Listen to the idiot:
"With all due respect to Burnley and Hull I do not think they played last season at the level we have,” he said. “I don’t think anybody can say that we don’t play good football. Maybe it is not as good as the top six, but it is of a mid-table team’s quality."
“Nobody can say we were not better than Blackburn and any other teams. “OK, good football may not keep you in the Premier League, but bad football won’t for sure.”
Doesn't he get it? Firstly, I saw precious little good football on Saturday anyway, but that's not the point. When we didn't have the ball, we were wide open to Blackburn counter attacks. The goal we conceded was pathetic. We lost possession and it was open house down the left and centre of our defence. There was no cover from the midfield offered whatsoever, and this has happened game after game after game this season!
Where was the creativity in midfield again? Good teams create chances but what did we create on Saturday exactly? Time and again the ball was lumped forward to Cole - and for a lot of the game we looked like Bolton at their worst!
Nobody can say we weren't better than Blackburn? I can! They had the best defender on the pitch in Samba, the better keeper in Robinson and they had a better shape throughout. Every time Blackburn came forward they looked dangerous to me and until Hitz buried his chance, it looked as if we would play forever without scoring. There was nothing by way of good football from what I saw.
So Grant is using the excuse that it is a stronger division, the defence I have put up for him all season. He is right but that doesn't explain why we are bottom. We are there due to poor team selection, poor tactics, poor training, poor motivation and that same old bloody obsession with 4-3-3 that saw us struggle under Zola.
We are not Barcelona. We are not Manchester United. We are not Real Madrid or Chelsea. 4-3-3 is the formation of the gods; 4-4-2 is the way to survive, and to be fair to Zola, even he seemed to accept that at the death. But not Grant. He still used Ba to "protect" Bridge and Sears to "protect" Jacobsen and, well nobody to protect da Costa and Gabbidon.
And one last question. Why didn't he compare us to Portsmouth, the team he took down last season?
23 comments:
Fully concur with those views HF.Like you ,I was under the false impression that GRANT was a quality manager that the club had appointed.....boy were we wrong!! Tactically nieve,and totally inept at selecting his best team.How many different team selections and formations has he tried this season....I've lost count.Fielding players out of position is probably his worst fault.What makes it even more frustrating,unlike ZOLA who was forced to do this because of injuries,GRANT does it regardless,its as though he is deliberately fielding a weakened side.What a great CV he has ,taken over two teams in 2 consecutive seasons and got relegated with both....and CHELSEA want him back!!!
Anyhow, we are down now,nothing can prevent that now.New broom time for this club with GRANT the first out the door....
Why didn't he compare us to Portsmouth... Because the guys a T**T!!! That's why. I blame Grant for everything this season. Yes the two Davids can take the blame as well, but at least they admit it. Granted they did try and do something about it by spending during the window, but for doing that. They also screwed up BIG TIME by not getting rid of Grant when they should have. Just sack the idiot now. It doesn't matter if we don't have a manager for the last couple of games. In fact we might even play better without the *$@*!"&$ (censured)...
I really shouldn't say much about this guy because he drives me mad. All I will say...and this is a honest thought, is that whenever I see any other team that is around us in the table play, they seem so much better then us. Organised, disciplined, working hard and doing the simple things right. I think why can we not do this? I'm talking about the likes of Blackpool away at Spurs the other day (1-1), Stoke against Arsenal (3-1), Wolves v West Brom (3-1) and Wigan at Villa (1-1).
How can we not play anything like these teams when we have as good if not better players? It drives me mad. It kills me to say that we honestly deserve to go down.
I think the 'D's made a big mistake by paying too much attention to a manager they liked, and felt they could get on with, rather than concentrating on getting the right man for the job and then working at getting on with him.
I have often said before on this blog from Grant's after match comments, I could not believe he had watched the same game as I had. Profusely broadcasting that the team has played well, when they were lousy, is hardly conducive for improvement. I conclude the man is a complete and utter fraud who has put one over on everybody.I don't think the 'D's could believe what a colossal mistake they had made and Brady was probably the first to catch on.
No she wasn't John, Stani was ;)
I wish we were not relegated. I wish I could apologise to you and every other West Ham fan for thinking almost from the very beginning that Grant was total crap. But HF finally you realise what a huge mistake AG was for West Ham. Just about anyone taking over from him in January would have saved us. Look at Hodgson did when he took over what was a pathetic WBA at the time. The owners should accept the blame. Not for picking Avram in the first place but for not having the courage to correct their mistake. It is sadly too late for us fans now. Writing from Lancaster. More from Cyprus when I get back on Thursday.
you can't claim that Stani I chanted Grant out when Pardew was still manager
Hahaaaa, no way Deane. I chanted Grant out when his mother was giving birth to him...although that could be construed as me hastening his arrival....
