Quality over quantity for EPL100 West Ham players

It’s better from Bleacher Report Football writer Sam Tighe after West Ham’s dominant win over Newcastle. After I disgruntledly refuted his previous week’s work, it appears the course has been righted as West Ham players seem better represented this week.

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 Irons’ rankings:

Goalkeepers: Lukasz Fabianski – 2nd

Previous – 2nd

I begrudgingly accept this weeks ranking as both West Ham’s Lukasz Fabianski and Liverpool’s Alisson Becker posted clean sheet shutouts this week. Remarkably, Fabianski was tested a fair bit less than Becker who made a few solid saves in the Merseyside Derby.

For Fabianski, he’s still the most inform keeper in the Premier League. He has been since September. He’s backstopped West Ham to a terrific turnaround and is paramount in the hunt for Europa League football. More of the same from Fabianski will keep him atop the power rankings.

Centre-Backs: Issa Diop – 16th

Previous – 19th

Again, I can accept this +3 boost to Issa Diop’s power ranking. I still don’t think there are 16 better centre-halves than him in the Premier League, but he’s building to that recognition. Against Newcastle, Diop just did more of the same and dominated against a big, strong striker in Soloman Rondon.

He had a few marquee telescopic tackles in Fabianski’s box against Newcastle which Irons supporters have come to expect. He gets the fan recognition, too as the supporters erupt when he crunches in with a strong and needed tackle. He’s also not afraid to jump up in the attack either, whether it’s a set piece or just some open pitch to gallop through.

Central/Defensive Midfielders: Declan Rice – 5th

Previous – 7th

Now this is more like it! Recipient of a nice +2 boost and the category picture, Declan Rice is chipping in offensively while not sacrificing his dominant defensive midfield role.

"“This weekend was a mix of good and bad for central midfielders.Among the good were David Silva (created Man City’s goal), Declan Rice (scored and dominated against Newcastle) and Moussa Sissoko (starred vs. Arsenal).”"

Not only did he score and dominate against Newcastle, Rice also shushed the Magpies supporters who came to the London Stadium to try and compare Sean Longstaff with the England bound midfielder. Safe to say the comparison is over. Rice rolled over the Newcastle midfield, Longstaff included and contributed to his poor performance which saw him replaced at halftime.

Six-foot-one, scores like a bull, look out GiGi, Rice is coming for your role.

Attacking Midfielders/Wingers – Felipe Anderson 15th, Michail Antonio 20th

Previous – 16th and 20th

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It’s nice to see a player who didn’t make it on the scoresheet still get a necessary bump in the rankings. It may have been contributed to by the dropping of other players, but Anderson hasn’t been any less impressive in his recent goal-scoring slump and is still bossing the left side of the pitch.

Cardiff are relegation bound but playing some impressive football since the new year. Can Anderson break out against the Bluebirds and help West Ham chase down the Europa League?

Michail Antonio didn’t play at all against Newcastle, and maybe rightfully so. He took a hard shoulder knock against Manchester City midweek and could use the time off to get back to 100%. When he has played, Antonio has been a bull at right-wing.

He’s had a renaissance under Pellegrini and looks to be back to his best, if not better than that in 2019. The part of Antonio’s game that has grown is his responsibility and ability to play his position better. Before he was an uncontrolled explosion of power and pace, now he shows those attributes but doesn’t sell his teammates down the river by gambling. More to come against Cardiff?

*In a sad note, Pablo Zabaleta has been dropped from the rankings list after one start and around 60 minutes of playing time in the past five matches. It’s a tough time for all of us here at the Green Street Hammers but together we’ll make it through and persevere. Onwards and upwards.