OPINION
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini surely should feel quietly smug over Georgie Bingham’s claim about the Hammers’ squad as it’s a testament to the job he has done.
The talkSPORT host claimed that West Ham currently had their best team for quite some time which didn’t rely on a just one player having a standout bit of brilliance about them.
Bingham’s claim clearly indicates that the Hammers don’t just rely on one player pulling them through games or pulling all the strings, which in turn suggests she believes they have a balanced squad.
“I think this is the best West Ham team we’ve seen for quite a while that doesn’t have that standout Payet bit of brilliance that have defined those West Ham good periods in the last five years,” said Bingham on talkSPORT (6:24am, Saturday, September 28th).
“I love this West Ham team, I think they’re good.”
The fact Pellegrini has put together a squad, that currently sits fifth in the Premier League after six games, which doesn’t just rely on one player running the show suggests his side could go the distance this season.
As one injury may not be enough to pull the carpet from under their feet, and this should leave him feeling smug about what he has achieved and what he could go on to achieve this season.
For example, Felipe Anderson is an important member of the Hammers’ first-team and brings some Brazilian flair, but West Ham don’t completely rely on him.
The 26-year-old has registered two assists in five league outings, averaged 1.8 key passes per match 1.2 shots per game in order to be a regular thorn in the side of his opponents, and yet he is still replaceable. (Source: WhoScored)
If Anderson is missing or has a bad game, the likes of Manuel Lanzini and Andriy Yarmolenko are capable of covering his absence.
After all, Lanzini has averaged three key passes per match across his five league outings, racking up one assist in the process, while also being a nuisance for sides by completing 3.4 dribbles per outing on average so far. (Source: WhoScored)
Whereas Yarmolenko has scored two goals in five league outings and proved he could be useful as he has averaged 1.8 shots and 1.2 key passes per match. (Source: WhoScored)
While losing Sebastien Haller would be a blow as he is the only centre-forward that has at least proven he can score in the Premier League on the club’s books, without him Pellegrini may be able to find a way to get more goals from his other attacking options as he has plenty of those.
So with that in mind, the Hammers boss should feel quietly smug about Bingham’s claim as not only is it accurate and understandable, it does suggest a good season is afoot partly because of the work he has put in.
