Rangers may have been held at bay but West Ham looked far from the finished article yesterday with little prowess in the centre of the pitch or going forward. Without last season’s two top performers that should come as no surprise to anyone, least of all the management.
However perhaps looking at the game through a different lens, there was a slightly more positive slant which could be placed on the Irons’ performance – especially that of last season’s defensive discard Max Kilman.
Kilman endured a terrible season after starting badly and was replaced by loanee Axel Disasi
Unofficially suggested as the man of the match (according to a straw poll of hammers chat viewers after their watch-along), Kilman looks to have progressed quietly in pre season this summer after his confidence took a massive nose dive after a string of shaky Premeir League starts.
Nuno famously – and wisely – turned to loanee Axel Disasi instead, leaving the Hammers £40 million man on the bench for virtually all of the second half of the season.
With Disasi long gone, The lack of an alternative might just give Kilman a run in the team in the first few games within the Championship: Less a form rediscovery, more likely the defender has simply found his level in the second tier.
Perhaps he can confound his Claret and Blue critics – me included – if he can follow up the quiet, calm and unassuming role he’s adopted in pre-season and keep out the best that the championship has to offer.
Much like goal keeper Mads Hermansen, the player looks more comfortable at this level than in the top tier, and could yet prove a useful member of Nuno’s squad this year. With teenage centre back Airidas Golambeckis sitting ready and waiting on the bench, the Hammers do still need a ‘fourth man’, but one who might yet get to sit out the season if Kilman can keep up the levels he’s shown in pre-season.
You have to be joking. First he hasn’t yet played at Championship level. He’ll get bullied for fun in that league. It’s brutal and Kilman just doesn’t have the right demeanour for the the kind of blood and guts confrontations he’ll be facing. Someone else said it here: his distribution is laughable – 90% side and back passing; spends far too long on the ball, when they need to be moving it quickly. Scarles is the same.
I have to say though, that with Lamadrid and Kanté in midfield (who were both dreadful against Rangers), Kilman wasn’t given many opportunities to push the ball through the middle.
After being quite optimistic about the coming season, the Rangers game made it crystal clear that, if they don’t make some decent signings, mid-table is the best they can hope for.
Whya are we keeping players we should be allowing to leave.
i dont think they done to bad never looked like scoreing if i was the rangers manager id be more concerned but how strong a team they put out i dont know ,i think there finish in top 3 im a birmingham fan and there finish above us ,reason i watched the game iv ad a good bet on west ham so there my first choice need couple strikers and another midfielder and should be ok thats my take on them ,i know cant read to much into friendies but any game against scotish teams is more than a friendly
he can’t defend against any pace in any league, unless he’s got a new set of legs in the past 3 months.
His distribution from the back is appalling and for a so called top class defender he spends so much time on his backside it’s unbelievable. just look how many pens he gave away last season because he was on the floor.
Terrible defender..
Kilman was awful defensively at Rangers. How can a £40m defender who is 6ft 3ins tall constantly be outjumped in our box? Shocking player
If’s and but’s great if he’s turned the corner but there’s a question mark.
If all goes t!ts up and transfer season is finished defence will struggle (especially if there’s injuries).
Need all players hitting the ground and staying running.
Tomori or Harwood-Bellis are better bets.
I don’t want to just knock the guy for the sake of it, because like him or not we are gonna need him to be back to his best. But He didn’t do much wrong but didn’t do much right or have much to do IMO. But I thought his distribution was really poor when he tried to make a pass and 99% of the time stuck to 3 foot sideways or backward passes. Lastly I didn’t see him win a header. Dinos distribution wasn’t great either but did complete a few decent cross field balls.and definitely won some headers. Maybe he did more than what I noticed. I know we are looking for positives to take from an awful match I just didn’t feel it was one.
Really ….. are you having a laugh?
While this would be good Rangers are not a Championship team and this was a friendly. What you say may be true but let’s judge when the season starts.
i watched the game missed first 10 minutes trying to find it im a birmingham fan but ad a good bet on west ham and i dont think they done to bad they got a couple of donkeys still but out both mangers views i think west ham came out more postive but dont know how strong a team rangers put out i dont read to much into friendlys but any game against scotish teams dont end up like a kick about ,get couple decent strikers in and a midfielder or so and i think there be up there and will finish above blues who should inprove on last season top 3 for me hopefully 1st
Dont rely on Kilman Our club is so negative thinking and cheap