West Ham are out of the relegation zone after a hard fought 1-1 draw against Man City – and they had two signings made by the much-maligned Tim Steidten to thank for it.
The Hammers have risen above Nottingham Forest into 17th place, level on points with 16th-placed Spurs.
It is just the third time all season West Ham have climbed out of the bottom three of the Premier League.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will now be hoping they can stay there at the perfect time with eight games to go of the season.
Steidten flops now look like bargains as West Ham climb into safety zone
West Ham showed their new-found resilience as they came back from 1-0 down to level through a Konstantinos Mavropanos header from a Jarrod Bowen corner.
Hammers News revealed Nuno planned to switch to a back five for Man City, in the hope of earning a positive result.
Finish this sentence!
Mavropanos' performance is the best by a West Ham defender since… ?
Those tactics paid off because that’s exactly what the Irons did, digging in against a Man City onslaught to earn a precious point.
And it was two signings made by ridiculed former technical director Tim Steidten who made all the difference.
Mavropanos has been a figure of frustration at West Ham since Steidten brought him over from Stuttgart in a £17.5m deal.
The towering Greek has all the attributes to be a top Premier League defender and Hammers cult hero.
But an infuriating tendency to make costly errors has seen him in and out of the team since he arrived.
Jean-Clair Todibo has also been hugely disappointing for the most part since Steidten flew to Nice on a private plane to convince him to join West Ham in a deal which ultimately cost the club £35m.
Todibo has admitted Nuno is finally getting a tune out of him at West Ham and it is showing on the pitch.
Mavropanos and Todibo the 10/10 heroes for Hammers
‘When you get past one, there’s another one there’ was the perfect description of West Ham’s central defensive trio Todibo, Mavropanos and Axel Disasi by TNT Sports commentator Darren Fletcher.
Since Paco Jemez’s arrival, West Ham have tightened up defensively and this hard-earned draw was the perfect example of that.
Who was West Ham’s MOTM vs Man City and why?!
It has been quite the week for Mavropanos, sticking away the winning penalty in the FA Cup like a seasoned striker and then earning his side a point against Man City at both ends of the pitch.
Steidten was sacked ahead of last year’s January transfer window and has been heavily criticised for his use of the club’s funds when he was in charge of recruitment.
Suddenly two of Steidten’s buys Todibo and Mavropanos looked like bargains as they put in their best performances yet for the Hammers by keeping Man City at bay.
If this point proves to be the one which keeps West Ham up then both players have paid for themselves three times over given the riches that come with being aboard the Premier League gravy train.
Former Hammer Joe Cole says Mavropanos put in one of the best defensive performances he has seen all season.
He’s not wrong either.
Todibo and Disasi were just as good and while West Ham were, to a man, brilliant all over the pitch.
The three centre-backs and goalkeeper Mads Hermansen were the stars of the show, though, helping secure what could be one of the most priceless points of the Premier League run-in.
Another £500k bargain buy from Steidten, Mohamadou Kante, came on and shone at the death to show the future is bright for West Ham if they can stay up.
If the Hammers do survive then it may just change the view of Steidten’s legacy at the club.
West Ham player ratings vs Man City:
Hermansen: 9/10, Wan-Bissaka: 9/10, Mavropanos: 10/10, Todibo: 10/10, Disasi: 9/10, Diouf: 8/10, Soucek: 8/10, Fernandes: 8/10, Bowen: 8/10, Pablo: 7.5/10, Castellanos: 6/10.
Subs: Traore: 7/10, Magassa: 7/10, Kante: 7/10.
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