Lukasz Fabianski and Felipe Anderson feature in team of the first half

At the halfway point of the Premier League season, West Ham sit in ninth in the table despite giving away the first month of action to their opposition. Two massive reasons for the dramatic shift in form are Lukasz Fabianski in goal and Felipe Anderson on the left side. Both were recognized in Bleacher Report’s Team of the First Half for the Premier League.

Lukasz Fabianski

It’s pretty amazing when you receive recognition for your play, but with the competition Lukasz Fabianski is up against, the feat is that much more impressive. The Polish keeper was brought in for just £7million from relegated Swansea and had the supporters split initially. On one hand, Fabianski was among the best shot-stoppers in Europe statistically speaking, but he did fail at Arsenal and has since played for lesser-than teams.

Just a few months later and Fabianski has one hand on the ‘signing of the season’ trophy and another on ‘Hammer of the year’ as he has exceeded any and all expectations set for himself by the supporters. Early this season when the Hammers were still gelling and getting familiar with each other, Fabianski was the lone bright spot, keeping games close and securing points where he could.

Now with the team in form and steaming along at a rapid pace, Fabianski is getting the results to support his amazing individual performances. Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe had this to say about the raw skills Fabianski shows game-in and game-out:

"He has continually made excellent one-on-one stops, displayed safe handling, impressed aerially and even has a penalty save to his name. Add all that to the fact that he’s made no major errors of note, and it means he pips Alisson, Dubravka and Ben Foster to this berth."

Not bad, right? Fabianski has completely stolen the net from Adrian, his Spanish predecessor in goal and never looked back. That being said, surpassing the likes of Dubravka, Foster, and Alisson is a lot more impressive than Adrian. It isn’t an overstatement to say West Ham would be nowhere close to where they currently sit without this keeper, as he has proved to be an elite keeper.