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Leading from the back; reviewing West Ham’s goalkeepers

By Adam Smith

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: Marouane Fellaini of Manchester United gets in a chance on goal which is saves by Lukasz Fabianski of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium on September 29, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: Marouane Fellaini of Manchester United gets in a chance on goal which is saves by Lukasz Fabianski of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium on September 29, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /
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The second international break is upon us this season. While annoyingly long and interrupting a solid string of in form matches for West Ham, the international break does provide us a chance to examine each player in each position. Let’s begin with the keepers!

In our rating system, we will be giving marks out of 10, with 5/10 for playing as expected. Whilst some newspapers and the like seem to give 6 or 7 out of 10 for an average display and may make this seem harsh, we think this makes sense. It also easily allows us here to put the players in opposite categories, for example, a 9/10 is as good as a 1/10 is bad.

PRESTON, ENGLAND – JULY 21: Adrian of West Ham United during the Pre-Season Friendly between Preston North End and West Ham United at Deepdale on July 21, 2018 in Preston, England. (Photo b Lynne Cameron/Getty Images)
PRESTON, ENGLAND – JULY 21: Adrian of West Ham United during the Pre-Season Friendly between Preston North End and West Ham United at Deepdale on July 21, 2018 in Preston, England. (Photo b Lynne Cameron/Getty Images) /

Adrian: 6/10 Previous: 4/10

It’s not his fault, but West Ham’s back up keeper just isn’t getting too much game time this season with Lukasz Fabianski hogging all of the Premier League action. He earned his previous ranking of 4/10 from his one start against AFC Wimbledon in a 3-1 win for West Ham. Adrian allowed a goal in the first few minutes of the match on his only shot against. Maybe four was generous, but he had taken his diminished role with pride and was aptly commended for this.

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Onto his second ranking after another game. Adrian backstopped West Ham to a third round Carabao Cup victory as the Hammers thrashed Macclesfield Town 8-0, their biggest win since 1983. Adrian was absolutely critical in this match and you can’t convince me otherwise. He made two saves with eight shots directed towards him, one of which was a massive save early in the match when the game was still 0-0. He didn’t succumb to a hamstringing goal early in the match like he did against Wimbledon and kickstarted this massive win.

He’s been a very good trooper and also played FIFA 19 no rules against Felipe Anderson in a funny little YouTube video, so I can’t knock the guy. He’s doing well in his limited role.

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 18: Lukasz Fabianski of West Ham United punches the ball clear during the Premier League match between West Ham United and AFC Bournemouth at London Stadium on August 18, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 18: Lukasz Fabianski of West Ham United punches the ball clear during the Premier League match between West Ham United and AFC Bournemouth at London Stadium on August 18, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /

Lukasz Fabianski: 9.5/10 Previous: 8/10

This guy literally does everything for West Ham and is finally getting the team performances to support his efforts in goal. He kept West Ham in matches early this season and managed to keep the goal differential respectable at the bottom of the table. The time off in the first International break served West Ham well and Fabianski started to see his efforts rewarded with victories and solid team performances in front of him.

First win of the season? Check. First clean sheet of the season? Check. Big win over United? Check. Obvious team trip up against lower table team? Of course – The West Ham Way! Regardless of the 1-0 loss to Brighton, West Ham is clicking and Fabianski is getting deserved results finally. He currently sits atop the Premier League with 36 saves, finally usurping Joe Hart and ranks fourth on Bleacher Report’s positional power rankings.

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Fabianski is a top keeper in this league and deserves the ranking of 9.5/10 simply because he was performing at an elite level in August and September with no results to show, but now has two wins and a clean sheet to show for his efforts. He shut down Bernard, Tosun, and Walcott from Everton, Hazard, Giroud, Morata, and Willian from Chelsea, and Lukaku, Martial, and Pogba from Manchester United. He improved this month and as such, his ranking shows this. Fabianski is a true leader from the back for West Ham.