WHZ View: Aaron Cresswell proves doubters wrong at West Ham
West Ham left-back Aaron Cresswell put in another fantastic display in the 3-0 win over Sheffield United on Monday.
The Hammers moved into the Champions League spaces, briefly, thanks to goals from Declan Rice, Issa Diop and Ryan Fredericks.
Cresswell played his part in the goalscoring, providing a wonderful assist for Diop to head in his first goal of the season. It was the eighth goal that our left-back has set up in the top-flight this campaign.
It’s been great to see his dramatic improvement at West Ham in the past 14 months. Despite winning the Hammer of the Year award in 2015, things were beginning to turn a little sour for Cresswell.
Many fans were calling for him to be replaced in the side, after a string of mistakes and bad performances under Manuel Pellegrini.
Since Moyes has come back, Cresswell has become an integral part of the XI. The boss has focussed heavily on us being tactically sound, in particular, our defending and attacking with set plays.
We’ve scored 12 goals from set-pieces this season, with five of those coming courtesy of Cresswell. In the entire Premier League, only Jack Grealish and Harry Kane have provided more assists for their teammates.
He performed at high standards again against the Blades. Cresswell completed 88% of his passes successfully and won 60% of his defensive duels [WyScout]. He made three interceptions and eight recoveries overall.
Monday’s win was also the ninth time we’ve kept a clean sheet in the league this year. He’s played in each of those matches, be it in a back four playing fullback, or in a back three playing as a left centre half.
Overall, he’s featured in every minute of every game. He’s played the second-most minutes in the top-flight for an outfield player, a huge acclaim. Not bad for a player who was labelled as ‘past it’ before Moyes returned.
The number three has been a fantastic servant to the club since his switch from Ipswich Town in 2014. He’s shown the form this season that won him three England caps between 2015-2016.
With some big clashes coming up, Moyes will be looking to Cresswell to lead the backline in the absence of Angelo Ogbonna. The next five games will be the difference between us being in the push for Europe or falling short.
In other West Ham news, Ravel Morrison said he would have never left east London had he been given the choice to stay.