Garth Crooks drools over West Ham defender Craig Dawson
Garth Crooks has showered heaps of praise on West Ham defender Craig Dawson for his latest performance against Newcastle United.
The 31-year-old defender scored in the 1-1 draw against the Magpies on Saturday [19 February] in the Premier League, in what was yet another disappointing performance from the home side.
Dawson scored with a header off a brilliant free-kick from Aaron Cresswell, and Crooks has labeled him as an “excellent” player.
Crooks wrote in his column for BBC Sport: “He did it away against Leicester and again against a Newcastle side who look better with every game. Craig Dawson has got the taste for goals in his veins again.
“He had it at West Brom, Watford and now West Ham. Dawson is a very dangerous opponent in the opposition’s penalty area but he’s also an excellent defender.”
Poor form
It was yet another poor performance from the home side and it won’t an exaggeration to say that the visitors were better organised of the two.
Apart from the Dawson goals and rare moments of brilliance from Said Benrahma, there was little output from the Hammers.
It is now becoming a worrying trend, and if this continues, the Hammers are in real danger of missing out on the top four.
Post-November, West Ham appear to have lost their spark in their game. A lot of players like Michail Antonio and Tomas Soucek are hardly contributing, while David Moyes can’t drop them as he has very few options.
Similarly, there is an over-dependancy of players like Declan and Jarrod Bowen, and when either of them or both are having an off day, there’s no one on the side who can take the responsibility and drive the team.
They are starting slowly in almost every game, and it gives the impression that the players are tired, physically and mentally.
In other Irons news, West Ham ace Michail Antonio has been destroyed by Ziggo Sport analyst, Jan van Halst.