Lukasz Fabianski Solid, if Unspectacular For West Ham in 2019/2020

An injury-riddled campaign and a few high profile gaffes ensured that Super Fabianski fell short of the lofty standards that he established during the previous season, but ultimately 2019/20 was a respectable year for the Polish stopper.

For an outsider looking in, it would be difficult to understand how a goalkeeper who allowed 55 goals in 38 appearances would be the overwhelming winner of the Hammer of the Year Award as West Ham’s most important player in 2018/19. But that season was one of the scenarios where statistics only told a portion of the story.

Lukasz Fabianski was an absolute rock for the Irons during Pellegrini’s first campaign and was a calming influence for a squad that was attempting to play a more attacking style and far too often looked lost defending their own goal. The man bailed out his teammates so frequently that his brilliance came to be expected.

Going into the 2019/2020 campaign, expectations were that West Ham was going to kick on and finally challenge for a European position and the next level that had been promised to supporters when the club made the fateful move to the London Stadium. While there were shortcomings with the squad, Super Fab seemed capable of being the difference-maker in many matches.

More from Green Street Hammers - West Ham

He started the season off strong, and after defeating Manchester United 2-0 on September 22nd, the Irons were joint third and the preseason goal of European nights looked like they might not be so unrealistic after all. But a week later against Bournemouth disaster struck as Fabianski injured his hip while taking a goal kick, and supporters held their breath for the injury prognosis.

After learning that Fabianski would be out over 3 months, the season took an absolute turn for the worse when Roberto entered the goal. The club and the rest of the Premier League learned just how important the stellar play of Super Fab had been to West Ham’s form since the beginning of the previous season. Not to mention that Roberto lacked any of the intangibles and shot-stopping ability that made his counterpart so great.

Fabianski returned near the end of December for Pellegrini’s last match in charge and the first two of David Moyes 2.0, before re-aggravating his hip injury in another scare. Finally returning for good at the end of January, Super Fab would play every minute down the stretch as West Ham secured Premier League safety.

He had an absolute howler of a match at Anfield in late February, as West Ham looked set to take at least 1 if not 3 points from the eventual champions, as well as a few other gaffes down the stretch including a goal on the last day to Jack Grealish. As captain Mark Noble said after the match at Anfield though, “He came in and said ‘sorry’ but, for me, I don’t like it. I don’t want him to do that because he has saved us many a time.”

Ultimately, Fabianski was quite solid for the Irons as they turned the season around after the Southampton match in late February. I personally think he fell victim to the standards he had set during the previous season when he avoided high profile mistakes and quite often carried the team on his back to victory.

Next. 3 Left Backs that would solve West Ham’s problem. dark

Season Grade: B

There will be lots of clamours to begin looking for Fabianski’s eventual replacement, and I don’t think that’s a bad idea because the competition is incredibly important in the modern game. At the same time, while Fabianski is getting older, goalkeepers tend to play at a high level well into their 30’s. Hopefully, with a clean bill of health Super Fabianski will return to the consistently high level of play he exhibited during his first season in East London.