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Westham have suffered from an identity
crisis in recent years were still than
their consistently underwhelming results
has been the accompanying lack of
direction and entertainment on show
appointed manager in the summer Manuel
Pellegrini was challenged with turning
this around and restoring the West Ham
way though there are concerns over his
suitability for the task
Pellegrini has not come armed with an
approach as clear as his modern
managerial peers unlike this era SMO of
Merit CEO sorry Jurgen Klopp Skagen
pressing or Pep Guardiola's positional
play there is no term or soundbite to
sum up his style however historically
his teams have played attractive and
attack minded football and while some
felt West Ham summer transfer policy
like their new manager lacked the
desired strategic definition there was
some method behind the madness the most
expensive signing was the 35 million
pounds capture of one-time manchester
united target philippe anderson he like
Andrea Malenko and Lucas Perez was
brought in to provide trickery pace and
precision in the final third while the
midfield was bolstered by the addition
of two technically gifted string pullers
in Jack Wilshere and Carlos Sanchez in
defense the signatures of ISA Diop and
Fabian Valbuena provide Pellegrini with
aggressive and mobile center banks to
operate in a higher line while Ryan
Frederick's is the sort of overlapping
fullback the Chilean loves of these
eight players and fellow new arrival
Lukas Fabian ski only one is under the
age of 25 and that player is deep though
he previously kept in Toulouse during
three full seasons of first team regular
football evidently the aim was not to
simply give Pellegrini individuals with
the technical and tactical qualities to
suit his attacking style but to bring in
experienced players who could perform
immediately unfortunately the start
hasn't been as fast as what was perhaps
planned and that a tough star including
clashes with Liverpool Arsenal Chelsea
and Manchester United
West Ham lost five of their opening
eight Premier League games in spite of
the losses however Pellegrini repeatedly
stated that he would not change his
approach while he modified the system
after a 1 nil defeat of wolves adding an
extra midfielder and moving from 4-2-3-1
to a 433 he has remained committed to
his principles his West Ham side tend to
defend in a 451 mid block with the back
full featuring Bob Werner
Diablos of a letter and
for Massa Waku sitting midway between
the halfway line and their own penalty
box the addition of another central
midfielder has seen Declan rice play
behind mark Noble and Pedro bien
allowing them to apply more pressure in
central areas while both wing has
dropped back to help cover the forward
movement of the opposing fullbacks
offensively
Pellegrini has got West Ham focusing
more on building possession from the
back through short passes and playing
through the opposition's block rather
than over rice stays close to the center
backs to offer a passing option though
noble also drops need to receive
possession from Balboa or deal most of
the team's attacking progression comes
down the wings one of the most over
tactical changes Pellegrini has
implemented has been the introduction of
inverted wingers who cut inside and
dribble our opposition defenses as
opposed to the previously favoured
traditional wingers who used their pace
to hit the byline and cross into the box
Anderson on the left and yaa malenko on
the right are both excellent dribblers
who love to take on their opposite man
come inside and get shots off but
they're also combined with the
overlapping fall backs and out two
central midfielders at times forming
passing triangles with the intention of
releasing a free man down the wing up
front marker and out of itches
transformation from inconsistent winger
to effective line leader has given
Pellegrini the type of striker that he
needs the Austrian roams to connect
attacks as opposed to simply staying on
the shoulder of the last man and looking
to get on the end of crosses or balls
over the top he also drops deep to act
as a focal point for counter-attacks
receiving and bringing one of the wide
men into play there have been some
teething problems with Pellegrini's
style there's been a lack of balance in
defensive transition due to the
advancement of both fullbacks while the
absence of real creativity in midfield
is worrying for a budding possession
base side noble rice and Abu yang are
steady passes but none of them are
particularly penetrative or comfortable
moving ahead of the ball to offer a
forward option the returns from injury
of Wilshire and Manuel loans any later
in the season may go some way to
alleviating this particular issue under
Pellegrini the weekly changes of system
and style that frustrated in recent
seasons are gone defensively the back
fall is set and the low block has been
dropped for a more assertive stance
offensively the full-backs overlap and
combine well with the wingers and the
team looks to build possession more
gradually through the thirds the results
so far may not catch the eye but West
Ham's identity crisis is almost over
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