The proof of the pudding is in the eating: West Ham’s deadline day signing will need to prove that he is an upgrade on the wobbly Kilman and Mavropanos pairing that has fared so badly in the heart of West Ham’s defence since Lopetegui splashed £40 million on his former Wolves captain.
You cannot help wondering whether West Ham’s nose dive in form and slide toward negative goal difference hasn’t coincided with Kilman’s arrival.
Were things really as bad during Moyes’ tenure?
Whether Axel Disasi’s loan capture will improve the Hammers’ survival chances – or just hasten the slide to the Championship – is examined by the bbc.co.uk in their article today: “will Disasi improve Hammers’ defence?”
Stats aren’t everything and the report points out that Disasi last performed in a more solid Chelsea team so you’d expect him to have the better figures on paper:
“There is evidence Disasi is better on the ball than that trio – although the data may be skewed from playing in better teams – but what the Hammers desperately need is steel and organisation to mend the league’s worst defence.
That’s not to say the Frenchman, who came on as an extra-time substitute in the 2022 World Cup final, can’t provide those qualities and fulfil the promise he showed at Reims and Monaco; talent that convinced Chelsea to shell out £38.5m for him in August 2023.”
Surprisingly, of the trio now available for Nuno, Disasi has the least Premier League experience and his lack of recent game – time is seen by the BBC report as a big question mark:
“Given that he hasn’t played a senior game this season, Disasi doesn’t feel like an entirely convincing solution to the well-documented defensive woes at London Stadium.”
Crucially, Disasi’s aerial duels won, possessions won and completed passing stats are better than Mav, JCT or Kilman, suggesting the Irons did indeed have a defence more suited to a mid table Championship side.
Confidence is all – as Hammers fans saw last week when the 2-0 lead dissolved before our very eyes. We all know Kilman’s confidence is shot and for Disasi, the bar isn’t set very high. Get the aerial challenges in, compete, and put your body on the line. After all, it surely can’t get any worse.
Crucially, we are advised that he will not be fit to play for a month.
We need instant reinforcement.
I’d say Disasi is better than Kilman, on a par with Mavropanos, not as good as Todibo.
For Chelsea seemed to be a forthright defender, certainly never shies away. I’m not sure how mobile he was, I think not, but could see him playing with Todibo (someday) or Dinos, covering with more of a sweeper role. He’ll want to play some football at last.
Maybe he is more Morillo at Forest than Milenkovic. Together, defending a 1-0 lead, central defence was strong & effective, like 2 barn doors being slammed shut.
I think he’s a replacement for Igor isn’t he, as opposed to an upgrade on what we’ve got.
We shipped out a lot of wage bill and brought more in than we spent, bought three forwards in the hope it gets us out of trouble.
Palace spent mean to stay up money, we took a low stakes gamble.
We have improved while Taty and Pedro are able to keep running their socks off, the trouble starts when they flag.
When BFS managed Palace, in January he bought a central defender from Liverpool who had fallen out with Klopp (sorry I forget his name) – the said player then played a big role in helping Palace to survive
Hopefully Disasi can do that for us and then we can decide how to rebuild for next season
Clutching at straws …