Sam Allardyce continued his summer of squad restructuring earlier this week by bringing James Collins back to West Ham on a four-year contract. After spending three years at Aston Villa, the centre-half returns to Upton Park in a deal thought to be in the region of £2.5m and offers the Hammers plenty of top-flight experience in the heart of defence for the season ahead:
The move ends a summer of speculation which has linked the Welshman with a number of clubs following the arrival of Paul Lambert to Villa Park. With the former Norwich boss adding Dutchman Ron Vlaar to the ranks, Collins’ days appeared numbered at the midlands outfit and, as he revealed to the club’s official website, the chance of coming back to east London was one that he simply could not refuse:
It’s great to be back. As soon as I knew the interest was there from West Ham I couldn’t wait to get down and sign. I had a great affinity with the club and the fans when I was here the first time and I enjoyed my time here so much last time that it wasn’t a hard decision to make, to be honest. I think everyone knew that I didn’t really want to leave when I did [in 2009] because I was enjoying my time here so much. I’ve come back and I’m a much better player this time around so I can’t wait to get cracking and show the fans that I am a better player and can put in the performances on the pitch.
The Statistics
Collins’ career began in his native country with Cardiff City. Joining the club as a trainee in August 2000, he made his debut three months later in the FA Cup but initially struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular – over the course of five seasons at the club he made just 66 league appearances and scored three goals before West Ham came calling in 2005.
A combination of injury and competition from others blighted his first stint with the Hammers, however; Collins failed to play half of his side’s league games in any of his four seasons at Upton Park and managed just two goals in 51 league matches. He made his way to Aston Villa on the final day of the 2009 summer transfer window and finally nailed down a regular spot at the midlands outfit. Striking up a partnership with Richard Dunne, he was a key member of Villa’s backline and featured 91 times over his three seasons in the top-flight, finding the net on five occasions.
Collins has also turned out for his country at every level from Under 19 to Under 21 and has scored twice in 39 appearances for the senior side.
The Prospects
Collins’ arrival at Upton Park looks set to place major question marks over the game time of Winston Reid in the heart of the Hammers’ backline. The New Zealand international missed three months of last season with a shoulder injury and resultantly made just 30 starts – James Tomkins, in comparison, began all but one of the league games in Allardyce’s first campaign and certainly looks to be in the driving seat to partner Collins in the upcoming campaign.
Of the three promoted clubs, West Ham returned the fewest clean sheets – they accrued 17 last time out and, with just seven from 23 home matches, it’s obvious they need to tighten up at the back if they are to stand any chance of staying afloat. From a Fantasy perspective, however, Collins is likely to suffer from his initial pricing as a Villa player – coming in at 5.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), he is more expensive than all of his defensive team mates; bearing in mind that George McCartney and Guy Demel are priced as little as 4.0, he should struggle to pick up investment if either of the aforementioned pair can nail down a role at left-back and right-back respectively. It’s a similar scenario in the Sky Sports game, too; Collins comes at a cost of 5.4 – prior to his arrival, Tomkins was the priciest Hammers defender at a mere 4.1.
It’s a frustrating situation for Fantasy managers as Collins’ game is clearly suited to the EA Sports Player Performance Index. Last term, he picked up 12 bonus points – the same as Vincent Kompany, for example, and the second highest for Villa, despite their poor performances under Alex McLeish.
Certainly, the Hammers’ strong opening schedule is likely to see substantial investment come their way. Ironically, Collins welcomes his former club to Upton Park in the first Gameweek of the season and with home clashes against Fulham and Sunderland, in addition to trips to (swa, nor, qpr), he certainly has the potential to produce the points early on, though that price tag will almost certainly be enough to deter the vast majority looking for a route into Allardyce’s defence.
