OPINION
Adrian Durham was surely spot on with bubble-bursting verdict on West Ham midfielder Jack Wilshere as he shared he wasn’t getting too excited over the 27-year-old submitting a decent display against Newport County.
The 27-year-old impressed in the League Cup clash with Newport on Tuesday so much so that he ended up being named Man of the Match. (Source: Sky Sports Statto)
Wilshere scored the opening goal of the Hammers’ 2-0 win over Newport, saw 57 of his 67 passes find their mark, and touched the ball 86 times in order to heavily influence the game before being replaced by Conor Coventry in the 82nd minute. (Source: Sky Sports Statto)
The midfielder’s display saw people such as Laura Woods and Danny Higginbotham heap praise on Wilshere, but Durham, when asked for his opinion, wasn’t ready to sing his praises.
“Jack Wilshere did score yesterday against Newport to see his side get through a tricky tie, but they’re League Two,” said Durham on talkSPORT (17:38, Wednesday, August 28th).
“Are people saying this is Wilshere’s level? And by the way, he gave the ball away then rescued the situation and it was quite decent from him by the end.
“I don’t want to put any pressure on him, we’d love to see him play a lot of games, be fit, be effective and be good again but one game against Newport where he gave the ball away and got a goal, I’m not reading anything in it.”
Durham highlighted that Newport County, while capable of providing the Hammers with a tricky tie in the League Cup, were a League Two side.
The broadcaster also pointed out how Wilshere gave the ball away, though did recover, and Newport could have ended up punishing his mistake on another day.
It’s also worth noting that a Premier League side likely would have acted faster to capitalise on Wilshere giving the ball away to the point where the 27-year-old wouldn’t have been able to rescue the situation.
While Durham does appear to be bursting the positive bubble of hype surrounding Wilshere after his good display rather harshly, he is surely spot on to do so in hindsight.
The 27-year-old doesn’t need any more pressure on him to deliver the goods after all.
Wilshere has struggled this season, he was effectively a passenger in the 1-1 draw with Brighton as he touched the ball only 15 times (Source: WhoScored), and against Manchester City, he only managed 36 touches and registered zero shots before being subbed (Source: WhoScored).
You do feel the midfielder’s problems are a result of him not playing much football last season due to injury, he managed just eight appearances, and it’s fair to say he needs time and patience in order to get back to his best.
Given that Wilshere’s injury record is a sad read, it can be seen on Transfermarkt, as similar injury problems constantly crop up, Durham is probably right not to rule out the Hammers midfielder struggling to stay fit.
So with that in mind, Durham is spot on to try and protect the Hammers star in his own way.
