Thank God for that! It wasn't an exhilarating performance, it wasn't even a particularly good performance, but it was efficient and featured two fantastic goals. The three points are in the bag and we can move on. Even with Wolves beating Tottenham, we still find ourselves sitting in 14th place in the table. A win at the weekend and the headlines will read "crisis? what crisis?"
The critics will try to suggest that Birmingham had a bad day at the office but the truth is, we did a number on them. A minute before half time and I was ready to lay into Zola for selecting Behrami, Kovac and Parker in midfield instead of gambling on Stanislas or pushing Faubert forward, but then Parker won the free kick, after a superb driving run, and Diamanti buried it with aplomb. What a masterful free kick that was! It actually landed on the inside of the side netting - truly perfect! Until that moment, we had fashioned, at best, half chances, with Cole's wonderful turn and shot our best moment of the half. Again, there was a lack of penetration down the flanks and a lack of space down the middle.
The second half started worryingly. Birmingham were bossing the game and our back line was dropping deeper. It felt as if a Birmingham goal was coming. But then came, what for me, was our goal of the season so far. Behrami slipped a lovely pass to the on rushing Faubert, who burst into the box (at long last!) and delivered a wonderful cross for Cole, who had stolen in front of his marker like a class international striker should, to head home. It was simple, brilliant and a throw back to how we used to play in the good old days! This is what I have been calling for all season, a player getting to the byline and crossing off his best foot. Why have we had to wait until now for it to happen?
There were some real positives tonight. Faubert again looked comfortable defensively and offered a threat going forward. Upson and Tomkins were rock solid at the back, with Tomkins sticking to Phillips like shit to a blanket and making one brilliant challenge in the last 10 minutes. True Upson handled and it should have been a penalty, but he got up and cleared the ball expertly in the same movement! In midfield Kovac and Behrami hunted the ball down like hungry tigers. I was a critic of the Czech earlier in the season but he has been impressive since Christmas and kept Bowyer under wraps so well tonight that McLeish withdrew him. Diamanti was exciting in flashes and did his defensive duties well, except for when Carr did him and burst unchallenged into the box in the first half, forcing Green into a palmed clearance of the cross. Parker was good too, but did not stamp himself on the game so obviously tonight, perhaps because others were doing their bit too. Up front, Cole looked class - unlike Mido and Ilan to be honest. And apart from one rush of blood and one sliced clearance, Green was impressive tonight. He didn't have many saves to make but I was impressed with the way he handled the crosses into the box.
We must not get carried away. Our midfield was still mostly huff and puff and we still did not create many clear cut openings; but we won and we kept a clean sheet and we scored two goals and so I am feeling bloody happy! Well done to Zola and the boys, you earned your wage cut tonight!
Ratings: Green 6; Faubert 7, Tomkins 7, Upson 7, Ilunga 6 (Spector 6); Behrami 7, Kovac 7, Parker 7, Diamanti 7; Cole 7, Mido 5 (Ilan 5) (Noble not on long enough to rate)
15 comments:
"Wrong team, wrong tactics" nice quote....... for negative depressive. Just wondered do you like 7 or something - out of 13 players ratings 8 get a seven, weird.
It was just a professional performance at home, the likes of which should be common for a team of our middling premier league status.
Behrami and Diamanti were the particular highlights. My big fear of Gollivan is that we are going to become a "british is best" club again and we wont see such cultured performances again. D's left peg is a joy to watch even when we falter.
Why is it weird? That's what happens when a team plays as a team surely? As I said, it was a competent performance tonight so most players picking up a rating of 7 seems right to me. Who do you disagree with?
Not sure I agree with you about Behrami. Wonderful engine but his final ball is awful, that slipped pass to Faubert apart. Just as Parker panics when he shoots, so Behrami losing his head when he gets near the opposition penalty box. He runs around like a kid which is great but he plays like one when in the final third sadly!
I assume Behrami's communication problems are what is holding him back in the attacking third. Hope he can settle properly before we sell him.
A fair summary HF and a vital win.
DS's pep talk yesterday did the trick! If we had lost tonight, goodness know what he would have had to say. Zola would probably have been toast.
No favours from Harry again. Wolves got all three points against Spurs.
a win 3 points and up to 14th im happy. i even watched match of the day to night. happy days. up the hammers
pretty even game 2 great goals great save by upson but a well done i bet sully will claim all the credit though i think west ham will stay up you have to many good players to go down sully said what he said so all your high wage earners will want out at the end of the season they sold brum for 81 million got west ham for 50 million that still leaves them 30 million up there are worth a billion between them i think they could pay off west hams debt if they were real fans
Here Brian - I'll do you a favour
Here's how to right a positive article - glass half full and all that.
No Sweat!
February 11th, 2010 - 2:29 am by S J Chandos
The way some fans were talking about Birmingham City, before the match, one could be forgiven for assuming that we were facing the mighty Barca! In reality, Brum are a hard working, well drilled unit, without any ’stand out’ players. They have been playing above themselves this season and, in all fairness, have been getting some very good results.
