Right, if you want the positive stuff, read the half time report. I finished that by asking what could go wrong second half but even I, imbued with pessimism from watching West Ham for 40 years, didn't see us losing the last 30 minutes of the game 3-0 after taking a five goal lead. And I tell you what, if Nugent had tucked away his two easy chances, it could have been 5-5!
What does Zola say at half time for God's sake? Whatever it is, it should be bottled and marketed as a weapon of mass destruction. Had he dropped that on the American and British forces massed on the borders of Iraq, Saddam would be alive today, having won his mother of all battles!
How the Hell are we going to keep the Mancs at bay next week after this? Burnley were running through us at will second half. Ask me who was to blame and I would struggle to put my finger on it though. Until we gave up, because that's what we did, we were looking rock solid. Then Coyle woke up, put two up front and moved Eagles to the left. Instantly, Spector looked what he is, out of his depth in the Premiership. How laughable was it is see Faubert sent on to protect his replacement, only for both to be turned inside out when Eagles ran at them for the first time? Don't shout it too loudly but I think Faubert tripped the ex Man Utd man as he ran into the box. It was obvious before the season started that we needed a right back so why didn't we buy one? Again you have to ask, why buy Kovac when the crying need was patently elsewhere.
Were our central defenders at fault? No, I don't think so. I think Da Costa and Gabbidon had goodish games, but still we shipped three, with the third conceded after Burnley were reduced to 10 men. How? How is that possible? What the hell is going on? It now seems that we need to score four times to win at game!
So is it the midfield? I think so. I think Parker is surging further forward and so is not offering defensive protection, whilst Kovac is, like Spector, out of his depth. The guy is a slow thinker defensively, does not track runners, and cannot time a tackle. Turn to his left and all he does is put out a foot and fall backwards. Meanwhile, neither Collison nor Stanislas offer protection to their fullbacks, being young, inexperienced and indisciplined.
Look at Zola's face at the end: he was furious. After sixty minutes, everything in the garden was rosy and the confidence was pulsing back through the veins; by the end, it felt like we had lost. Burnley will be in the bottom six by the end of the season and we could have left this game with a net 10 plus goal difference advantage over one of our main rivals. Instead it is only a net 4 and Burnley, not ourselves, left the field feeling upbeat. Ferguson will watch the video of this game and will be licking his lips. Rooney, Berbatov, Giggs and Valencia will be looking to fill their boots next week!
Basically Zola took Franco off too early and so left us with no out ball. From that moment, we were hopelessly stretched as a team, and at the very time when we needed to be compact. God help us if Cole and Franco are both missing because Hines and Jimenez are too leightweight to play together, even against Burnley. Yes it was a lovely goal from Franco, yes Parker set up the penalty beautifully and Jimenez achieved a 9.9 for style as he flew through the air to win the penalty, and yes we could have had two more penalties but the Mancs aren't going to defend like Burnley and will be a darn site more potent going forward. If Burnley and Hull can put 3 past us, and Everton can score twice with two shots, what chance do we stand against a team with genuine international class strikers?
Yes I know this is negative; believe you me, after 60 minutes I did not expect to be writing an article in this vein, but we were awful in the last 30 minutes, just as we were awful for 30 minutes against Hull and awful for 45 minutes against Sunderland. If you are that bad for half an hour in each game, you are going to be relegated! Meanwhile, Hull have got a point at Man City, Wigan have recovered from a nine goal mauling to beat Sunderland with a clean sheet and Bolton have drawn at Fulham! So we are still 4th from bottom! Still at least Pompey let in four - against our next opponents Man Utd!
Oh dear God, I don't think I can watch next week!
Player Ratings: First 60 minutes: Green 6; Spector 6, Da Costa 7, Gabbidon 7, Ilunga 6; Collison 8, Kovac 6, Parker 10, Stanislas 7; Franco 10, Cole 6
Player Ratings last 30 minutes: Green 6; Spector 1, Da Costa 6, Gabbidon 6, Ilunga 3; Collison 3, Parker 8, Kovac 1, Stanislas 3, Jimenez 4, Hines 5 Sub Faubert 3
I think we actually need Behrami back in the right back slot for United.
ReplyDeleteIm curious to see what Clarkey made of this fiasco.
HF, you'll give yourself heart problems mate! I thought it was entertaining no?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I think with Cole and Franco going off, the ball kept coming back towards our end much more frequently. Our front men didn't hold on to it and our midfield wasn't clever enough to realise and help back.
Very good performance from Gabbidon. Kovac was good too, hopefully our fans will give him a easier time from now on.
Parker was awesome. You'd still have Barry ahead of him HF?
Can't wait to see Carlton give Vidic a few problems.
I disagree on Kovac Stani. The guy made a couple of good passes, including for the first penalty, but his distribution was poor for most of the game and defensively he is a liability! Behrami at right back is an interesting idea but I don't think it will happen. He will be right midfield with Collison back on the left.
ReplyDeleteOne other point. Stanislas scored with a shot from the right and made Franco's header with a cross from the right. Tell me, why does Zola persist with him on the left?
