Ogbonna’s return to the team could be crucial…
Angelo Ogbonna was a fantastic signing for West Ham. In the games he has featured in he has played reasonably well. Unfortunately, due to his hamstring injury, the club have been without the Italian centre back for around a month.
In the Watford game, the centre back pairing of Tomkins and Collins were exploited. With James Collins getting suspended and James Tomkins making the mistake leading to Watford’s second goal, when we look forward to the Everton game I want to see Reid and Ogbonna starting at centre back. Tomkins is a decent centre back, however the combination of Reid and Ogbonna provides pace and strength.
With Romelu Lukaku almost certainly starting for Everton the West Ham defence will need to be strong and quick to deal with the Belgium striker.
I feel that most West Ham fans would agree that if you had to select Tomkins or Ogbonna to mark the Everton striker, you would opt for the Italian centre back due to his strength and undervalued burst of speed.
As far as I am aware Winston Reid should be fit for the game at Upton Park on Saturday, as well as Ogbonna. To be honest I didn’t understand why Ogbonna was left on the bench for the last 2 games. The only way he will get match fit again is if he plays matches.
The former Juventus defender has not been exceptional since arriving at West Ham, but having said that, in my eyes he is the club’s best centre back. An in form Arouna Kone could cause issues for the West Ham defence and this is another reason for Ogbonna to be starting.
James Collins is pretty slow, Tomkins isn’t the quickest and I think Watford took advantage of that. We cannot allow Everton’s attacking force to take advantage of West Ham’s defence as otherwise we could be convincingly beaten. Therefore, I hope Slaven Bilic selects Reid and Ogbonna as the centre back pairing because they complement each other nicely in the sense that the Italian is quick and strong whereas Reid is also strong but especially good at tackling.
I think with a back five of Adrian, Jenkinson, Reid, Ogbonna and Cresswell we will have stability. That should allow for the attacking players such as Payet and Lanzini to attack more but be comfortable in the knowledge that the defence is solid.
Also, it is easy to forget how experienced and established the Italian is. Whilst this is his first taste of Premier league football, Ogbonna is an Italian international and has won the Serie A title twice with Juventus. Hopefully, if he and Reid are recalled to the first team, West Ham will be more assured and win. The experience that Ogbonna has is invaluable in this West Ham side.
In a recent interview Ogbonna said that he learnt a lot from his centre back partner, Giorgio Chiellini. The Italian centre half, Chiellini, is arguably one of the best centre backs in the world and if Ogbonna has learnt half as much as he claims from his fellow Italian, he will bring great experience and technique to this West Ham team.
Overall Ogbonna is a strong and powerful defender who has great ball skills and vision. If nothing else, Angela Ogbonna is the club’s best defender with regards to passing the ball out from the back. The Italian offers West Ham something different, he can kick the ball long like the other three centre backs, although he can also spot good passes and hopefully an Ogbonna pass might lead to a goal for West Ham against Everton on Saturday.
