Wednesday 3 September 2014

Momo Abduction: How Much Will We Miss Diame?

Hull: an alien place!
The departure of Momo Diame from West Ham to Hull City on transfer deadline day occurred relatively quietly in the background to the big money moves involving Falcao et al, but it may prove to be one of the major transfers of the Summer for both sides.

Diame arrived at the Boleyn in 2012 from Wigan in a piece of handy business for West Ham as his contract had expired. He quickly established himself as a major presence in the midfield with his eye catching direct style that delivered some stunning strikes (most memorably against the Gooners and Pensioners).

As a consequence, West Ham were keen to discourage the alleged interest from a variety of clubs that has included Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton, while Diame himself seemed to court such interest in search of a top six team.

Hull!? Eugghhh, that's outside of London.

And so finally, his time at the Boleyn has ended with a move to the ambitious Hull City Pussycats. Undoubtedly, the gap is softened by the arrival of fellow Senegalese midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate, who has already won over many fans with a string of high energy appearances. Moreover, the signing of Alex Song from mighty Barcelona has more than amply substituted for Momo. So, one wonders, how much will West Ham miss the big man?



Firstly, Diame definitely brought a presence to our midfield. Mark Noble is a dynamo but does lack bulk, while Kevin Nolan is in the autumn of his career and at this stage often a yard or two off the pace. Hammers fans will certainly miss Momo's swashbuckling runs from defence into attack. We may miss the amount of possession that he loses as he has a habit of holding on to the ball a little too long and sometimes trying to run straight through the opposition - something that better defences can mostly deal with. In addition, despite his physique, Diame was not quite the physical defensive force one might expect - as evidenced by the comparison with the newly arrived Kouyate. Interestingly, none of his seven goals in 79 appearances have been headed - perhaps surprising for such a big man!

With less and less game time over the recent past, it looked like Diame's career at West Ham had hit a plateau. Time will tell how much we miss Momo - as a significant presence in the Senegal national team set up, it seems likely that he was a part in our recent signings of Cheikhou Kouyate and Diafra Sakho.

Either way, we wish him well

Except when he play against the Hammers!

5 comments:

  1. We will not miss him at all although it should have been Noble that went . He flatters to deceive ( player of the year .. GOD HELP THE REST ). He is slow in mind and body so the whole attacking process is slow and laboured . He is the cause of our pore attacking play. Need him to get injured like Nolan so that BFS will have to replace him with Poyet . If it happens Noble will be history and Harry " the crook " can have him .

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    1. Absolute rubbish Pete !

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    2. Pete - let us ignore your illiteracy for now.. Have you ever been to a game of football? You are seriously suggesting we replace our best passer, tackler and hardest working player (not to mention would bleed for the club) with a kid that has never played in the Premier League and only has half a season experience? (cough) On subject, Diame has been replaced with two better players so he won't be missed at all.

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  2. So whos left? Maybe play Poyet on his own in midfield? Iro ically, we'd still get as much possession as usual (thats about 35%).

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  3. Shame BFS played him on the left wing most of the time! Looked good in parts but head turned by interest from bigger clubs. Wont miss him and "Wiley" Kouyate looks the part

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