Excuse me eating whilst I type this but I have a bloody great Humble Pie to get through this evening after I foolishly blogged that I saw no way of coming away from Villa with a result today. I predicted that, without Diamanti, we would be devoid of creatively going forward and that Villa were nailed on to score twice. I called the team selection a disgrace before kick off - so what do I know?
Well Villa were tame today but a great slice of credit for that is due to the West Ham players and to Zola and Clarke for the way they set them up and motivated the team to fight for the draw. Tomkins looked like a future England defender again today and Spector was a revelation at left back. Not only did he defend superbly, he was also involved in our best moves going forward. His fouls apart, Kovac was excellent, and Upson looked to be back to his Steady Eddie best. Faubert, two poor passes apart, played well too. Up front, Nouble was heroic given the odds were stacked so heavily against him. What a run in the first half and what a shame he couldn't keep the shot down.
What is there to report on the game? Green made two goodish saves in the first half and was quick out of the starting blocks to deny Ivebonkedawhore in extra time. On the flip side, he made a hash of another cross and so nearly lost us the game by losing possession after dwelling on the ball too long and spilling that shot, thankfully for the resulting "goal" to be ruled out for offside. He is still badly out of form and must not go to South Africa. Mind you, on the evidence of this, Ivebonkedawhore, Young, Milner, Downing and Heskey shouldn't be on the plane either. All were decidedly average on the day. It was a great game to watch as a West Ham fan but Capello must have been shaking his head in disbelief at the lack of invention and creativity - and I include Parker and Noble in that too!
Going forward, that Nouble solo effort apart, we were all but non existent, although once Diamanti and Stanislas were on, we did at least make it into Villa's final third. In fact, for a five minute spell, Villa actually found themselves under pressure. Not that this was a deliberate attacking move by Zola. Parker was injured and Kovac had to be withdrawn. I suspect the Czech stayed on the pitch because the referee realised subsequently that the first booking was harsh. How Kovac avoided a yellow for THAT tackle in the second half is otherwise inexplicable. Given he was on a yellow, he should have seen red.
What do we make of Noble after that game? To me, he still looked off the pace and very much the weaker of the midfield unit. In that sense, I still maintain that Zola picked the wrong side: Diamanti has to be a better option in my opinion. Collison was also disappointing today. He offered nothing going forward and lost possession in our final third a couple of times.
As a game, the match was a non event. Green was rarely troubled and I don't think Friedal actually made a save all game. This was a great bonus point, lifting us two places above the relegation zone. The next four games will decide whether or not we survive in the Prem. Let's hope Fulham can come back and pinch a result at Blackburn!
By the way, Humble Pie tastes pretty good!
Player ratings: Green 5: Faubert 6, Tomkins 7, Upson 7, Spector 7; Behrami 7, Parker 7, Noble 6, Kovac 7, Collison 6; Nouble 6 Subs: Diamanti 6, Stanislas 6
9 comments:
That's true. Now, with Franco back next week, and Cole on his way, we can only hope that we'll be able to get more attacking chances happening. COYI
Green 5??!?..... are you f*****g mental??
No Sharpy, he did nothing outstanding and made three basic errors.
"I called the team selection a disgrace before kick off - so what do I know?"
Nothing everyone knows that except you, but you keep bloggin the same old negative crap yaawwwnnnnnnnn
Green a 5 ! like the guy said early you must be F*****g mental. Yes he spilled an awkward shot and got in a mess with a clearence but otherwise his handling was excellent. He made a coupleof very good saves, and when it mattered at the death, he was out of the blocks and made a fantastic save. yuo do always seem to be so negative
A good point today.
Rob Green did well apart from the hashed clearance. Two or three smart saves kept us in the game.
Surprised Diamanti did not start. When he came on he looked like he was dressed to shovel snow rather than nick the game for us.
The team is playing well and the fixture list is kind over the next 5 games. If we can string together a few wins(we need to get get down the wings more often), then everything is going to look much better.
In the post match interview Zola said Cole is back in training and may be available as soon as the next game. Also he is expecting news on the takeover tomorrow.
Perhaps HF can soon stand for our glasses being "Half Full"?
Fred, if you want to leave a constructive comment, fine. If you just want to use the popularity of this site to advertise your own blog, then I'm afraid that is unacceptable. Earn you right to hits, don't try to tart off other blogs. If your blog is worthy of referral, News Now will carry it. If it isn't, don't bother!
Think you're being a bit harsh on Green, Fanno. Probably overcritical if truth be known. I would give him a 6. Like your critisism of Green, I find it hard to fathom the constant critisism of Noble and the constant praise of Behrahmi. Today I though Behrahmi had an off day. Full of energy but he constantly played an errant pass or a stray cross and one cost us a chance to score but you saw it as a 7 performance. Please explain!. For the record this is in know way a dig at Behramhi because I refuse to be too critical of our own players, but I do remember it was yourself that said when Behrahmi started that you need more than just energy and enthusiasm.
Have replied elsewhere Melbourne mate. Hear it's bloody hot out there again!
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