Adrian and Collins have been in formidable form over the festive period.
At the back end of October, James Collins had just been sent off in the 2-0 loss against Watford and it seemed that his time at West Ham was coming towards an end. Collins found himself behind Reid, Tomkins and Ogbonna in the pecking order, and it was six weeks before he found himself back in first team action for the Hammers.
Collins was drafted into the starting line up against Stoke, and hasn’t looked back since. He has been crucial in the five matches since then. We have conceded two goals in six games (Collins started five out of six), and have been unbeaten in seven since that defeat at White Hart Lane. To concede two goals in those games, without an inform Winston Reid is nothing short of remarkable. While there is no denying that the team as a whole deserve huge credit for this, individually Collins has been the epitome of a defensive colossus.
Against Liverpool, Collins got the recognition that he has been worthy of since he came back into the team. He headed everything away, and made £32.5 million Benteke look distinctly average. Collins made 23 clearances, more than any other player and won 4 aerial duels.He also made 2 tackles and 3 interceptions according to FourFourTwo statszone. These stats don’t paint the full picture, but goes some of the way to describing Collins’ impact in the last month for our defence.
Ogbonna has been a superb addition to the team and has also done fantastically well alongside his defensive partner, whilst James Tomkins has been comfortable wherever he has played. It will be down to Slaven Bilic what happens following Winston Reid’s imminent return, but James Collins has done all he can and put a real spanner in the works for Bilic’s team selection in the coming weeks.
One thing is for sure, Collins has proved that at 32 years old, he has still got a lot left to offer this side, whether that is as a permanent fixture in the team or making an occasional appearance. It is clear that if Collins plays like he did against Liverpool and the other games, the unbeaten run could continue for a while yet.
