West Ham: How to crack the Emenike code

The return of goals has been lean in recent times for the former Nigeria international, so how can the Hammers get the best from their latest acquisition?

On the surface of it, Emmanuel Emenike to West Ham United is one of the more quirky transfer moves of the winter window. Premier League clubs do not often sign players who are not involved with their national teams—the former Fenerbahce striker announced his retirement from international football in September—but does the Nigerian forward still have the quality to fire the Hammers into the Champions League?
His decision to retire followed a goal-drought in green and white stretching back two years, a steep fall from grace considering he finished the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations as the competition’s top scorer, powering Nigeria’s third title win.
However, Slaven Bilic, now in charge at the Boleyn Ground, has seen quite a bit of the striker from his time in charge of Besiktas in Turkey. Interestingly, their paths also crossed in a short stint in Russia; there seems a cosmic pull between these two individuals
It is not difficult to guess what the attraction is for both: Emenike is in his prime, and a chance to play in the Premier League represents a clear spike in his career path graph. For Bilic, this is essentially a move to cover for the somewhat injury-prone Diafra Sakho; indeed, one of the Senegal international’s finest performances at Upton Park may provide the blueprint on how to harness the Nigeria international.
The visit of the Premier League holders Manchester City in October 2014 saw the Hammers pull off a brilliant 2-1 win, crowned by Sakho towering over Gael Clichy at the back post to power a header over the line.
It was the culmination of a specific ploy by then manager Sam Allardyce, having the in-form striker peel off the much smaller Clichy. There, his strength and size could be used to full effect against a diminutive opponent: it was clever tactics, it was also flat-out bullying.

Could Emenike's physical qualities make him a valuable replacement for Diafra Sakho? While Emenike is not excellent in the air – he stands at a respectable 5ft 11in – that movement is one he has made a trademark, always seeking to isolate the full-backs in one-on-ones. The former Nigeria international is an impressive physical specimen, but is not one to battle centre-backs, preferring inside to use his deceptive burst of pace to power past smaller full-backs on the outside.
It is worthy of note that the player has rarely produced his best football in a centre-forward position, but instead wide on the right, almost as an inside-forward. At Fenerbahce, he had the lively targetman Moussa Sow, while with Nigeria there was former West Brom man Brown Ideye acting as a foil.
Bilic is no doubt aware of this, and it will be interesting to see how he chooses to utilize the 28-year-old in order to nurse him back to something approaching his best form. This has not been apparent in recent times though – he has managed five club goals in all competitions in the last two years - and one wonders how it might work out if Emenike does not hit the ground running.