So I was critical. I warned that no corner had been turned. I said that we lacked creativity. I warned that the team lacked shape, that Nolan was misfiring, that Cole wouldn't get us enough goals, that the squad was packed with has beens and nearly beens and will never ever bees! I said the failure to score at home would cost us promotion. I warned that we had beaten nobody yet. I told you that you were all buying a line, that we were in the top four because we had been blessed with an incredibly easy set of fixtures at the start of the season. I told you that we would hit trouble when we met a decent team.
And what did you say in reply? Want to check back on the comments? We were simply taking time to gel. That we would get fitter and fitter under Allardyce. That we were on course for promotion. That I was a negative mug for daring to question the success that we had enjoyed so far.
Fitter? How many goals have we now conceded in the last 10 minutes of games? On course for promotion? When you can't put more than one goal in the opposition net when playing at home against 11 men? Turned a corner? Really?
And did I warn you about Bowyer before the kick off?
But never mind eh? The squad is brilliant. We are storming this division. Allardyce is a genius and a winner. Everything in the garden is coming up claret and blue and smelling of roses.
I hate to say I told you so but....
To all you "Don't panic" mugs, how about listening instead of gobbing off in future?
There is absolutely no doubt that we have categorically not worked out a successful strategy at Upton Park.
ReplyDeleteEven the wins against Pompey and Posh were piss poor affairs, lacking in any sort of genuine cohesion.
Fancy us away though!
Yes I agree with all you are saying, but Ipswich are a load of journeymen players, has been's and never will be's, how did they manage to beat us at home in front of our crowd
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though they deserved to win.
Presumably their has been's are better than our has been's
I really do not want to hear Big Sam's excuses again.
Its beginning to sound like Grant all over again.
And then we move to the OS westfield stadium and franchise football watching Westfield United the futures bright
ReplyDeleteI'm a west Ham fan, but you ARE one negative bloke! Stop whining ...maybe the players read your blog and give up! Lol.
ReplyDeleteDon't panic. The team is still gelling.
ReplyDeletehehe.
True, we are shit, mediocre mid table championship team.Come back Carlos !!
ReplyDeleteYou are a real prophet HF! What is your secret? Really, how are you so impeccably right about everything? I take my hat off to you.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are right. Our home form is very worrying. But today, without having watched the match, I am inclined to blame big Sam for shuffling the team too much. For experimenting in a crucial must win game. Other than that, just give the guy some more time.
Remember that when Matt Taylor is not playing we get less opportunities to score. I am not sure how effective any of our forwards, including Baldock, were today (obviously not effective enough). But I maintain that it is the midfielders that create the chances not forwards. It is the midfielders that provide support to the back four when defending.
I have a feeling that where we have failed most today is in the midfield (as in the other home games I have watched). We allowed the Ipswich players to see too much of the ball, have more shots at goal than us and once again the away team has dominated proceedings at Upton Park. Sam has to put this right soon. So, far he has failed badly in this respect.
Thank God for our away record otherwise we would be more near the bottom of the Table.
We were awful last year and were never going to become a great or even good team overnight, even in a lower division.
ReplyDeleteWe've ridden our luck but enjoyed a 7 match unbeaten run and put ourselves in a reasonable position for this stage of the season. We've achieved some god numbers and and that's not to be scoffed at.
The main thing that we've missed for the last two seasons is the ability to grind out results from poor performances. For the past few games we've done that and to be honest I don't care if we continue to do it all season as long the points rack up and we're in the top two come the end of the season.
We have a stronger squad in depth than most clubs in this division and our team will gel and perform better the more they play together.
We're a long way off being good but given our league position on the back of some very average to poor performances I'm excited to see how far we'll go when we really start performing!
Small blip but cup still half full!
Small blip! 3 points lost at home to cardiff was a blip! Wake up and see the bloody pattern!
ReplyDeletePattern? We've only played 5 home games, Won 2, drawn 1 and lost 2 so there's not a huge amount to draw trends from.
ReplyDeleteOur home form is poor, average at best but we're still sitting 4th in the table.
This was always how it was going to be with Allardyce. I'm surprised that you're expecting anything better???
Reality check. It's a tough division, we were never going to stroll it and we'll certainly lose more games at home.
We're perceived as a prize scalp and teams will continue to raise their game against us at the Boleyn.
hey some good news perhaps we can get tevez on loan :)
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 22.52, if you would like to post again without the repeated use of the F and C words, I will happily carry your post. But I can't when you employ that language.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of who said what or how we win or lose, we are west ham. We support our club regardless. So what's the point of all this who did what or why we lost? We are west ham. Go have a pint, and better luck next match. Agreed?
ReplyDeleteNo. I disagree. It is that attitude which keeps us small and crap. The boos rang out around Upton Park again tonight. If the rot isn't stopped, the stadium will empty in time.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly Sav. No one else sees it though.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day, we've been poor every game except Watford, and even then that was only because they made us look good. Event though we had a convincing score line of 4 - 1 against Forest we didn't have a convincing performance. We're fourth in the table (yes we've only played possibly one strong team in which we lost first game) so that is a positive. The main worry for me is Allardyce's tactics at home. We've been poor every game and he really lost it tonight. We had no width so he left Faubert on the bench and brought on collison. Abosolutely clueless tonight.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you all think is the reason for the poor home record?
ReplyDeleteOur main problem is such a slow midfield. Because they have no legs, they wont risk piling forward. Ironically Stanislas was meant to be quality tonight for Burnley. Big name players have no standing in the championship as its all about determination, and guile. Nolan and his £50k per week would allow us 3 decent young midfielders, quick, and full of running, with a hunger. Pace wins you games, look at Man utd!
