Throughout the summer I was stressing the need to get the squad sorted before the season kicked off but poster after poster on here told me to calm down, to have faith, insisting that we had until the end of the window to sign the players that we needed. I always insisted that this was a ridiculous response because points lost at the start of the season could never be reclaimed and now Zoila has come out and said it - two bloody months too late!
I quote Nice Guy Zola: "I couldn't play the same formation twice in a row because of injuries, but I used the time to see the quality of the players and I'm getting to a point where I know exactly where the players can play". Hello? Isn't that what the pre season friendlies are for? Here we are two months into the season and Zola has been working out where exactly the players can play! It's a good job we didn't have a doubt over Green otherwise Diamanti might have been tried on goal!
To be frank, I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life! Imagine if Roeder had said that half way through October! The fans would have been demanding he be sacked before he had finished the sentence.
Zola also moans that he hasn't been able to play the same "formation" for two games in a row because of injuries - well Curbishley's heart must be bleeding for him! Actually, he hasn't been able to play the same defensive unit because he allowed the Board to sell Collins, a criminal decision as is being proved. Zola has kept insisting that he wants a smaller squad and is happy with the make up of the present group, so how dare he whinge about injuries? Let's remember that he sent Davenport to Coventry (and Sunderland) and tried to offload Boa-Morte to Hull, so he can't really moan about the unavailability of those two. He made no attempt, it seems to me, to sign an experienced left back, seeming to believe that Ilunga would never get injured, and accepted a situation where he only had Faubert, another player he didn't want, to play at right back. Who made the decesion to buy Kovac? Presumably Zola could have said, no to him, which might have meant that we could have retained Collins!
But it gets worse. Do you remember when Redknapp arrived at Spurs he asked, if Pavlova and Bent can't play together, what fool signed them? Well according to Zola, there were doubts about whether Franco and Cole could link up when the General was signed. I quote Zola when asked if the two can start in the same team: "there were doubts but having seen Franco in training I think they can build a good partnership. It depends on the circumstances." And what circumstances might they be exactly? They are either suited to play alongside each other or they are not! Unless the circumstances are a home draw against Bournemouth in the FA Cup! It seems as if Zola still doesn't know who can do what yet! We are two months into the season for God's sake!
But we haven't reached the icing on the cake yet! What did we all say we needed before the season kicked off? A finisher, a fox in the box to feed off of Cole, somebody who could take advantage of Cole's brilliant target man play...that is what we all said isn't it? We all agreed, didn't we, that the one weakness in Cole's games is his finishing? Put a fit and in form Michael Owen or Defoe alongside Cole and he would be mustard we said! We did, didn't we? Well apparently we were wrong! According to Zola, Franco is "a very intelligent player, he's very skillful and he can link up with the midfielders" (like Jimenez and Diamanti were supposed to be!) whilst Cole...well, and I quote Zola verbatum, Carlton Cole, according to Zola is "a finisher"! Oh dear God, so Carlton was the fox in the box we have been craving all along! I think I need to lie down! But I can't, Ashton is flat out on my sofa!
But wait, wait, wait, it gets still worse! Talking about our offensive play, Zola says, "The plan is to have people joining in at the last minute and it worked very well last year". Worked very well last year? We averaged a goal a game under Zola last year! How exactly, is that working very well? Concede a goal and the most you can hope for is a draw and a share of the points! But it gets better yet! Why did it work so well last year? Hang on, you'll love this, it worked very well last year, according to Zola because.."we had Di Michele and other players making runs close to him". That would be the same Di Michele that contributed a grand total of four goals would it? And the same Di Michele that Zola decided was surplus to requirements when the season ended? Suddenly it all makes sense doesn't it! We averaged as many as one goal a game because we had Di Michele and without him, unless Franco works out, we can't even hope for that many!
If you don't have a conscience, load every penny you have on us going down. Based on this interview, Zola doesn't have a clue I'm afraid!
10 comments:
Spoken like a true West Ham Fan!!
Piss off a support Chelsea you Muppet.
