We need to talk about Carl.

Image sourced from The Evening Standard

Carl Jenkinson in his first season on loan at West Ham was an instant hit. We have been crying out for two decent wide defenders for as long as I can remember, yes we had the likes of Sebastien Schemmel, Thomas Repka, Glen Johnson & Chris Powell who, despite his advancing years, was a solid left back and still played his part in some important games for West Ham. We have had some solid players at right and left back, but it seems that the pairing we managed in the 2014-15 season was our first season where we could look at the team sheet and not worry about which centre-back our manager was going to try out at right back this week. We had two solid wing-backs, but the best thing about the pair? They could both attack high up the pitch and cause the opposition trouble with their fantastic crossing abilities. Yes, both of them!

Now, I will admit, I did state towards the end of last season that in the summer, I would've personally made more effort to sign Carl Jenkinson on a permanent deal than bothering with Alex Song. Yes, I said that, and I'm deeply sorry.

Image sourced from The Daily Mail

Song is a funny player too, though. His performances when he first joined the club were nothing short of brilliant. He could keep possession of the ball when in situations you'd think it wasn't possible, he had an eye for a killer ball through to our on-running wingers, strikers or even our new wide defensive duo. Every single player on the field looked a better player when they had Song lining up with them, whether that was something they had worked on in training or if it was just a mental thing, it doesn't matter because lets face it, it worked a treat! But after the Christmas break of 2014, Alex Song didn't return as the same player. After Christmas and New Year Song looked completely uninterested, lazy & could barely complete a pass accurately over 20 yards, let alone the 40/50 yard ones he was pinging directly into a teammate's path only a few months previous. So on the performances over the whole season, I admitted that I would've preferred Jenkinson over Song due to the consistency over the duration of a whole season.

So you could imagine my disappointment on the 14th July 2015 when we did manage to re-sign Carl Jenkinson, on loan. On loan for another season? Arsene, you're not going to play the lad so why not cash in now? Wenger had managed to pull off quite a tactical piece of business with this deal as we're paying a £2 million loan fee for Jenkinson. Why not slap another £8-10 million on top and keep him permanently, I thought. Well, how my statement from the previous season came back to bite me, and it didn't take Carl very long to prove me wrong either. He couldn't play in the game against Arsenal, so even though Tomkins had an outstanding game at right back, Jenkinson was put straight back into the team versus Leicester, the game in which he finished in goal. The problem with Carl started here, he didn't have a poor game, nor did he stand out, the problem with Carl all began in our next home game against Bournemouth. Yes, yes, yes, I know what most will think when remembering this game. "It was Cresswell who gifted them two goals!". And people remembering that will be correct, I think both wing-backs had a shocker in this game, but the difference? Cresswell put the game behind him immediately and has ever since continued to look like the progressing young left back we signed in the summer of 2014. But my grievance with this game was Jenkinson's performance, firstly making a schoolboy mistake in sliding in front of Marc Pugh to gift Bournemouth a 1 on 1 chance with Darren Randolph (who looked shaky the entire game to say the least) which of course, Pugh tucked away in front of the away supporters to put Bournemouth 3-2 up. But my biggest issue with Carl in this game, and it haunts me still, is the way he was the main blaming point for Bournemouth's 4th and as it ended, winning goal. The ball was a hoof from the Bournemouth defence up towards the 'chav corner' end of the stadium (I stand in this part too, so no offence intended), I vaguely remember the ball bouncing twice, but after the first bounce I had wondered why Jenkinson hadn't just seen the ball into the stands & for the time being, safety. Then the danger is realised when the ball is about to bounce for the second time, Max Gradel is like a greyhound out of the trap chasing the ball which should've been a lost cause for Bournemouth. Oh no, how wrong we were. The ball didn't manage to reach the floor before Jenkinson failed to return the ball to the original direction it had just been sent from & Gradel was in like a flash to nick the ball and get in behind. Jenkinson stood no chance in covering for his own mistake, but still managed to get back and ultimately foul Gradel to give Bournemouth a penalty and a chance to go 4-2 up in their first, and last game at Upton Park. Carl was sent off, Bournemouth scored and we got another goal late on, but this was the start of Jenkinson's stuttering season so far.

Image sourced from the Mirror

Jenkinson returned against Newcastle after Ogbonna was forced off with an injury, he also started the game away at Man City which was a fantastic day for everybody, but ever since that day he has looked incredibly shaky and is currently blowing very hot and cold. The trouble I have with Jenkinson is the way that he looks like such a different player from last season. Why does he instantly look to go backwards and stop any kind of attack? Under Bilic and not Allardyce, you'd think that the encouragement would be there for the full-backs to continue an attack and play the ball sideways or forwards. Yes, there is possession to play for, and possession means goals. Or so thought the likes of Swansea and Arsenal. I'm sorry, but that's not West Ham, we've never been a typically boring side who end the game with the most possession. And for me, that's exactly what watching the likes of Swansea or Arsenal is like, or even Manchester United more recently, boring!

Jenkinson's forward passing this year has been poor and aimless. His crossing has been non existent too! Okay, he only managed two assists last season, and I guess he's weighed in with that same amount of goals this time around, but we managed to see a lot more of his accurate crossing last season. All I think I've seen from the lad so far is a run to the byline and fail to whip the ball in! He was, in my opinion, the worst player on the pitch in the dreadful game against Tottenham and didn't really improve a great deal in the game at home to West Brom. Whether or not he was injured prior to the game against Man Utd, he started on the bench and only came on with a few minutes to go in a defensive move made by Bilic, coming on for Mauro Zaraté. 

The lad showed everybody what he's capable of last season, he was even called up to the Under 21's summer tournament (maybe just because he's an Arsenal player?). He looks lost, and not even the shadow of himself from last season under Big Sam. Is he lacking confidence? Does he not want to be at the club? Or is he just having 'one of those patches'? Whatever it is, I for one would love to see the Carl Jenkinson from last season return.


Guys & girls; if you have any comments to make, if you agree with my opinions or completely think the opposite? Leave a comment, tell me what you think. Also, any feedback anyone has on any tips or techniques for blogging? Any suggestions in which way I could improve on my writing? Again, leave a comment & let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading!