Brothers Rio and Anton Ferdinand know from experience the unique pressure that comes with representing West Ham United in the Premier League.
A club where absolutely nobody expects a title tilt. Where a European charge is welcomed but not demanded. But also a club with a proud history, a vocal fanbase, and a sense that they should be competitive at the very least on the Premier League stage.
Heading into the final matchday of another underwhelming campaign, the highest West Ham United can finish is a disappointing 14th place. Albeit any frustration would be offset to an extent by the prospect of landing above both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Graham Potter’s side signed off at the London Stadium with a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
What should have been a fond farewell to Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal and Aaron Cresswell, then, descended into yet another afternoon of frustration.
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Rio Ferdinand cannot understand West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell call
Fabianski hit out at Potter after the veteran goalkeeper was left on the bench.
At least Aaron Cresswell – former West Ham captain Declan Rice led the tributes a few days prior – walked off to a standing ovation when his number three flashed up on the fourth official’s board for the very last time.
Yet, the Hammers bosses put their foot in it once again when it emerged that Aaron Cresswell is likely to be denied a testimonial despite eleven years of loyal claret and blue service.
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A decision which left a very bitter taste in the mouth of one Rio Ferdinand.
“He didn’t even get a testimonial! What is going on there?,” an irate Rio Ferdinand asks. “He’s been there eleven years. How is he not getting a testimonial?
“People talk about loyalty, yeah. If a man has been there for eleven years of his life and they say, you know what, the send-off he gets on the last day of the season will be; ‘Well done, thanks a lot’.
“Where’s the testimonial?”
One-time Upton Park chief Alan Pardew summed it up well when paying tribute to an ‘outstanding’, modern-day West Ham favourite.
The club’s newly-crowned Young Player of the Year Ollie Scarles labelled Cresswell an ‘inspiration’, meanwhile, hoping to stay in touch as the teenager looks to nail down a left-back spot his elder made his own over a decade in South London.
Anton Ferdinand fears a lack of experience at West Ham United
Between them, Cresswell, Fabianski and Coufal gave nearly a quarter of a century’s worth of service to the Hammers, while also making over 750 appearances combined.
Michail Antonio could leave too when his contract expires, while Tomas Soucek has held talks with Leeds and Everton.
And Anton Ferdinand, who followed in his older brother’s footsteps while rising through the ranks to become a first-team regular at West Ham, cannot help but feel concerned about the potential departures of five highly-experienced players who have come to know this most eccentric of clubs inside and out.
Photo by Tom Jenkins/Getty Images
Photo by Tom Jenkins/Getty Images
“[Losing these players is] the thing that, as a fan, scares me with West Ham,” admits former Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers defender Ferdinand.
“I personally would have kept [Cresswell] for the basis of experience, knowing what it takes to play for this football club. You have to be mentally strong to play for West Ham. You have to be.
“As much as we were a yo-yo club for many years, there are demands from the football club and the fanbase. They demand certain things of you. And I think we don’t have many people in the dressing room who understand it.
“I think that’s where we may struggle.”