After a lifeless 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town away, West Ham’s players have largely stayed sedentary in their rankings. Movements were restricted to one or two positions which are fitting from Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe after an uneventful match.
The Bleacher Report weekly ranking, EPL100 can be seen here. It ranks the best players by positions after each week, taking into consideration their performances from the week that was, and the form they have strung together over the past few matches.
Let’s get into the Iron’s rankings:
Keepers: Lukasz Fabianski – 2nd
Previous: 2nd
The tug of war for best power ranked keeper in the Premier League has shifted from Joe Hart and Lukasz Fabianski to Martin Dubravka and Fabianski, which is none the less a positive for West Ham and their stellar keeper. Newcastle has another win in match week 12 so the stay for their keeper atop the rankings is earned.
This is actually maybe a little generous to Fabianski who had arguably his only mistake of the season on the first and only goal for Huddersfield. The chance was created by some over-excited passing in the midfield but a bouncing shot from outside the box should never sneak in short side. Fabianski got caught flat-footed and conceded but other than that he did save the Hammers a few times in that match.
Centre-backs: Issa Diop – 10th
Previous: 7th
A drop of two rankings for West Ham emerging centre-back star, Issa Diop. He was a little shakey and contributed to the goal against with a bad decision to pass to Declan Rice in the midfield, as well as not stepping up on Pritchard when he shot. Either way, Diop will stay on this list (twenty spots for CBs) for a long time if West Ham continue to climb.
The international break will see Diop leave East London to join France’s U21 team for some friendly matches. I think this is a positive even though the rest could have done him well. He’s young and fit so no need to take the foot off the gas I suppose. He’ll need to be in tip-top condition for an insane Manchester City team waiting after the break.
Right-backs: Pablo Zabaleta – 3rd
Previous: 3rd
He’s done it for years but I’m still surprised by how effective he is on the pitch going forward and in defense. He’s had the armband since Mark Noble has been suspended and done admirably being West Ham’s leader.
Rumors are starting about Zabaleta possibly retiring after this season, and despite my hatred of this idea, I understand it. He’ll be 34 years old at the end of this season and has played at the highest level for years so he’s earned retirement. Time to step up, Ryan Fredericks!
Defensive/central Midfielders: Declan Rice – 12th
Previous: 11th
Declan had a bit of a bad week as far as his individual performance was concerned, but as I’ve mentioned in weeks past, defensive midfielders will see their power rankings rise and fall with the team. West Ham traveled and earned a point after conceding early – Rice aptly doesn’t drop a tremendous amount here.
Rice needs some time off during this international break. If he had declared for Ireland he’s be starting, no doubt, in their midfield. If he declared for England he may have been called up for a squad position. As it stands Rice can sit back, rest, recharge, and get set for the holiday push.
Attacking midfielders/wingers: Felipe Anderson – 15th
Previous: 20th
West Ham’s big-ticket price players is starting to show that he’s worth all that cash! Felipe Anderson scored again, this time against Huddersfield, and keeps his streak alive stretching it to two games. Anderson is comfortable in the Premier League, and it took less time than Arnautovic getting settled at West Ham. He just needed time to see the pace of play, get used to the different play style and settle in, now he’s on a tear.
His goal was nice from him but was created by horribly selfish play from a few of his teammates. Anderson megged his marker at the halfway line and ran on to the ball, then he cut it back to again lose his marker, and found a steaming Snodgrass on a beautifully weighted through ball. Snodgrass looped the ball into the box and Arnautovic swung a lunging leg at the ball which mis-hit it to Chicharito who hit the keeper, rebounding to Antonio who turned and shot into a wall of defenders. Finally, the ball fell to Anderson who actually aimed his shot into the top of the net AWAY from defenders.
Overall, well done to Anderson.
Strikers: Marko Arnautovic – 7th
Previous: 5th
He missed a golden chance to score the opening goal against Huddersfield after a lovely weighted ball from Grady Diangana sent him in alone down the right wing. His finishing let him down as Lossl stopped the ball, eventually turning into a goal down the pitch for Huddersfield. Arnautovic will always be an effective striker when he plays in his signature style. He keeps the pressure on defenders and keepers constantly and invigorates his teammates inspiring them to do their best in attack.
The striker list will always be a bit volatile especially when you haven’t scored. Arnautovic’s drop is just because other players have scored, but still, it would have been nice to see him get one or two against Huddersfield.