The first new signee of the offseason under Manuel Pellegrini, Ryan Fredericks has become the forgotten man in West Ham’s defensive back four. Can he reestablish himself against a weak Carabao Cup team and put his name back in the ring?
Wanted by the Moyes administration, the West Ham board, and Manuel Pellegrini, Ryan Fredericks was a highly sought after right back coming on of free transfer after Fulham’s promotion season. He was West Ham’s first signing of the offseason and was the heir apparent to Zabaleta’s right back position.
Things have not gone according to plan, however, as Fredericks has been a noticeably weak link in an underperforming team. West Ham started slow and Fredericks was given every opportunity in this period to stake his claim for the first team, but he seemed to be contributing to the downtick in performance.
Fredericks last start came in the Wolves match at home. Fredericks looked lost on the pitch, often overwhelmed in the midfield, and unable to keep up to the pace of Diogo Jota in West Ham’s end. The match eventually ended in last-minute defeat for West Ham to which Fredericks didn’t really contribute to in a positive way.
Since being dropped for veteran Pablo Zabaleta, West Ham collected three points at Everton and one point in their home draw with Chelsea. Safe to say that Fredericks isn’t going to be relied upon to win Premier League matches any time soon.
Zabaleta offers experience and defensive skill as opposed to Fredericks, who offers blistering pace. West Ham are still shakey in team defense so Pellegrini has decided to sacrifice the speed and offense that Fredericks CAN provide and invest in his veteran defender.
It’s a logical decision and Zabaleta has not let down his manager for having faith in him, but Macclesfield Town comes to East London just in time for a Zabaleta rest and Fredericks opportunity.
West Ham are supposed to win this game convincingly, and Fredericks needs to take this opportunity and run with it – literally and figuratively.
Fredericks possesses world-class pace and a knack for the offensive as last season Fredericks assisted nine goals in 44 matches in the Championship. He knows how to get the ball into dangerous areas, and knows how to feed it to his teammates. What didn’t help Fredericks was the competition West Ham faced early, specifically Liverpool and Arsenal both away, and the fact that half of the first team were new players.
Excuses are expiring now, so Fredericks needs results. He needs to take command of his future as a West Ham player and prove himself worthy of first-team consideration.
Fredericks has to look no farther than his Cup keeper, Adrian, for motivation. Adrian battled quietly last season to earn his spot back after the club brought in Joe Hart on loan. Adrian performed well in Cup competition and when he was able to get Premier League action (against Hart’s home club) he seized his opportunity and the net for the next few months.
Fredericks should cause problems for Macclesfield Town with his speed alone. Presumably, he’ll have Perez or Chicharito in the box to cross to, and while small, both strikers are experienced enough to get into dangerous areas to maximize their chances.
I’d bet on Fredericks to get on the scoresheet with an assist or two. He has the skill, but he also has to feel the pressure mounting on him to make an impact and get back in the Premier League conversation. It’s just a bad spell of form, I’m certain that Fredericks is the long-term solution for West Ham’s right back position.