Magnificent and Calamitous — Why West Ham Finally Have Dinos Back

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)

West Ham defender Konstantinos Mavropanos either had a day to forget or a game to remember against Wolves, depending on which way you look at it.

Last season’s Hammer of the Year was well and truly in the thick of everything as West Ham recorded their first Championship victory of the season with a much-needed 4-2 win.

Mavropanos was as magnificent as he was calamitous. He scored one, was unlucky not to add another and then managed to have a hand in both Wolves goals.

There were normally straightforward passes going astray one minute, followed by Dinos rampaging up the pitch and demonstrating the kind of leadership which made him such a favourite last season.

It really was a performance of contradictions.

As I wrote in my West Ham player ratings after the 4-2 victory, I’ve had to balance the good against the bad with Mavropanos.

The Attitude Was Completely Different

But put all of the dramatics and incidents to one side and there was something far more important about Mavropanos’s performance.

His attitude looked completely different.

Dinos has looked poor at the start of this campaign and, in my opinion, correctly lost his place to Airidas Golambeckis.

The youngster took his opportunity brilliantly against Southampton and Watford after Mavropanos failed a late fitness test, giving Nuno a genuine selection decision ahead of Wolves.

Last night was different.

There was aggression, commitment and leadership. He looked like somebody who actually wanted to drag West Ham forward rather than the strangely subdued defender we’d watched during the opening weeks.

Speaking in his post-match interview with West Ham, Mavropanos discussed his return after the injury problem which had disrupted the start of his season.

His satisfaction was summed up by the club’s headline quote:

“It was nice to score and help the team get the win.”

Perhaps there is more merit in the injury explanation than I’d previously considered. Who am I to say? I’m no physician.

But I also thought there was something wrong with his mindset.

He simply hadn’t looked fully committed.

Transfer Deadline May Have Changed Everything

Perhaps Mavropanos had one eye on a West Ham exit.

There was certainly plenty of speculation surrounding his future during the transfer window. In July, Claret & Hugh revealed that West Ham expected Mavropanos to remain despite interest in last season’s Hammer of the Year.

His performances at the start of this campaign hardly suggested a player completely settled on the task ahead.

Maybe the window closing yesterday has allowed him to clear his head and focus fully on what matters now: getting West Ham promoted.

That’s obviously only my interpretation. Mavropanos hasn’t said that himself.

But I’m quite certain about one thing.

The player leading West Ham from the back against Wolves last night looked far closer to last season’s version than the imposter who had been playing for us at the beginning of this campaign.

It certainly wasn’t a flawless performance. Far from it.

But I’d rather have this version of Mavropanos making mistakes while trying to influence the game than the passive one we’d been watching previously.

Welcome back, Dinos.