Carlton Cole says Michail Antonio is in a ‘trap’ at West Ham with no competition
Former West Ham striker Carlton Cole believes Michail Antonio has fallen ‘into a trap’ of complacency at the London Stadium as first-choice striker.
Antonio ended an eight-game goal drought in the FA Cup against Southampton, but couldn’t stop the Hammers from being eliminated before the quarter-finals.
Despite his poor form though, he continues to be selected as the starting striker and Sky Sports pundit Cole, via Football.London, believes that there are two ways of looking at that from the outside.
“There’s pressure on him to perform but maybe he can relax and not look over his shoulder,” Cole said. “You can look at it two ways.
“I needed to be pushed, I needed competition for places to be at my best. But when you don’t have competition for places and you know you’re going to start the next week even if you play badly or poorly, you can get into a trap as well.
“It’s up to the manager to keep galvanising him and make sure he doesn’t get complacent. I’m happy that he scored and hopefully he can go on to score this weekend as well.”
Problem
As good as Antonio is and has been for the Hammers over the last two years, it’s clear as day that he needs help from his teammates.
Both himself and Moyes were public in their outcry for a striker to be signed in the January window, yet the club were unable to bring anyone in to strengthen the side.
With Antonio now 31-years-old and only just starting to play international football this season, it’s clear that the minutes are now starting to take a toll on his legs.
He isn’t as sharp or as influential as he was at the start of the campaign, and with no room for rest or rotation he hasn’t been allowed to recharge yet.
Moyes has tried to let him play through the poor form to galvanise him, but it hasn’t worked. That could be down to the fact he knows he will be playing regardless, so maybe it’s time for a new approach?
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