From our cluster of signings, last summer, it’s fair to say that a certain Mauro Zárate didn’t quite hit the high notes expected. As one of our key marquee signings in attack, West Ham fans, myself included, were keen to see what he could do considering it was an area we had struggled in hugely the season before.
He’d arrived on the back of a very impressive campaign with his boyhood club Vélez Sarsfield, scoring 19 goals in 29 appearances. He’d also had previous Premier League experience, with Birmingham City, and had played for Lazio and Inter Milan. It all read very well.
His West Ham career started excellently too, scoring on his competitive debut against Crystal Palace with a great volley. However, his time at our club soon became very difficult.
In our stunning first half of the season Zárate didn’t feature too much at all. Granted Valencia and Sakho were working wonders up top and then Andy Carroll came back from injury. However, he was also finding himself behind Carlton Cole in the pecking order and many started to feel there was just something about him that Sam Allardyce didn’t fancy.
Sure enough the Argentinian voiced his displeasure at not being involved when it became clear he wasn’t needed. He was shipped off on loan to QPR for the remainder of the season and took a few parting shots at Allardyce on his way. He stated that Allardyce had refused to play him because David Sullivan had signed him. Allardyce hit back claiming that Zárate simply ‘wasn’t good enough’.
Upon signing for QPR Zárate commented: “I wanted to go to a club where I was appreciated. Where I could play every week as the manager at West Ham made that very difficult for me ever since I arrived. I now believe I can do that at QPR under Harry Redknapp, a coach I respect, I will get the chance to show that I can score goals and that I can be an important player to the team”. This didn’t pan out at all.
When Zárate’s departure was announced many fans were bemused by the decision and criticized Allardyce for letting go of an attacker whom we may have needed throughout the rest of the season. As the second half of the campaign unfolded, and injury started to take its toll on our front line, many people yet again questioned why we had let Zárate go. Personally I feel his departure was vindicated as he soon started to create headlines at QPR for all the wrong reasons.
Harry Redknapp spoke glowingly about Zárate when QPR signed him, citing that he had tried to sign him whilst at Portsmouth. It then seemed apparent that that relationship had soured, as on January deadline day QPR were desperate to send Zárate back to West Ham and take Matt Jarvis instead. All this was because of Zárate’s lack of fitness, showing a distinct lack of professionalism.
QPR were a shambles from start to finish in the Premier League this season. Other than Charlie Austin they really didn’t have too much to shout about and were desperately looking for a spark to reignite their league season. At no point was any faith given to Zárate to provide this. He only made four appearances for QPR and none of them were starts. Even Shaun Wright-Phillips was turned to in an attempt to find that extra something. His time at QPR also ended on a low note when he reacted badly to being left out of the match day squad to face Liverpool. He was subsequently fined and banned for his behavior, and was also ordered to find his own way back to London. It was, once again, another display of severe unprofessionalism.
Failing to play consistently under three separate managers, Allardyce, Redknapp and Ramsey, is no coincidence. The men in charge see the players far regularly than we do as fans, in training sessions, and there is always an underlying reason why a player, who thinks he ought to be playing, isn’t. I was disappointed when he went out on loan as I thought he had been decent in games that I had seen him involved in. I also believed he would come in handy later on in the season because injuries would inevitably hit, and they did.
However, his time at QPR proved to be an eye opener for myself and, I’m sure, plenty others. What I saw was a man who acted in an unprofessional way, couldn’t even keep himself fit and threw a tantrum if things weren’t going his way. I didn’t see a man who was willing to work hard to earn his way into the starting eleven and apply himself fully in all aspects of his work. I don’t care how good you may be but, for me, an attitude like that has no place at West Ham.
So now we come to the question of whether Zárate has a future in claret and blue. If Allardyce were still in charge at the club there would have been no chance whatsoever. There would have been a higher likelihood of Allardyce employing tiki-taka than Zárate playing under him once more. Now that he’s departed there remains a chance for the Argentinian to make an impact. Regardless of who the new manager is there will be a clean slate for Zárate to try and make an impression again, but only if he dramatically changes his ways.
Somehow I’m not sure that will happen. The way I see it panning out is that he will leave on a cut-price deal, probably for somewhere back in Argentina. Alternatively he will spend his remaining years under contract at the club not playing and probably getting loaned out again. Either way I doubt Mauro Zárate has any future part to play at West Ham.
MORE: David Gold confirms that Mauro Zarate and Modibo Maiga WILL be in our first-team squad next season.
