No Parker in the England squad then? I am not surprised personally. Capello saw enough against West Brom to realise why Parker is a very good Prem player but not true England quality. The modern midfield player has to offer quality both defensively and offensively and sadly Parker does not offer enough going forward.
Upson is presumably fit given his inclusion. That's a strange one. Who pays his wages exactly? Not fit enough for us on Saturday but OK to join up with England the next day? Echoes of Period Pains here who strangely overcame the time of the month for Welsh games but was too bleeding injured to appear for us for months on end! I tell you what, had Upson been at Liverpool or United, he would have played on Saturday and missed the England games.
Delighted to see Cole in the squad. To all those Hammers "fans" who knock the guy and seem to delight in him missing one on one chances, stick that in your pipes and smoke it! (Dear me, am I 12 years old all over again?) If Cole pulls on the Three Lions again, I will be cheering him!
And well done to Green. The performance against Blackburn showed why I still have my reservations about him as an England keeper but I accept that few international sides will test his ability under crosses in the same way as Big Spam did.
Three Hammers in the England squad and a World Cup just over 12 months away...is history about to repeat itself? A Carlton Cole hat-trick in the World Cup Final? Stranger things haven't happened!
Although I personally don't care - at all - if our boys make it into the England squad, it's probably good for their confidence and their self esteem so on balance I guess it's OK (unless they get injured in training and never get over it...).
ReplyDeleteNot sure, though, what your point is? Looking at the squad, it's extremely unlikely that Upson will play so it's academic whether he's fit or not.
As for your Carlton glee, isn't it a bit late given that he's already been given a cap by Capello? Surely the point isn't whether he's picked for England, but how blunt our attack has been without him? We have missed him SO much, and all over a red card that should never have been. Anyway, thank the Lord he'll be back for the Sunderland game (unless he gets injured playing for England!) so hopefully a recharged Carlton will give Anton and co plenty to think about.
Any one who doubted Cole's contribution must surely be re-assessing their opinion after the last two games; West Ham stunk without him. He has been the player we can least afford to lose this year and on that basis is my hammer of the year.
ReplyDeleteParker's not my favourite player, but he has been immense for us this year. You're right about his England credentials, but I think his game has benefitted by a decision to play one of the midfield roles well,rather than trying to be Steven Gerrard. In that way he has made himself a better premiership player, but probably forfeited his England aspirations.
ReplyDeleteMark Noble is someone who may benefit from a similar attitude. Pardew persuaded him to add more dynamism to his game and I'm not sure that was a good thing. In the youth team he was a more creative midfielder and he obviously has a good football brain. But that is possibly being diluted by trying to be a holding, tackling, creative, box to box dynamo.
DaDon, my point is that the club have cleared him to join up with the squad so he is presumably fit enough to play whether or not he is selected. He had no idea when declaring himself unfit for our game on Saturday whether or not Terry or Ferdinand would pull up lame at the weekend. Had either done so, he would be in the side. There is no way this would happen with a United or Liverpool player.
ReplyDeleteMy Carlton glee is based on me defending him all season against all the critics who claim to be West Ham fans but seem to be desperate for him to fail for some reason. If he collects a second cap he avoids the "One cap wonder" club of complete no-hopers like Oncecapchesky.
Marty, I agree on both counts. But Pardew's thinking was right because Noble lacks the pace to dribble past players which, apparently, was his "game" until Pardew remodeled him - some might say Pardew "raped" the lad in the process!
Trevor Brooking had no pace, but he could pass people and no-one ever suggested he needed to work more.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm Marty, but would Mr Brooking survive in the modern Prem? I doubt it. Moore yes; Brooking no.
ReplyDeleteRubbish; of course he would. He would have benefitted from the improved diet, fitness etc. the same as anyone else. What he had that very few players have is vision, that passes the test of time.
ReplyDeleteHe had vision but did he have the engine? I don't think so. Trevor always looked as if graft was beneath him. It wasn't diet, it was attitude. Bonds put in 50% of Trev's shift for him. Trev had eight O Levels don't you know, he was raised to expect others to do the donkey work for him.
ReplyDeleteBrooking had the ability to know who was where and where people were going which enabled him to let the ball work for him. so what if he had someone to do his running, great artists don't clean up after themselves. A grafter and a grifter, I'd rather have that central midfield than a pair of generic box to box midfielders. Brooking and Bonds; or Reo-Coker and Parker? I know who I'd prefer.
ReplyDeleteGerrard and Barry or Brooking and Bonds? Lampard and Barry or Brooking and Bonds? Gerrard and Carrick or Brooking and Bonds? Lampard and Carrick or Brooking and Bonds? Now, Hoddle and Robson? Or Gascoigne and Robson? Now we are talking!!!!
ReplyDeleteBrooking and Bonds, Brooking and Bonds, Brooking and Brooking and Brooking and Bonds. Hang on tight son we're picking up speed.
ReplyDeleteDue to a seven year old daughter and a points failure in Bedfordshire, the train will be ten minutes late arriving.
ReplyDeleteI miss Old School Pete.
Old Skool is a merry old soul and a loyal one into the bargain. He will stay true to the org for as long as there is breath in the lungs.
ReplyDeleteOf course Brooking would have survived in the modern game - look at Di Canio. By the time he got to us his pace was gone and he certainly did no defensive duties, yet he was always our best player by miles. Class is class.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Noble 'debate', he is still young and we won't see the best of him for a while. He is immensely versatile, probably still to find his ideal spot, but I reckon his best position is just behind the front two. He is certainly our best (only?) passer of the ball and he has no problem going past people, so I'm not sure where that idea has come from. He may not be super quick but he is no slower than, say, Parker so I don't see why it's an issue.
Noble lacks the pace of Collison and Behrami DaDon. Apparently, he was nearly on the scrap heap based on pace issues until Pardew fashioned a combative midfielder out of a tricksy Joe Cole type. I am only basing that on what Noble himself and Pardew said at the time. I trust them given Noble was confessing to the weakness himself.
ReplyDeleteDi Canio and Brooking are different animals. It is debatable how effective Di Canio actually was. We loved him, but he won nothing throughout his playing career and has a poor goal return for games played. He would not have been an England player if qualifying IMO, or would have collected a handful of caps like Stan Bowles or Charlie George. Three outstanding but trophy-less seasons at West Ham do not a footballing great make. Remember, we went down with him on the books!
Brooking was class, but class in an era where midfield playmakers were not expected to cover every blade of grass. Colin Bell was regarded as something of a freak at the time because he got up and down the pitch all match; Brooking wasn't called a stroller for nothing! Brooking, Currie, Hoddle ... great players but I don't think a modern manager would be able to accommodate them in the lung bursting sauna that is the modern midfield.