OPINION
West Ham midfielder Jack Wilshere suggested his side could learn from the way Manchester City opted to make fouls when trying to win back the ball straight away.
The 27-year-old shared after the Hammers loss 5-0 to Man City on Saturday that he noticed Man City’s playing style suggests they’re always going to commit fouls and that as a player you can’t get frustrated by this.
Wilshere stated that all you can do is hope that the referee takes care of it, before suggesting that the Hammers could learn from Man City having a tendency to make fouls.
“They do that counter press,” said Wilshere, as quoted by the Daily Mirror.
“They lose the ball and bang, they go straight away. They’re going to make fouls.
“You can’t get frustrated. You have to hope the referee takes care of it. They are clever players. A team like us, who like to attack, could learn from that.”
This is surely the wrong lesson for Wilshere to take from West Ham’s heavy loss.
Man City made 13 fouls compared to the Hammers’ six on Saturday, as per the BBC, and it did help them keep in control of the game as well as squash any hope the Hammers had of getting back into the game.
Man City arguably should have picked up more than two yellow cards in the match, that was the same amount the Hammers received, and if there was a stricter referee on Saturday then Pep Guardiola’s side could end up at a disadvantage, due to a red card being branded, if they kept on making fouls.
So why does Wilshere think the Hammers should follow suit? Does he think risking needless yellow cards or red cards could really help the London club this season? After all, he can’t honestly think that’s one of the secrets behind Man City’s success.
The 27-year-old may have been taking a subtle dig at Saturday’s referee with his remarks, but if you take his comments at face value, it’s clear he is picking up on the wrong lesson to learn from Man City.
Instead, perhaps he should focus on how Man City were able to create enough space to have 14 shots on goal, with nine hitting the target which was more than any other Premier League side in week one (Source: The Last Word With Stan Collymore), as learning how to do would no doubt help Manuel Pellegrini’s side more.