What a mug! Only you could moan after winning a game like that! Did you not enjoy it sitting on your little chair in front of your computer? Its 3 points and we scored 5 goals! What on earth are your expectations? We are west ham utd and thats how our games have always been and thats why i love supporting them! Sorry to write whilst you're watching your beloved team on espn! By the way, hows james collins playing tonight? Oops, hes injured for a change! Maybe thats why we sold him, having only started 19 league games in 2 seasons? (07/08 & 08/09)
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Check out the comments on the Org, I'm not alone in being concerned. You are the mug if you are not worried about what happened out there in the last 3o minutes. Why weren't you at the game by the way?
ReplyDeleteExcuse me? Just because you dont go to games, dont tar everyone with the same brush as you! It must be so exciting for you watching games on your pc with mother bringing you tea and custard creams every half hour! Have you never wanted to actually go to a game or are you too scared to go out in public! You know your doctor can send you to speak to someone about your issues? Maybe you should give him a call on monday when mother's not around? So what you got to say about james collins then? Or did you forget about that?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. Jimenez doesn't seem to care, Kovac is way too slow, Parker should always be allowed to surge forward, Ilunga looks slow, Spector makes rash decisions...We need stability and calmness at the back.We needed Diamanti's quick skills to maintain the desire, danger and passion in mid-field once we were protecting the lead. And why would Zola bring on Faubert when steadiness on defense was needed??
ReplyDeleteHF,
ReplyDeleteI think Kovac has been decent for quite a while now but people just need someone to diss. It's a shame he gets stick and people like Noble seam to almost be beyond criticism to some fans. When Noble has a poor showing all the excuses come out, new father, just back from injury, just back from international duty, he's a hammer through and through, give him time he's young, etc. Though he wouldn't be in my first team, I would rather have Kovac do a job in midfield than Noble.
Don't know if we can sacrifice Behrami at right back as he gives us so much in midfield. If Upson is fit, I'd push either Gabbidon or Dacosta to the right and have one of them and Upson centrally.
As for Stan, it may well be that he prefers the left so that he can cut in and shoot which he does like to do.
I totally agree with you. Jimenez doesn't seem to care, Kovac is way too slow, Parker should always be allowed to surge forward, Ilunga looks slow, Spector makes rash decisions...We need stability and calmness at the back.We needed Diamanti's quick skills to maintain the desire, danger and passion in mid-field once we were protecting the lead. And why would Zola bring on Faubert when steadiness on defense was needed??
ReplyDelete1846, you are very sad. As it happens, my mother is very ill in hospital at the moment and her grandchildren are very upset about it. My son looks in on this blog so your comments are in incredibly bad taste. Moron.
ReplyDeleteI think your blog is bad taste, but opinions are like you, i mean arseholes, we all have one!
ReplyDeleteDidn't Gabbidon play right back in his youth? With Upson fit would that be an option?
ReplyDeleteAnybody think Spector might offer a little cover in front of the defence while Parker goes forward. (God to have two or three more like him).
I thought Jimenez took his penalty well but most of the time he reminds me of Faubert last season - fearful and out of his depth.
Thought the first 20 minutes before we scored BURNLEY were dominating play and had the better opportunities to score.Then we began to find our rhythm and started to find COLE and FRANCO,to bring them more into the game.He has impressed me FRANCO in the last two games I have seen him play and deserved his start.PARKER in his attacking midfield role was on fire,I think he enjoys that role more than the holding role,very impressed with his surging runs going forward.No one else really stood out apart from in a negative way our defence,our holding midfielder KOVAC and the team in general, defending as a unit.What makes me really nervous is the way our centre backs hang on to the ball when building from the back,they take so long finding a pass.Often it has to be rushed because the oppositions forwards are down their throats.WTF is that all about?
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if im wrong here, but didnt you predict we would struggle to score goals this season? Now only the top 4 + liverpool have scored more than us! Ok, we concede goals, but thats what west ham do and always have done! Just thought id mention it! It was 3pts today and an excellent game, thats shows me its back to the good days! And yes, we'll probably lose 5-3 next week, but so what! I support west ham utd knowing whats on offer and always look forward to the next game because you just never know whats going to happen! Perhaps you should support chelsea or man utd if your expectations are different! Theres enough negativity against west ham in the press so either support the team or just shut up!
ReplyDelete2007, I will answer your point in an article tomorrow. In a sense, it is valid but you are simply displaying your lack of understanding of the game in making it, as I will explain tomorrow. For now, am I surprised by the number of goals we have scored? Of course. But it is very easily explained if you look at the number of goals we have conceded. There is a mid way point you know!
ReplyDeleteYep I said we would struggle to score but COLE has hit good form and ZOLA'S change of formation has given him more help up front with the 4-4-2.FRANCO has impressed me of late and with the introduction of DIAMANTI also we are beginning to show good attack.Defending is another story.As far as getting used to the WESTHAM way,as you put it,thats something that I will never do.You may be happy with our seasons ending up as a damp squib,butI want to see our team win trophies and ZOLA have years of success.We have been far too long in the doldrums ,its about time we had something to cheer about.
