‘Horrendous’ was the word a former West Ham United prospect turned Premier League captain used to describe his latest bout of top-flight frustration.
The 29-year-old skipper was right to feel dejected.
Josh Cullen saw all of his hard work undone in the most dissatisfying manner possible. Picking up the ball between the lines during last week’s surprisingly scintillating five-goal thriller with Fulham, the West Ham United academy graduate threaded a lovely pass between the left-back and the centre-half for the onrushing Lesley Ugochukwu to equalise at Craven Cottage.
Only ten minutes later, Cullen could do nothing but stand with his head in his hands as Fulham took the lead again. Calvin Bassey unmarked and unchallenged. Marco Silva’s side, for the second time in the first half, made a set-piece goal look like child’s play.
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Cullen is captaining Burnley in the Premier League these days. But, through no real fault of his own, the Republic of Ireland international looks destined to end the campaign with another relegation on his CV.
Josh Cullen in another relegation battle as former West Ham United kid captains Burnley
At the end of October, Hammers News penned a piece reflecting on the impressive form of the Essex-born regista.
We even wondered if Cullen would be West Ham’s best midfielder, if he was wearing another claret and blue jersey. That, in our defence, was before Freddie Potts made his long-awaited top-flight debut.
Mateus Fernandes has been in ‘sensational’ form from November onwards, too. Soungoutou Magassa is ‘improving’ all the time, as well.
Suddenly, an area of the pitch where West Ham appeared to be at their weakest not so long ago – James Ward-Prowse and Guido Rodriguez started together at Sunderland on the opening weekend, remember – now looks like their best route of picking up a result away to Manchester City this Saturday.
Burnley, meanwhile, have lost seven successive Premier League games since Hammers News raved about Cullen’s classy, commanding performance in a dramatic late win over Wolves. While West Ham continue to trip over their own feet as they look to claw their way out of the relegation zone, Scott Parker’s Clarets appear to have been dragged into Wolves’ slipstream.
The only way is down.
“Horrendous goals to concede,” Cullen said, his face a picture, after that defensive debacle at Fulham.
“Really, really, poor basic defending that we haven’t executed as a team. We have to fix up quick, it’s as simple as that. We need to look at ourselves in the mirror, and see what we as individuals we can do to help the team.”
Cullen’s Premier League win rate is one of the worst in history
Cullen has been here before, of course.
In two top-flight seasons, first under Vincent Kompany and now under Parker, Cullen has played 41 matches. In that time, he has suffered a staggering 27 defeats, winning only six times.
Across his entire Premier League career, including that brief spell in the West Ham first team as a youngster, Cullen’s win rate stands at a brutal 15.8 per cent. In the competition’s history, only eight players have a worse record having played more than 40 matches.
Kenny Miller, formerly of Derby County and Wolverhampton Wanderers, was on the winning side just 10.6 per cent of the time. Elias Kachunga, once of Huddersfield Town and now of Cambridge United, comes in second in a list nobody wants to be part of.
The real frustration, as far as Cullen is concerned, is that such a miserable record is hardly his fault. The former Bradford, Charlton and Anderlecht metronome has not only been Burnley’s standout performer this term, but also one of the few to play with any consistency on a weekly basis.
With his contract running out in 2027, there are a few lower-placed top-flight teams who could benefit from Cullen’s experience, leadership and tidy passing.
Tony Cottee delighted by Freddie Potts and Mateus Fernandes emergence
Upton Park icon Tony Cottee was a major critic of West Ham’s midfield during the end of the Graham Potter era. Unsurprisingly, Cottee is delighted to see Potts and Fernandes thrive now where Ward-Prowse and Rodriguez failed.
“I think he’s done well, Freddie,” Cottee told London World ahead of the trip to Man City. “Magassa coming into the team as well, he’s got legs.
“I think one of the sort of difficulties last season, and certainly at the start of this season, was the lack of athleticism, if you like, in midfield. You need the balance, particularly in midfield.
“But certainly Fernandes has done well since he started playing alongside Freddie Potts, really. I’d like to pay tribute to Freddie, because I think Freddie has made a difference to the team when he’s played. He knits it all together and he gives players like Fernandes a chance to get around the pitch and do what he’s good at.
“As a first choice pairing in the centre midfield, I think Fernandes and Pottsy are the two.”
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