I said before the match that we need not fear them and should take the three points. Birmingham City do not have one player of the quality of Parker, Diamanti or Cole. The challenge was to match their organisation and work rate and then bring our greater quality in to play. And the fact is that this victory is distinguished by the application of skill and quality within an overarching framework of teamwork, organisation and graft.
Diamanti was fantastic tonight. Not just in terms of quality, but also industry down the left side. In my view Diamanti is neither a luxury, nor a impact substitute. He is the most naturally gifted forward that we currently have. Diamanti has the tools to win games with his vision, passing, shooting and deadly ability from set peices. If Zola can just better ground his ability within the team, and improve his decision-making, we will have an exceptional PL player .
Diamanti’s free-kick to score the first was top draw. I have said it before, we need to win more free kicks in and around the box to enable him to bring those devastating free-kicks into the match equation. I feel a bit like an heretic saying it, but maybe West Ham’s ethos is just a bit too honest for our own good! Maybe we should play the rules, like Chelski, Arsenal, Man Utd and Villa do, and employ a conscious tactic of inviting oposition challenges and going down at the slightest contact! We all know other teams use this tactic very effectively to win possession and gain advantage in dangerous positions, so let’s do it and justify it to ourselves as ’professionalism.’
Cole’s forward play was excellent. He must get on the plane to South Africa ahead of the likes of Heskey and Crouch! His objective must be to play himself in to Capello’s England team in the the pre-WC friendlies. He has the ability to go on to force his way in the starting XI for the WC Finals. To do that he needs to make a big impact with West Ham and supply the goals that will help secure our safety.
Everyone played well, but Parker, Tomkins, Behrami and Faubert deserve a particular mention in despatches. Parker is another that deserves a chance with England. His energy and powerful forward play is crucial to the team. Tomkins is growing in to the top class defender that we all know him to be. He is still learning his trade, but he is an England centre-half in the making and should graduate from the U-21s after this year’s WC. Behrami is Mr ‘Perpetual Motion,’ the running, covering and challenges that he gets in during the course of a match are phenomenal. It is unglamourous but vital work and no one does it better than Valon Behrami. Faubert may need to refine his defensive skills as a conventional RB, but his forward play on the right side just keeps getting better. Faubert’s powerful runs down the right wing gives us width and his crosses create danger in the opposition box. His assist for Cole’s goal reminds us of the importance and effectiveness of getting to the byeline and putting balls behind defences for our strikers to convert!
All in all, a very encouraging performance. However, against Hull City the team face another major challenge. That challenge is consistency! Hitherto, we have failed be consistent in our results this season and that has to change. We must defeat Hull City and build upon the Birmingham City result. Winning becomes a habit and we need to acquire it between now before the end of the season!
You should...
1) Quote the site where you've copied and pasted from, although we all know anyway. Bad form, bad form.
2) Learn to spell.
Carry on.
Great result considering Brum's record. Happy even though I'm still nursing my chilblains. Boy it was cold!
Our back three; Green, Tomkins and Upson still don't inspire confidence. Green did well though clearing his lines with the crosses but his kicking was awful. Tomkins still looks jittery and Upson is still making clangers. The one on the edge of the box was very late and with our previous luck, may have led to a goal.
Parker 100% as always and Kovac and Behrami worked well as a pair, hustling and harrying.
Praise again for Faubert for getting up and down from full back...not an easy thing. His crossing was very good again. I think we should appreciate what we have here. The full back play is something we only really see in the top sides as they can afford to play this with their quality of players. The fact we can is a very valuable facet to our game.
Carlton Cole was immense again. He easily has the best close control and shielding of the ball of all the big guys in the league. He is going to the world cup.
The reason we couldn't play conventional wing play is because we have hardly had two strikers all season and have had trouble getting people in the box. We have that option now, although it will still take some time as even yesterday we were quite reluctant in getting numbers in the opposition box. Somebody from midfield needs to commit.
What's your point 10.10? It is very easy to eulogise after a victory but that doesn't mean the author is right! Mr Chandos is on the pay roll of A1 arse licker Iain Dale. Mr Dale is a politician and is very cosy with the senior hierarchy at the club. He will not risk losing his "in", with all the benefits that brings. If you want to read "political" articles, stick with Dale and Chandos; if you fancy reading the musings of somebody who really cares about the club, look in here. You don't pay your money but you can still make your choice! Simples.
I agree with Chandos on Cole, I think he overstates the case with most of the others. It was a competent performance, nothing more. Chandos starts by pointing out how ordinary Birmingham are, then makes our players sound like world beaters because we edged the game. Something doesn't add up there does it?
How do people read that dross from Chandross? I warned Dale a while ago about this guy having a habit of going on and on and what does Dale do? He invites him on board.
His articles are the equivalent of him standing in front of a mirror and blowing kisses at himself. It is delusional narcissism. If you don't believe me, go have a read....but make sure you put aside plenty of time and patience.
1206 @ TGC - that's right (or is the write I can never remember)we all know who it's from.... I even mentioned it
"February 11th, 2010 - 2:29 am by S J Chandos"
I was feeling pedantic. :) Yes, but I think it's fair dues to give a link to the site when using articles from there. But you know, it probably isn't that important.
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