Well nobody in their right mind would call that a great performance. A great win yes but even a good performance? No! Then an average performance? Maybe, although mediocre might be more appropriate.
As we left the ground, we discussed who would be man of the match. Ilan? Well he scored the goal superbly but, apart from that, he was awful wasn't he? He can anticipate when in the box but anywhere else on the pitch and he is in a dream world. How many times did Sunderland ease him off the ball, only for Ilan to throw himself to the ground? If marks were awarded for diving, Ilan would come a close second to Behrami for the MOM award today!
If not Ilan, then who? Da Costa and Upson appeared to do well for most of the match and we kept a clean sheet, but that was more down to poor Sunderland finishing from what I saw. In the first half, Bent left Upson flat on his heels and so nearly lifted the ball over Green and into the net. We were carved open twice in the second half with Bent falling flat on his face with just Green to beat and another opening put narrowly wide by Cattermole. Upson did look as if he blocked one goal bound effort with his head but he didn't look dominant to me. Da Costa looks so much better than Tomkins but that's not saying a huge amount is it? And his free kick was laughable but, to be fair, it was his launched ball forward that led to the goal..
Then Noble? Well his corners and free kicks were appalling for most of the match and he twice had to make thunderous tackles to make good conceding possession. Noble was below average in my opinion.
Kovac? He did his job but it was hardly a MOM performance was it?
Green? One very good save from that free kick but he had nothing else to do all game thanks to poor Sunderland finishing and, I suppose, some Sterling work from our back four.
Stanislas then, now that he was on the right flank at last? Sadly no. Stanislas was awful.
Then Cole? Well he set up the goal, nearly set up Ilan and had one near miss but he was pretty crap for most of the game wasn't he? A lot of that was probably down to poor supply but he kept clutching at that knee and looks nervous going into a 50:50 challenge. He reminds me of Ashton after his attempt to "come back". Worrying. He certainly does not look like an England player at the moment.
Behrami? Well he beat even Ilan to the diving award, although it took the ref until half way through the second half to cotton on to the fact that Behrami masks poor ball control with a stylistic crumple to the ground. Did he pass the ball forward all match? I'm not sure he did you know! Did he get in a cross? I don't think so because he kept cutting inside. He did force Gordon into his only significant save mind you with that shot from outside the box.
Who is left? Faubert? Average at best. So...
Spector, give it to Spector! Yes he was booked after losing possession carelessly in his own half but, that apart, he did his job well. And in a game where our diving stood out above our passing, Spector achieved the perfect 10 for a dive, cutting inside two Sunderland defenders, losing his footing without being touched, and converting clumsiness into the perfect soar through the air! Well done sir! Ilan and Behrami looked on in awe and the ref gave the free kick!
Sorry that I am not praising an epic victory. Franco's finish was brilliant and I have no idea why the goal was disallowed but thank God the ref wouldn't let Sunderland restart as our mugs were hand and back slapping for five minutes over in the corner!
It was a great day. What a shame we couldn't win in style, as Burnley managed by all accounts! Hang on, Man Of The Match was my son, he backed the winner of the National, unlike his Dad!
The big question is why Gordon wasn't sent off. Deliberate handball, pulled down Cole in the box and put a hand to Franco's face. Kenwyne must have been thinking, when I did that to Ilunga...
Ratings: Green 6; Faubert 6, Da Costa 6, Upson 6, Spector 6; Stanislas 4, Kovac 6, Noble 5, Behrami 5; Cole 5, Ilan 4 (But he scored!) Sub: Franco 6 Daprela wasn't on long enough to earn a rating!
Come On You We Won So Who Cares Irons
17 comments:
Oy Wrighty on the Org, I named them Blunderland!
You know what Stanislals looked like HF? He looked like a man playing out of position...just saying, that's all....not sure if you noticed.
Agree about Noble. Did some good things but his set piece delivery was awful, still slow in decision making and gave the ball away in dangerous positions a couple of times. Lucky not to have cost us. If he can cut out those mistakes and leave the set pieces to someone else....like Da Costa! :), then I think he'll be useful.
"...cotton on to the fact that Behrami masks poor ball control with a stylistic crumple to the ground" hahahaha, hahaha, spot on!
Does Upson have no concept of heading the ball across goal when in attacking positions rather than into the opposing keepers arms?
I do love Spector's bursts forward! They're funny but strangely effective.
As for Cole, I think the rest of the team is making him look bad.
I think my Wigan prediction is coming along well :) Just need McCarthy to play some minutes now and I'll have 2 out of 2.
Cole is the biggest of the many weak links in our team. Time after time, he loses the ball and we're back on the defensive. Watch how many opposition attacks start from dispossessing Cole. Accept a decent bid for him in the summer and move on - ideally to Spurs..... its about time we sold them a dud.
Completely disagree about Noble, I was very suprised he didn't get MOTM. From my end he looked remarkable, clearly being told to replicate Parker which I think he did superbly. In saying that though his attacking play wasn't great, but defensively supoib. Da Costa won every header, good clearing headers, frustrating Bent almost the whole game. Stanislas wasn't awful in my opinion, but not great, didn't have much support and the supply to him wasn't great either. But defensively he contributed well. Agree about Cole, looks to have lost his niche talent slightly. Great defensive display all game, aside from Bents clear cut oppo. WELL DONE YOU IRONS!
To be fair, the supply is awful. At one point Behrami played a five yard pass to Cole and Carlton lost control, triggering howls of derision from sections of the crowd; but it happened right in front of me and Behrami's pass was dreadful, it was behind Cole's stride. Carlton did his best to control the ball but he stood no chance - even Messi would have struggled to do anything with that pass.
