West Ham need to give Michail Antonio a break to get him scoring again
It’s no secret that Michail Antonio is suffering from a horrible run of form for West Ham and there seems to be no end in sight for the Jamaican.
The 31-year-old hasn’t netted for the Irons since New Years’ Day away at Crystal Palace and has blanked in the last seven games since then.
It is the worst possible time for Antonio to lose his touch too with the Europa League returning soon and no other senior striker able to replace him in big matches.
He did find the net for Jamaica during the January internationals but that did nothing but tire him out even more.
What Antonio desperately needs right now is a good rest to just recharge the batteries so he can kick on for the remainder of the season.
Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Newcastle was another lacklustre display from the Jamaican and one moment, in particular, highlighted the problems he is having.
With the game still goalless, Said Benrahma slid the ball into his path on the edge of the area and usually, he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot first time and often find the target.
But he couldn’t quite reach the ball to shoot perhaps because of tiredness kicking in although he also won the flick on that set the Algerian racing forwards.
He managed to get his toe to the ball but rather than making a quick decision, he hesitated on the ball, allowing Matt Targett to set himself in the way of any shot that came in.
By this time, he should have realised there was no path to goal and instead trusted Tomas Soucek to get the better of Joelinton and get a cross in.
But he pulled the trigger anyway and saw his shot blocked, spiralling behind him on yet another goalless day for him.
If he gets the rest he so richly needs and deserves, he could come back the man he was in the early parts of the season and that might propel the Hammers into the top four and the latter stages of the Europa League.
In other West Ham news, long-range master Scott Twine is on the club’s summer shortlist having contributed in 22 goals for MK Dons this season.