OPINION
Throughout the first half of the season West Ham United were pottering along happily enough with a centre back partnership of Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop.
That double act was ended by the former’s injury around the turn of the year, with the latter’s form nosediving as a result. Now that the Paraguayan is back in the Hammers team, everyone expected his partnership with Diop to be restored.
However, the fine form of Angelo Ogbonna in his place this calendar year meant that it was the Frenchman who was axed by manager Manuel Pellegrini.
That was the right decision given the contrasting form of Ogbonna and Diop in recent months, but now is the time for Pellegrini to return to the proven dynamic that flourished throughout the first half of the campaign.
It would be harsh to axe Ogbonna at this point, particularly considering that it was Balbuena who underperformed against Leicester City on Saturday, but given how well Balbuena and Diop did alongside one another, it seems like a no brainer.
We are at the point in the campaign where there is nothing left to play for for West Ham. So with that said, why not look to the future? Ogbonna is 30 years of age; he’s not a long term answer at centre back.
However, Pellegrini could get half a decade or more out of the Balbuena-Diop partnership if they pick up where they left off in 2018. So with just a few games to go this season, surely it would make sense to give them the time to find their feet again.
You’d feel for Ogbonna in that situation, but Pellegrini has to be ruthless. Simply put, the Italian isn’t the future. Diop, in particular, is. So let’s get him back involved again even if it comes at the expense of someone who has been performing very well recently.
