In praise of Tomka

James Tomkins deserves a lot of praise for playing with 13 stitches in his face against Villa as he must have been in some pain. While Mark Noble is seen as the heartbeat of West Ham, the younger Tomkins can't be far behind. He's been dropped this season and also played out of position at full-back, but has never complained. And the fact he's adapted so well to playing at full-back suggests he's a very good footballing defender. Tomka's taken a lot of batterings in games like Man City away but never complains— though being a Basildon lad he might have learned his survival skills in Bas Vegas. In addition he's cultivating a really excellent Victorian villain's beard. He might just have a great career ahead of him in silent movies, or perhaps as an extra in Poldark.