Tuesday, July 03, 2007

 

Where does Faubert fit into this West Ham side?

I've been doing some research on Julien Faubert as I have not previously heard of him but understand him to be a promising prospect from the various reports of us acquiring his signature. These reports also suggest he is a midfielder but during my investigations I have found that most of the French sites have him listed as a defender.

The reason being is that he originally played in midfield but played the entire last season for Bordeaux at right back and has excelled there prompting his International call up for France at the same position last August.

I got this information from an article when he was linked to Rangers which read....

"Born in Le Havre, Faubert started off his career at National side Cannes, before moving on to Bordeaux in 2004. He has been a regular feature in the Bordelais side, winning many plaudits for his attacking style of play. However, last season Ricardo Gomes, the Brazilian trainer of the club, moved him from the right wing to right full-back, encouraging Faubert to curb his attacking instincts.

Although his skills were dreadfully stifled at the back, he performed admirably, his foraging runs, electric pace and brusque technique have had him compared with Roberto Carlos.

Raymond Domenech called him into the French squad last August to fulfil a role at his preferred full-back position and Faubert responded with a goal in a 2-1 win over Bosnia. Faubert managed five goals in 32 appearances for Bordeaux last season."


So initially it would have seemed Julien Faubert was signed to replace Yossi but is he to be a fixture on our right wing or is he our new right back? A couple of months ago I read that if West Ham stayed up Lucas Neill would be moved to Central defence next season as it is his preferred position. Would it make sense to play him on our right wing in a position he has not held in over a year? At right back he has been compared to Roberto Carlos so it would make sense for him to retain this position. I guess versatility is a quality highly sought after but I do wonder what plans Curbishley has for the 'new' Julien.



<< Blog main page