West Ham United: Ranking the clubs defensive back line

At times, a great disappointment and at other times, a game saver. The defense for West Ham this season has been just that, up and down. So let’s rank them.

The crazy part about the ups and downs of the West Ham defense is that there were also players who everyone thought would turn up but haven’t and then players who were left for dead rise up. So really, in every way imaginable this season the Hammers defense has been a wild ride.

The Hammers have 9 defensive players on their senior team roster so we’ll start there at number 9 and work our way to the best West Ham defender this season with hopes that they will get to finish out this season and push for more consistency.

9th Place

The simple fact that Winston Reid hasn’t seen the senior team pitch all year is why he lands here in 9th place. The once prominent center back has been in a bad way for the better part of a decade with no signs of return imminent.

8th Place

If this were a list of lifetime achievements, then Pablo Zabaleta would be towards the top. However, his only real involvement has been happening on the practice field and not on the pitch. This season will be one to forget for the Argentinian as he will be moving on next year.

7th Place

Fabian Balbuena was the “for sure” answer at CB after Pellegrini plucked him into existence last year but the tides turned early for this Paraguayan. Whether he’s just been overshadowed by Oggy and Diop or he was just playing out of his mind last year… this season has been a wake-up call in a bad way.

6th Place

At the beginning of the campaign, the major position battle was supposed to be Cress vs Arthur Masuaku. Fast forward 28 match-weeks and Masuaku has barely entered the race. Either a product of misplacement or just under deliverance this might not be a fair judgment, but its the one that has been given to him.

5th Place

If it wasn’t for injuries, then we might be talking about Ryan Fredericks being higher up on this list. He caught the injury bug a few times so far and that has hindered his play and skills. It’s far to early to write him off just yet but he will need a good rebound to earn his place back.

4th Place

Issa Diop, like his counterpart Balbuena, has had somewhat of a slumpy year in the center of the defense. He has had moments of greatness followed by some WHAT THE (EXPLETIVE) moments. Thing is, he’s young and only getting better in fact, his worst game is still better than a lot of other CB’s out there at the moment.

3rd Place

There is no way that we would put someone who has only played 4 matches in 3rd place right? Wrong… because Jeremy Ngakia has been that good so far. Arguably being the best defender against Liverpool twice is no small feat and he has stolen the RB show from Fredericks in the process.

2nd Place

As mentioned before the left-back position battle was supposed to be epic. However, the two nominees couldn’t have distanced themselves further apart then they are now. Aaron Cresswell has been lights out in a major rejuvenation season, not only on defense but his attacking presence has been restored and the once Hammer of the Year is shining.

1st Place

There can be no other than Angelo Ogbonna earning the number 1 spot for the West Ham defense this season. Realistically, he might be the overall number 1 as his game has returned from the pits of despair up to one of the first names on the team sheet. Like a fine wine, he has been a pleasant and needed surprise this season.

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The Verdict… is that the West Ham defense despite all of its ups and downs and inconsistencies has some pretty solid members. There may be a huge gap between first and last but somewhere in between there is some hope… they just need to get it right moving forward.

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