatigue."

 

ONE DIRECTION

 

The target time excludes ocean crossings but the journey, starting in September, must go one way around the world and start and finish at the same location on the same machine.

Two antipodal points must be reached on a journey through more than 15 countries and 13 time zones. The Dakar rally covers 5,000 miles over two weeks.

"I was trying to put it into perspective for my mum the other day, and my mum lives in Poole in the south of England, and I was like 'Mum, it's like you driving up to Scotland and perhaps halfway back every day for 19 days'," said Sunderland.

"I'm on the bike for around 17 hours (a day). I set off at 5 a.m. and arrive around 10, 11 p.m. most nights. So definitely later into the day you feel that sort of mental fatigue setting in, and to stay focused and stimulated is not that easy.

"But at least I don't have dunes and mountains to deal with and other riders in the dust, and hopefully not getting lost either."

"I need to behave, let's say, I need to follow the rules of the road and be a good boy with it," said Sunderland, who announced his retirement from professional racing last year.

Sunderland will have a support crew of six travelling behind by car, for security and assistance, but the Red Bull-backed rider expects to be well ahead.

He also hopes his bid will have a positive effect.

"In the news today, it's all sort of doom and gloom in the world, with all the wars going on," he said. "And I think it's quite nice to show people that you can still get out there and experience the world for what it really is."