Nice little read:
Ruthless power and pace: Why Sakho and Valencia have been key in West Ham’s resurgence
Unless you asked Sam Allardyce, who would happily point every finger and thumb on each of his hands towards himself if asked this question, it’s tricky to single out one individual who has been key to West Ham’s excellent start to the season.
Diafro Sakho’s remarkable scoring run has certainly played a major role, as have Alex Song’s commanding displays in the middle of the park and Stewart Downing’s renaissance as a central playmaker, but really it has been the result of many different pieces all clicking into place at once.
Allardyce’s tactics, the immediate success of his new, gung-ho style, have been important in bringing it all together, but perhaps the most vital work was done in the transfer market over the summer, especially in the acquisition of Sakho and Enner Valencia.
The pair have been superb leading the line for West Ham. A combination of power, pace and an increasingly ruthless edge in the box means that no defence can rest easy when playing against West Ham, while the Irons’ own back-line know they merely need to send the ball somewhere near one of the duo for it to stick in the opposition half.
Against Manchester City, who boast a powerhouse centre-back pairing of Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala, Sakho and Valencia were superb. Constantly on the move, they harried City into submission, consistently providing an out ball for their back-line even as the visitors laid siege to their goal after going behind and notching a goal and an assist to ensure West Ham’s fine display was rewarded with three points.
Valencia broke beyond the City defence to set up Morgan Amalfitano’s opener, before Sakho scored for the seventh consecutive game in a row, six of which have been in the Premier League, to make it 2-0 and put West Ham far enough ahead of the champions to hold on despite David Silva’s goal.
The Hammers were facing one of the best strike forces in the league, with Sergio Aguero, fresh from his four-goal haul against Tottenham Hotspur last week, joined by Edin Dzeko. The contrast between the event maps of the two side’s forward pairings demonstrates the amount of ground Sakho and Valencia covered, picking up the ball throughout the City half and coming back into their own to help out defensively.
Having two forwards like Valencia and Sakho means that Allardyce can play both against even the most illustrious of opposition without fear that his midfield will be overrun, as their workrate ensure no opponents are given a moment’s peace. The only time City looked especially able to control the game was very late on, when both Sakho and Valencia had been taken off and their replacements were unable to maintain the intensity they had brought to proceedings.
The pair are also both effective in almost any form of attacking play. Each is impressive in the air, but pacy enough to sprint in behind defences. Their passing might not be up to the quick interchanges seen between David Silva and Aguero at the Boleyn Ground, but short of something incredibly dramatic Allardyce is not going to demand that from them anytime soon.
However, all of this workrate and good intentions would amount to very little if it were not for the fact that they have also been delivering goals, especially Sakho. The Senegalese player has scored six times in seven league games, and also registered one assist. For his part, Valencia has scored two as well as his assist against Man City.
So far I’ve grouped the players in together, but that is to do Sakho a small disservice. In all of the areas highlighted above, it is he rather than Valencia who has been the main man for West Ham, winning more aerial duels, making more tackles, creating more chances and scoring more goals.
In fact only four forwards have made more tackles than Sakho in the Premier League this season, while only five have won more aerial duels than the Senegalese player.
However, to break up the pairing in this way would be unfair on Valencia, and ignore what is perhaps what should be the most exciting aspect of the duo for West Ham fans. Even if Valencia is yet to hit his straps in front of goal, his overall workrate for the side has been key to making Sakho so effective. At some point in the future you would expect those roles to be reversed. The Irons now boast two forwards who both contribute even when not finding the net, and have enough about them to suggest that a scoring run is just around the corner.
High times indeed at the Boleyn Ground, with West Ham fourth in the league and deserving of that lofty position in every way. However, an injury to Sakho could be incredibly damaging to their form, and Irons fans have to hope that reports of a month’s layoff for the Senegalese are inaccurate.
Neutral fans too should be praying for a quick recovery, as right now West Ham’s strikers are a joy to behold, a perfect amalgam of aggression, pace and technique that have raised their side into the Premier League’s top four. Who wouldn’t want to keep watching that?
