West Ham came agonisingly close to pulling off a remarkable come-back in a fiery London derby against Tottenham on Saturday afternoon as Harry Kane’s first-half double proved the difference.
The result will do nothing to ease the pressure on under-fire manager Slaven Bilic but, in the way they responded after falling three goals behind, there were signs of fight across the Hammers’ side.
The Hammers could have easily crumbled around the hour-mark but they endeavoured to haul themselves back into the game, and did so even before Serge Aurier’s needless debut dismissal.
But whilst performances on the pitch have vastly improved in recent weeks, there’s an ongoing selection dilemma each weekend for Bilic – should Javier Hernandez or Andy Carroll get the nod?
Carroll’s return in the number nine role against Huddersfield inspired the Hammers to a much-needed victory but, in doing so, it pushed Hernandez out of his natural position and onto the wings.
As a result the Mexican was ineffective against the Terriers and West Brom, having very little time on the ball and struggling to get himself into the penalty area, and Bilic opted to leave Carroll on the bench for the visit of Tottenham so that Hernandez could take up his potent role furthest forward.
It was a move that largely paid off too, with Hernandez popping up in an all too familiar fashion at the back post to nod home his third goal of the season and give the hosts a small glimmer of hope.
Yet Carroll’s introduction also had its merits, particularly during West Ham’s late siege on the Tottenham goal, and Bilic will be scratching his head at who to select for the Swansea City clash.
The return of Marko Arnautovic to the starting eleven – and his half-decent performance on Saturday too – means that it’s highly unlikely that West Ham will start with both at the same time.
The thing that potentially gives Hernandez the slight edge over Carroll – rendering him a worthier Draft Fantasy pick – is that he’s a proven poacher in front of goal, notching his 40th goal on Saturday.
Whilst the target-man more often than not has an impact when he’s on the pitch, mostly due to his large physical presence, his goal-scoring record isn’t as good as the Mexican’s in the Premier League, scoring 50 goals in 186 appearances in comparison to Hernandez’s 40 in just 109 top-flight matches.
And it’s this instinctive finishing touch that will continue to get Hernandez goals as the season continues, with the 29-year-old already proving a bright spark in a below-par start for West Ham.
Add the fact that Carroll is far more injury prone, meaning that his game-time needs to be monitored by Bilic for the short-term future, and Hernandez is likely to feature more regularly.
The former Manchester United striker’s tally of 26 points so far puts him amongst the Premier League’s elite, sitting inside the top ten forwards just below Harry Kane and Gabriel Jesus, and expect him to continue to defy West Ham’s lowly league position as the 2017-18 season goes on.
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