Stani. Sav. Everyone else who has steadfastly maintained Grant was crap.
You were right.
I wasn't sure. I thought he was an open book. But I was wrong. The ability to woo over owners that Georgio Chinaglia spoke about on the radio show here in the USA has doomed us. Like a con artist robbing the life savings of hard working families over some phony land deal, Grant has sacrificed our team to keep his own delusions alive.
He thinks he is a legitimate EPL manager. In truth he isn't qualified for MLS. He would be ripped to shreds even over here. I even wonder if Zola would have improved now, although 20-20 hindsight is a cop out.
SuGo should be ashamed of themselves for letting this happen.
But this blog (and others) will keep me sane. We may be out of the EPL, and possibly for a long time, but I will try to find positives.
COYI
But Stani, you have been saying
that about every Israeli! ; }
Other blogs USA Dave, you read other blogs????? ; }
Sav, he still has six months to prove himself! Nah, fcuk it, he's crap!
Stani, I was referring that Brady was the first to spot he was a useless pr-- out of the three of them.
USA Dave, are you still going to be able to catch the games out there? Is there any tv coverage of Championship games in the US or internet streams?
I am a little worried about that myself. I have a 3 year old so i cant get to many saturday games anymore. I kind of rely on streams but there wont be too many of those next season.
HF, i know you rely on streams too for similar reasons. How are you going to be able to write match reports next year?
Just to continually prove yours is the best, HF!
Yes HF, according to you I have!
Dave, stop cheating on HF with other blogs. You're upsetting him.
.... and Zola is being lined up to join Chelsea's staff as a coach - hahahaha - Oh dear you Wet Spam - you couldn't make it up. You all know what's going to happen don't you? he'll coach and then be No.1 and do bloody well. You've only got to look at how well Steve Clark is doing to see you lot dropped a right clanger but letting them both go, and for who, Grant? hahahaha all those that ridiculed Zola and Clark you'll live to regret it. You know you're so going to struggle getting back up, don't you?
USA Dave - let's not go about those who were right. What about those who were wrong, ahem, HF!
Good points...particularly our playing style. The people harping on for the 'West Ham' way will see our club fall...you can play attractive attacking football but we have to adapt to plat teams like Stoke,WBA,Brum,Wigan and B'burn.These teams don't allow average players (which is what our squad is full of and many below that) to play fancy footy...if you have a Lampard,Gerrard,Essien,Bale..I could go on type player then yes play your fancy stuff but Noble,Kovac,LBM,etc. do me a favour...
The plan is to get a season ticket Chunky, or buy tickets "on the cheap" as we get closer to games and they are not sold out. I will get to a lot more games next year and still more the year after. It does mean mmatch reports will be delayed because my eyes cant cope with those tiny buttons on mobile phones.
we're not interested.... you got it wrong about Zola and Clark and you got it wrong about Grant, you'll have egg all over your face over the next couple of years.... and delayed match reports will be a blessing.
Like you will have when Parker joins Spurs! You're not interested but you keep coming back!
A lot to answer it seems:
Chunky, the Championship is on Fox Soccer Plus, which basically took over for Setanta when they went bust. I assume we will be on about 10 times all season as there are roughly 2 games live each week. Streams are another option, but with two kids I wont be running to my Mac for this stuff.
Nigerian Hammer. My point was that I was had as well. Anybody whe defended Grant as a good choice at any time was bamboozled as well.
Stani, I think you are right. HF is having a tough enough time as it is. Unfaithful readers might send him over the edge.
Now lets see what Dale has to say............
Hehehehe
I'll have egg on my face when Parker joins Spurs!?!?!?!
WTF are you on about - I know it, everyone knows it, it's a given - I have never doubted it, and only a prize idiot would blame him
However, you wanted Zola gone, you wanted Clark gone and you thought Grant was our saviour. You also said Parker would be gone last year and this, all in all you've been consistently bad, and that's why I come back.
It's like rubber necking on the motorway, you can't help but look at the horror that is this car crash of a blog.
USA Dave - One thing about Iain Dale is that he puts his name to his words, stands by his convictions and doesn't, like HF hide as an anonymous - I think it was Nigerian Hammer who put it rather well, HF is the King of the Anonymous's!
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