A highly intelligent response. What bits do you disagree with exactly? Is Carlton a finisher, was Di Michele a success? Was it sensible to let him go if he was so crucial? Should we be using Premiership games to work out where players can play?
your beginning to repeat yourself now, fair enough you have your own opinions but what annoys people is you always post negative posts before and after games, how does that help the team? and now you are banging on about zola being cluless and raising points you have raised a dozen times already.
james collins is an average defender, he got ripped a new arsehole by the mighty 44 year old jari litmanan and the fins. and before that he had a shocker against blackburn and was just ok against man city, do you watch other teams games? has it never ocured to you the reason we are shipping goals is because more importantly lucas neill has gone, yes james was a good player for us but he was between lucas and matty.
most of your compliants seem to totally ignore the fact we are on the verge of bankrupcy, this isn't champ manager where you can add a few hundred million and get the best players in the world with a click of the finger. we sign players like di michele because its all we can afford, we sell players like collins because we need the money. and as for carlton cole he kept us up last year and without him we looked awful even with james collins and a 442 formation. yes? do you remember that far back.
as for kovac, he is shocking, but we needed cover at the back more than in midfield so i myself don't get that one, other than we tried and failed and he was a last resort again because we are skint.
so unless you have a hundred million to pump into the team or your a former manager at the highest level then you can't really judge someone that is.
i know you will never get behind the team, maybe your to scared but repeating negative vibes just before the game and just after every game we dont win like clockwork then you sir are part of the very problem you yourself are constantly moning about. your a bloody perpetual contradiction
Anonymous, argue with reason mate. Everyone has an opinion but there's no point slagging each other off or you'll never get someone to see your point of view. It is the reason why Dale's site is on the decline. Anyone with a differing or critical point of view there just gets ganged-up on by Dale and his cronies and hounded out. They'll soon resemble the match of the day couch where everyone just taps each other on the bum and agrees....lawrenson, hanson and shearer.
HF, I think zola needs to start being more ruthless. You rightly say that prem games shouldnt beused to test where someone can playand in thesame way they shouldnt be used to see if someonecan cut it. Mark Noble should have been benched time ago but zola has been far too loyal. The best managers, fergy, capello, mourinho, never allow favouritism to getin the way.
Completely agree that getting rid of collins was a mistake. O'neill probably cant believe his luck. Gabbidon needs to come straight in as tomkins is clearly not ready. He seems slow between the ears as he is on the pitch.
Jimenez has flattered to decieve. He's supposed to be an international class player. I really hope he improves.
He also needs to go to a simple 4-4-2 because we have just been defending all season since as soon as the ball goes up to cole, it comes back because no one's around him to help. Carrying noble in midfield doesnt help which is probably why we have to have a 5 man midfield.
So, three changes and we'll look much better; tomkins and noble off and revert to a uncomplicated 4-4-2.
1107, this isn't about me, I'm not picking the bloody team. How do you think the players will react to this confession of indecision bordering on incompetence from Zola? If I am a player I'm thinking, well I know where I play and what I can do, so why doesn't he? What is he experimenting in key Premiership games for? And if I'm Cole, I'm thinking, hang on, I thought I was the Heskey in the team, not the Owen! How comes I spend every game receiving the ball with my back to goal within 15 yards of the half way line with nobody around me? And if I'm reading this as Di Michele, I'm thinking, so why did he let me go?
What this screams is that Nani is supplying Zola with players who he doesn't know how to use!
Can i ask a question that everyone still wants to know??
How many games you been to this season???
good no note that your blog is such a worthless pile of shit that the players!no less get all wimpy and undermined when they read it before a game Perhaps you should start a new blog entitled 'teamtalk'with a lovely positive message for the little darlings prior to kickoff
1156 Eight and half inches. Sorry, did I read the question incorrectly?
Deane, the management, the team, all the fans in the ground and the Board of directors read this blog just before every kick off. It is carried on all the big screens and on the plasma screens in the dressing room. It is entirely down to this blog that fans have started to talk about relegation and that the teams' headfs go down when they find that 4-3-3 isn't working within ten minutes of kick off. Diamanti would have five goals already but for this blog. Green would never have been sent off if not for this blog. Ashton and Dyer would have played every minute of every game if not for this blog. This blog bankrupted West Ham. This blog is at fault for Curbishley walking and for Zola's 4-3-3 tactics not working. Boa-Morte would have topped the Premiership scoring charts last season if this blog had shown him more support! Christiano Ronaldo would be a West Ham player now if not for this blog! It goes on and on and on. Swine flu? This blog. Credit Crunch? This blog. Gordon Brown? This blog. Behrami's injury? This blog. James Bond is on my case as I type!!!!!
Same old, same old.
Heard it before.
We get it.
We can see it.
So sack Zola and Clarke and pay them off with what?
Selling Parker?
Buy new players in January... with what?
Selling Upson and Green?
You talk of the debt we are in and the dire situation with Straumour and then expect somebody to wave a magic wand and fix what we have.
You write utter tripe about Eggy and Curbs like they are still here... I would say Nani is more responsible for the acquisition of players (remember Curbs going because of it) and no wonder Zola can't figure out what to do with Serie A/B fringe players...
Carlton may not be the 'finisher' you dream of or a 'fox in the box' but he's playing 30 yards ahead of our blinding new system at the moment so what do you expect?
Just give it a rest for once.
Post a Comment