Time and again, when Cole received the ball in the second half, he was completely isolated. Yes he lost the ball but he is not Messi and very few players have the ability to retain possession when one against three, especially when the pass is drilled directly at him.
Where was Ilan? He is supposed to run beyond Cole so the ball can be knocked through, but he spent most of the game inside the centre circle. As Stani says, the rest of the team are making Cole's performances look worse than they actually are.
The team still had no balance whatsoever. The midfield played as a defensive unit, Faubert barely crossed the half way line and Stanislas didn't look out of position, he looked out of his depth! At one point, after Ilan was stupidly moved wide left, he had the ball 10 yards inside the Sunderland half, with acres of space ahead of him, guarded only by Ferdinand. He needed to put his head down and run at Ferdinand but, instead, he stopped - literally stopped - and waited for somebody to overlap. But Spector was holding back so Ilan just stood there as Sunderland funneled back, then played a short ball inside and we promptly lost possession. It was laughably poor!
It reminded me of the situation last season (against Man City?) when Boa-Morte and Di Michele combined down the left to set up a great goal. The trouble is, this team lacks pace, adventure and creativity. If we stay up, the team will need a major overhaul!
Which end were you TIS?
As I say in the comments section, the problem is that the entire midfield played as a defensive unit - at HOME TO SUNDERLAND! How desperate is that? You must agree that Noble's corners and free kicks were shockingly poor? Like Kovac, he put himself about in midfield but did he play one killer pass? I tell you what, he is HORRIBLY slow. How often did he have the chance to do a Parker and burst into a gap with the ball, only to check and pass sideways because he lacked confidence in his ability to stay ahead of back tracking Sunderland players?
Trevor brooking. To be fair though, it was always going to be a smash and grab, particulary given the fact that we've been battered at home in our last threee games to teams probably worse then Sunderland. I was frustrated with the way they dominated in the second half, and that typified our worries. Of course, Nobles set-peices were awful, they always have been lol. For a man with international and club experience, Kovac looks not just mistake prone but very nervous, wouldn't mind seeing him overtaken by somebody like Dickson Etuhu next season, why on earth would he want to leave Fulham though. Very pleased with the breathing space we now have, hope we don't get complacent, and looking forward to next season revamp :)
Yeah this match was as dire as anything Curbishley served up during his reign.
Kovac and Behrami really have no skill on the ball what so ever. Its like we start the match with a couple centerhalves in midfield. Behrami's serie A histrionics are also unwelcome (good at winding up opponents tho).
faubert has a lethal cross, if he slung in over 10 balls per game as opposed to the current 1 or 2 I guarantee we would see more goals.
We need someone like Steed Malbranque. An experienced, cheapish, creator.
Spot on Hammalot. How often did we lump the ball up to Cole? Far too often. There is no creativity in this team without Diamanti and Parker. We are also missing Collison and Ilunga big time!
A quote from Dale's match report: "It was about the first time we have scored in the first half and then gone on to defend a lead." Only trouble Iain ia that we scored in the SECOND HALF! Did the guy watch the game?
Some of our supporters must be wearing those claret and blue coloured spectacles permanantly,praising another inept performance that was devoid of any creativity and flair.Sure,we showed effort but thats about all.Any hammers fan going away from this match thinking we have turned the corner are living in a dream world,we were poor to very average at best,they seriously need a reality check.
Sure Noble is no Scotty Parker but in my opinion he did his job quite well. As said, his set piece delivery was awful but he made excellent challenges and worked pretty hard. Noble knows that he hasn't reached the same level he had last year but he is working on it...
Sure the team performance was not the greatest but in my opinion it was solid and well done.
Last weekend Tottscum lost 3-1 against Sunderland (it was a home game for the black cats, I know) and Bent scored 2 Goals. What did he today ? - he slipped and lobbed the ball over the crossbar. No other real chances.
The win was deserved and surely not lucky
We won ugly! But really who cares at this stage. 3 points are all we need right now. But as much as I hate to agree with HF once again, this was a bad performance. Against a better team we would have surely lost. Thank God Ilan is a goal scorer and despite having a very poor game, once again, gave us what we were lacking up front for so long. I agree that Noble's contribution was not spectacular but I think he never stopped running and going after every ball. That is why I would probably single him out as the man of the match today. Don't forget, he filled in for Parker adequately which is no small endeavour. So, let's now beat Wigan and we are home and dry.
Come On You We Won So Who Cares Irons
Dale was probably finding it hard handling the prawn sandwich and watching the game at the same time.
A season or two ago, after attending a game, he gave Cole a low rating (4 I think it was) and criticised him for no reason. All his chums actually disagreed with him. It was hilarious. He had to issue an apology to Cole in the following post in which he basically tried to imply 'it's amazing how much you miss watching at the ground'. Interesting that, when he and his cronies are the ones who so often peddle the notion that you have to attend a game to actually now what really happened, and secondly, to be a real fan.
You're quite popular on his site HF
The points are all that matter now HF. A win against Wigan & a draw against Fulham or Liverpool should do it, touch wood. I heard that the fans were trying to get Zola to give a wave, he wouldn't, must have the shits about something. I heard our fans singing & for a moment i thought i heard your voice LOL. What do you expect from Dale, an ex ManU supporter. Journalistic licence is more important there than telling it how it is on the street. Yes, we need to stay up & have a clean out off season. Noble fought on as well as he could, Spector is the improver really, funnily enough, but we wanted to not lose, more than we wanted to win.
Ilan is paid to score and score he finally is.
He has nothing else to offer except great goal hanging qualities due to his perfect timing when a ball is crossed in.
If anything else is asked of him forget it! But his goals have proved vital and I thank the good lord that it wasn't Mido out there today.
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