ReplyDeleteVery dissapointed,considering had we won tonight - given the other results - we would have been top.
ReplyDeleteIt's plain to see that Matt Taylor was sorely missed tonight,Bentley's delivery from corners & free kicks was woeful plus (from what I could make out from the crappy radio commentary) he was played on the left instead of the right (another square peg in a round hole,just like Zola used to do).
Whatever formation Sam played tonight (4-1-2-1-2 or whatever adds up to 10 outfield players!) just didn't work,there was no width/creativity in midfield & I think we STILL have an unbalanced squad & are overloaded with too many central midfielders,having said that,the defence is a definite upgrade to last season's variety.
Back to 4-5-1? for away games - yes,for home games it's back to the drawing board...
Jonny Hammer
Never should have gotten rid of Grant, his record against the Championship sides in the various cup competitions last season was excellent, with arguably a worse squad.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell was that from McCartney? You get thousands a week and you turn your back on blocking a ball like that? F-ing disgrace
ReplyDeletePossibly, or Sam could be feeling the players out still. Seeing who plays better with who, and trying to find the perfect combination. True, though, the matches have been fairly boring and we really aren't playing with our attacking style, but Sam is getting the job done. He is way better than grant ever was. He actually wants us back into premier. The man is doing the best he can, and our boys have been doing well. Give credit where its due. Yes, there are harder and more aggressive matches ahead, but he's giving our boys their pride back. They've been beat down so much that they were use to losing... Now, they have a good feeling of what its like to be at the top of the table regardless of how we got there. And if you really think that the crowd will get smaller and smaller, then you may want to go support Manchester U or Chelsea if you are so worried about the result. Of course real hammer fans want to see us at the top with Chelsea and Man U but the fact is, if you are a true hammer, then you say 'West Ham til I die' with pride. It is a shame sadly, that we can't even half heartedly sing blowing bubbles in the stands... Maybe if supporters were the way they use to be, without the violence of course, the players and manager would feel the excitement and pride in our chants, and feed off of that. Agreed? Or am I way off the charts here?
ReplyDeleteIt's one thing being a fan and another being stupid. I agree with HF that we need to be more demanding as fans so that the players, the managers and the owners feel the pressure to perform and deliver. We can't be taken for granted although I agree that it is a lifetime commitment to support West Ham for all of us.
ReplyDeleteMcCartney turning his back on the ball was something else. I remember one particular manager who, if he caught you doing that would absolutely tear you a new one, John Sitton style. Even the better players at the club were not safe from him, the maniac. Still, players learned, (or were subsequently benched).
ReplyDeleteWe have not scored a goal in open play for over 3 games. We have given up a goal in stoppage time in 4 games so far. I was feeling ok before yesterday. But I listened to the game in my car via the IPad and if you can sound woeful we did. It isnt a good sign when you start praying to hold a 0-0 draw at home.
ReplyDeleteStill people won't acknowledge Robert Green cost us matches whether it be championship or the PL.Sure i commend him for gettintg on with it after we got relegated.Yes he made good saves lastnight.But every game he makes one clanger &we get punished.Lastnight it was through his legs against Cardiff it was though his hands.The club desperately needs an experienced goalkeeper as an option to Green.
ReplyDeleteWhat made it worse Mike is that I'd just come back from footy having taken one to the plums. I took one for the team, defending properly, and I come home and see McCartney doing a pirouette? Disgrace.
ReplyDeleteThey should do a club competition for fans to win a chance to do a team talk to the squad! Oooh how I'd love that!
Hi Fareham mate, how are you? Latest hospital spell over and successful I trust. The Org has missed you mate.
ReplyDeleteAs for Green, we know his limitations but I think problems elsewhere in the team need to be addressed more urgently. I reckon Bentley is a shot bolt personally and it's looking as if the same applies to Nolan sadly. No wonder Newcastle were so keen to offload!
Dave, I couldn't sleep last night I was so bloody annoyed. Hopeless.
That's why no one wanted him Fareham
ReplyDeleteHi Fanno trust your keeping well ?!.Had a cardioversion a bit of a scare as heart rate dropped to 45 bpm but onwards &upwards !.As they say at Alcholics Annoymnous :one day at a time lol !.I agree with what you say nothing really changed since last season.I thought Nolan would be a big player for us but sadly i was wrong.I thought that Lansbury could be the creative influence in the team and i believe he could still supply the creativity we desperately need.He has good vision etc but theirs no pace in the team whatsoever.Who does he release the early ball to when you've got absolutely no pace out wide ?.I've a feeling your going to see alot more from Baldock out on the right.
ReplyDeleteHow absolutely splendid it is to see Fareham back posting somewhere again.
ReplyDeleteThe Org is the poorer for both of your absences, HF.
Thanks for the nice sentiments Headmaster.I value each &every Hammer's post whether they agree with me is irrevelant.By taking the time to post their viewpoint they've earned my respect because it prooves one thing.They truly love West Ham United Football Club.
ReplyDeleteWas just thinking that after every home defeat, we had an away win. So hopefully crystal palace is in the bag. I'm sure Big Sam gives our boys Hell after a loss, and does what he can to make the supporters, himself, the owners, and the team happy. Unfortunately, he hasn't done it enough for our home matches. But still, alladryce is hands down better than grant. He had turned the club around and helped us to the high road. He just needs to learn a good strategy for our boys to use @ home. All in all, I believe our position on the league table got the best of our boys and let their guard down. And Green has had some problems, but he has had some very very good saves.
ReplyDeleteStani, taking one in the plums is standard man football. I applaud you.
ReplyDelete