Green Street Hammers
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Abandoning attacking mentality for Brighton shortsighted and ridiculous

By Adam Smith

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: Jack Wilshire of West Ham celebrates scoring heir second goal during the Pre-Season Friendly match between West Ham United and Athletic Bilbao at the Olympic Stadium on August 03, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: Jack Wilshire of West Ham celebrates scoring heir second goal during the Pre-Season Friendly match between West Ham United and Athletic Bilbao at the Olympic Stadium on August 03, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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We all agree that West Ham’s lopsided loss to Manchester City to start the season was not ideal and nothing to judge the players or season by. Why, then, are supporters suggesting the Hammers stop their attacking style?

Preseason was near perfect for West Ham. Start slow in Austria, move out to China to the Premier League Trophy tournament, return to Europe and play Fulham, Hertha Berlin, and end with Athletic Bilbao at the London Stadium. All without major injury, and all with the same attacking mentality and set up.

So why derail that plan after one loss to the reigning Premier League winners?

It’s clear that Pellegrini is too smart to do this, and as seen in the match itself, it’s clear he won’t adjust it even in the match. It’s pretty simple to see how the score got up as high as it did because the Hammers never stopped attacking and trying to get back into the match.

Drilling something in a team to try and create a new mentality in the club moving forward and abandoning it after a loss to one of if not the best teams in Europe is just idiotic.

West Ham invested over £60m in attacking players this summer, presumably to play attacking-minded football. They also blatantly ignored looking for a midfield partner for Declan Rice this summer too, again suggesting that attacking is going to be the way forward for this team.

Brighton have a strong center-back pairing in Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy who will be waiting for the Hammers at home. Do we really think there is a result in this match for the Hammers if they sit back, focus on defense, and not press the attack as they tried to do against Manchester City?

Next. What can West Ham learn from’s Watford loss to Brighton. dark

Brighton had a rather shocking 3-0 win over Watford last week after spending wisely this offseason, adding exciting and underrated players like Maupay and Mooy to help fill out and improve their team. How can West Ham limit these players from getting on in this upcoming match? Hold possession and attack yourself! Oh, and don’t let Izquierdo shoot from range…