ReplyDeleteWell said Essex. Of course, according to our anonymous friend, that makes you a glory hunter, a Spud or a would be Manc. The thing is, I am old enough to remember when we did win things once a decade. That was ok. Once in thirty years is taking the piss out of the fans in my opinion!
ReplyDeleteAnd anonymous, I've just noticed that this is currently the most read game report on the News Now board. Odd that! Why do you think that is exactly?
ReplyDeleteSo essex, werent you cheering today? All im saying is you know what to expect from west ham, the unexpected! As for defending, we are at our best when, like any other team, we have a settled back 4! When have we been able to field our best defence for more than 2 games running? Saying that, when have we fielded a 1st choice 11 this season? We're not a top 4 club yet look how they struggle with 2 key players out! I dont want to be like man city or spuds, spending hundreds of millions and still struggling to win consistantly, do you? Yes, i want success, but i also want the club to have a future, which we're struggling to slowly assure! So if we still have premiership football and a club to support next season, i'll be happy! As for hf, how can conceding too many goals mean of course we're going to score loads? You not going to answer me regarding james collins?
ReplyDeleteI will explain tomorrow anonymous, try to work it out in advance.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to Collins, yes he has his injury problems but so do Upson and Gabbidon. Check out our defensive record with Collins in the team and when he's not there, then you might start to understand why O'Neill wanted him!
Now then anonymous, explain why this report has got more hits than any of the other reports on the game on News Now?
ReplyDeleteThere's probably 2 reasons. 1, everyone wonders what the hell you're going on about, thinking you only got your live streaming for the last half hour when we'd won 5-3, and 2, you take so long to reply that 1 person pressing f5 every 30secs shows up as 2000 visitors!
ReplyDeleteOr it might be that, like you, people feel compelled to read what I have to say because they know that the report will be honest, accurate and well written. You must keep coming back for a reason!
ReplyDeleteWe won and yet it feels like a defeat! Why? Because we fell apart, again! Why is it so hard for anyone to notice how bad Gabbidon is? He was responsible for two of the goals. He turned around and let the attacker dribble him in the first goal and he fell on the ground as if to block a pass when he should have stood his ground in the third goal. It brings back memories of the 6-0 thrashing at Reading. Spector is also useless. Any team can unlock our defence through the wings, especially the right wing. It is a good thing Burnley realised this only after 65 minutes of the game today. Scoring 5 goals and worrying whether you will actually win the game with 25 minutes on the clock is a really a new experience for me! If we need to score 3-4 goals to get three points we are really doomed. We desperately need to buy a good right wing defender in January. It's our only chance.
ReplyDeleteI agree to a large extent mate. See my article on going goal crazy. It doesn't take a tactical genius to explain what is going on does it? Mind you, I think I have the solution even with our present personnel! PS Think you are a bit harsh on Gabs - he made one brilliant defensive challenge in the box which prevented a goal. I would blame the full backs and midfielders more.
ReplyDeleteSaavakis,
ReplyDeleteI think you're looking too hard at Gabbidon's mistakes mate. In the first goal he was covering for Spector and though the cross wasn't prevented, the ball should have been cleared centrally. Ilunga, if anyone, was a bit slow to react.
The other goal was just a good goal. The dummy threw everyone.
Stani, somebody should have been tracking Mears!
ReplyDeleteStani Armi,
ReplyDeleteIf all it takes is a dummy from an attacker to throw our central defenders on the ground then we are really in deep s**t. Can you imagine Gabbidon defending against Lennon? Danny has some good attributes and some pace but he is too much of a panic defender for me and that's exactly what we don't need right now. Spector does not fall over but he hasn't got pace and keeps giving the ball away in dangerous positions. I know Illunga is not playing well but this is only because he is not fully fit yet. With Gabbidon and Spector the problem is rooted in their footballer DNA genes. I would be the happiest man alive if I am proven wrong but I am tired of waiting for these kind of defenders to surprise me. It is not gonna happen!
HF
ReplyDeleteI agree, a midfielder perhaps. Burnley put on subs and changed their style and intensity where as we (especially our midfield and attack) carried on as before.
Savvakis
I think that dummy would have fooled a lot of defenders. I firmly believe Gabbidon would deal with Lennon even though it is a team game. Lennon is just a glorified runner.
All I'm saying is that if what Gabbidon did is regarded as mistakes and something which as a result makes him rubbish then we can pick out similar errors for every one of our players in every game. Upson makes far more of these errors if we were going to look at it like that.
As for Spector, I respect him, his attitude and character. I don't think he is better than Faubert at right back. I would be very reluctant to use Spector at full back. He wouldn't get in my first team but I'd use him as back up central defender or holding midfielder. Pace is required less in these positions so should suit him better.
Ilunga will be back, I have no doubt.
Comparing Gabbidon and Spectors progression is a bit unfair. Wasn't Gabbidon our player of the season few years back. Let him get some games in Savvakis and he will be back.
I hope you are right. I will reserve my final judgement and hope to be proven wrong.
ReplyDeleteYep, let's hope he delivers mate. At least then we'll be able to sell a 30 yr old Upson to Harry for £10m
ReplyDelete