Green Street Hammers
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Instant Knee Jerk Overreactions to West Ham’s First PreSeason Match

ByJeff Catlin|
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 04: Practise balls are seen on the pitch prior to the Women's FA Cup Final match between Manchester City Women and West Ham United Ladies at Wembley Stadium on May 04, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 04: Practise balls are seen on the pitch prior to the Women's FA Cup Final match between Manchester City Women and West Ham United Ladies at Wembley Stadium on May 04, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
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The Youngsters Made an Impact

Here, let’s throw in Sam Byram at LB; Ben Johnson at LB, Josh Cullen in Midfield, and Grady Diangana on the left-wing. Full marks to all in my book. Especially Sam Byram who looked much more grown up and filled out than the last time he was on the pitch for WHU.

You can tell he has played with both Cullen and Diangana because the way they worked together on that left side in the second half was dare I say since these ARE knee jerk OVERreactions, sublime. I’ve always liked Byram and think he can be a useful squad player; especially if he can play both left and right back.

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Diangana is another player I really liked last year and he just got squeezed for playing time by Snodgrass, Antonio, the return of Lanzini all in midfield.  He brings skill that the club needs on the regular.

Everyone knows Cullen is the future of the Clubs midfield, along with Rice. He’s another to me that always looks the part, and not overmatched when he’s out there. Today he played alongside Wilshire so he didn’t have as much heavy lifting to do, but he’s another who I think should and could push for a regular spot.

Ben Johnson started the game at LB. Masuaku is still away and for some reason, Aaron Cresswell didn’t get into this one. Perhaps because Pellegrini already knows what he has in Cressie, and Johnson and Byram are unknowns.

Where I thought Byram was the more flashy (like a Masuaku); Johnson was more solid (more like Cresswell).   He is another one that shows the future is bright at West Ham, but it doesn’t appear that his time is now quite yet.

Takeaways

Overall, the squad looked much sharper in this preseason opener than they did last year.  Makes sense considering this is Pellegrini’s second season in charge. I liked the way Pellegrini rotated the squad in the game and I think most everyone looked good. The result was a bonus. If somehow a 2-0 lead would’ve been completely squandered the fan base would be in an early lather.

That would be a completely different type of knee jerk overreaction.  From here, onwards and Come On You Irons!