Right side, strong side; Reviewing West Ham’s fullbacks

Left Backs

LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 23: N’golo Kante of Chelsea battles for possession with Arthur Masuaku of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea FC at London Stadium on September 23, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Arthur Masuaku: 5/10

Previous 6/10

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Maybe 5/10 is a bit generous after that Brighton loss but I’m trying to be unbias here. Regardless, a drop in grading was necessary simply because Masuaku is a defender and he is having issues with defending. Since last international break, Masuaku has started every Premier League game for West Ham which means he helped seal two wins and a draw out of four matches. In general, this looks awesome, but match by match, not so much.

In the Everton match, Masuaku played a solid match defensively for him. That being said he allowed the cross into the box at the end of the first half that was headed in, and he nearly decapitated Theo Walcott with a wild foot that landed on his neck just outside of the penalty area. He is too erratic and unpredictable defensively which has led to West Ham defensive issues.

Against Brighton, he failed to mark Glenn Murray in the area and allowed him to shoot uninhibitedly to score the match-winning goal simply because he couldn’t defensively sort out his coverage. He’s better than Cresswell, but by how much? Hopefully, his time away with The Democratic Republic of Congo can help settle him down.

Stats:

Appearances: 7
Clean sheets: 1
Tackles: 24 (50% success)
Interceptions: 16
Clearances: 22 (15 headed)
Recoveries: 55
Duels 43-37
50/50s: 8
Aerial battles: 9-7
Assists: 0
Passes: 303 (43.29 avg. per match)
Crosses: 11 (18% accuracy)

KINGSTON UPON THAMES, ENGLAND – AUGUST 28: Aaron Cresswell of West Ham United competes Scott Wagstaff of AFC Wimbledon during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between AFC Wimbledon and West Ham United at The Cherry Red Records Stadium on August 28, 2018 in Kingston upon Thames, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Aaron Cresswell: 4/10

Previous: 4/10

One match in a month isn’t great for a player who is not looking to cut his teeth and wade into Premier League football. As it turns out, West Ham are weak at left back and Cresswell still isn’t even seen as a viable option to start in the Premier League. A shame really because he looked like he could have taken advantage of the fresh start Manuel Pellegrini offered his new team upon arriving.

This is partially due to the injury Cresswell sustained. He never was the same physically once returning and this clearly had a mental effect on him as well. Cresswell often looks lost on the pitch; he’s indecisive moving forward and unpredictable defensively as well. Being converted to a centre-back for four months under David Moyes couldn’t have helped settle him down either.

Against Macclesfield Town Cresswell looked solid. He ended the match with one assist and helped in keeping the clean sheet. His assist was a lovely chipped pass to Lucas Perez who volleyed home the goal. To be honest, it was the best bit of play I’ve seen from Cress since leaving Upton Park.

Despite some inconsistency in crossing, no one will be happier with the news of Andy Carroll returning to training like Cresswell. He assisted 7 Premier League goals last season, plenty of which found Carroll’s towering head. Should he get another opportunity, Cresswell needs to seize it or he could be gone as soon as January.