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Hammers Gruesome Twosome Set For The long Term

nevillenixon's picture
Submitted by nevillenixon on Tue, 02/10/2018 - 23:28

Winston Reid and James Collins at their zenith as defenders were a formidable duo for West Ham, however Reid sustained an unfortunate injury towards the end of last season that followed on from what had increasingly become a regular series of injuries involving a lengthy lay off and recovery period. Collins' contract that had expired was not renewed and a bright new future was envisaged, however the early results meant that the new players brought in by Manuel Pellegrini were under the microscope and there were calls for Collins to be re-instated once news of him 'keeping fit' with the first team was made public.

Fast foward a couple of weeks and the centre back pairing of Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena is being drooled over by fans and pundits alike, and rightly so. Diop's £22 Million price tag raised a few eyebrows on his arrival whereas Balbuena crept under the radar at a ridiculously low £3.75 Million. Both players took a while to adjust to the rigours and style of the Barclays Premier League, but both have taken to it with aplomb, their combined performances over the last three Premier League games have been imperious, beaten manager Jose 'Sourinho' was moved to say what a monster Diop was.

The defeated Manchester United manager might well have mentioned that Balbuena was also a 'Beast' and between the Beast and the Monster they hardly gave the visitors a sniff at goal, some marriages are made in heaven and some in hell, but the Diop Balbuena defensive partnership could quite seriously help the club finally reach the level to which it has aspired to for so many years.

A rock solid defence is what all great teams are built upon, and in Diop and Balbuena, abely backed up by Fabianski in goal and the ever improving Declan Rice, the future looks bright, brighter than it has been for many a year. Diop and Balbuena are both on long term deals, Rice is expected to sign a new five year deal in the next few days and along with the previously mentioned others could go on to help form the spine of the team for many a year.

It's just a pity that this 'rise from the ashes' that the club is currently experiencing might not happen in enough time for Mark Noble and Pablo Zabaleta before both of whom, who royally deserve to see some real sucess, hang up their boots! - Ed

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nevillenixon's picture

I don't think it was about the money, rather not offering ginge another contract was more about the amount of players that a club is allowed to have registered I believe, I might be wrong though!

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162 users have voted.
Dartford Bhoy's picture

watched him in the friendly verses Wycombe, I thought he was shocking and a real pig in a poke. Eating humble pie now as the guy gets better with each game... good on him!

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99 users have voted.

what a player he is turning out to be i hope they they get his new contract sorted as i'm sure the big money clubs are watching him .I also under stand that he is waiting to see if he gets picked for the England senior team which i hope he does ,as Ireland are waiting in the wings

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