At the top sit Southampton, a modest team well managed and organised. They have Lallana and Lambert, but both have spent too many years in the lower divisions to be anything special. Dear God, when they beat us, they started David Connolly! I thought he had been put out with the rubbish years ago! But even though Southampton are no more than ordinary and were playing in the old Third Division last season, they sit proudly on top of the pile.
In second are Boro, who come Tuesday morning will probably be sitting two points ahead of us, still occupying second spot! Now I defy you to name a Boro player who would interest a Premiership side, outside of young players who have "potential" and who would sit on the bench or disappear into the reserves.
And who is in third? Crystal bloody Palace and they are shite!
Leeds are now level on points with us from the same number of games played and just two points separates us from 13th spot in the table! That may be three points - one result - come Tuesday morning.
My point? All along I have been challenging this absurd notion that we have made a good start to the season. I told everybody that would listen - and most of you just hurled insults back - that we were in a false position down to a run of easy fixtures at the start of the season and that our poor performances were a better measure than our position in the table.
Now we can see what our "good start" has amounted to. Leeds fans were calling for Grayson's head because they had started so poorly - but Leeds are level on points with us. Most would agree than Sven has done a terrible job at Leicester so far, but they are only 2 points shy of us at the moment. Ispwich shipped 7 at Peterborough but they are just 1 point behind us this morning. We all saw with our own eyes just how shit Blackpool are, but they are on our shoulder.
Look at that table and our results and tell me that Allardyce has done a good job so far! We are now into the run of more challenging fixtures and the defeat at Southampton shows how artificial and frail was our second spot. Sure we may yet win at Brighton and may yet climb back into second place, but the division is squeezed together like an old soap box and whilst teams like Leeds are gelling and pushing on after a shaky start to the season, we are still stuttering, not even knowing our best shape, never mind the best personnel to fit that shape. And that is down to Allardyce.
With Taylor struggling with a deep seated injury, Bentley out for the season and rumours that Lansbury is out for two months, we have no alternative for the left of midfield. So it is Diouf time seemingly. Well, better the devil you know eh Doctor Evil?
This is a piss poor division crammed with mediocrity but I have seen no evidence so far that we are going to storm it!
Tame performance at Southampton you mean HF?
ReplyDeleteI feel he's been making far too many changes. The likes of Southampton, Brighton and Leeds have all had settled sides. It's probably the main cause of the inconsistency. He has to make changes now of course, because of the injuries
Predictive thread! Thanks for the correction!
ReplyDeleteThis is the hardest league in the world to get out off and i think you are very naive to think who ever your manager is you will just piss the league many bigger clubs then west ham thought the same and have now even dropped in to a lower league. who knows you could be watching west ham play leyton orient at their ground the olympic stadium..
ReplyDeleteCan't be that hard if Norwich got out of it. They'll still be relegated out of the prem, like Blackpool last season they'll drop like a stone around December time.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same Norwich that drew at Anfield? What was our result there is each of the last two seasons? 3-0 I believe!
ReplyDeleteBlackpool won there and still went down last season. When was the last time West Ham won against the dippers away, can only remember a couple of 0-0s sprinkled in between many 3-0 and 4-0 defeats? If there's one thing West Ham knows how to do well it's maintain losing streaks (ie: Bolton) thus not the best example. League One is the mire.
ReplyDeleteI told everybody that would listen - and most of you just hurled insults back
ReplyDeleteYou love it really HF!
Kevin in mcr writes..
ReplyDeleteHF its too early to tell; we began the season with a loss, we began the second quarter with a loss. Let's see-it was always going to be nip and tuck and difficult in most cases to assess the worth of a result - look at Forest now and tell me our away4-1 was routine. The important thing is where we are at the end not the beginning or middle - we have been spluttering a little but not as much as I thought we would and if not Sam who?
Of course I do TIS. No fun is everybody agrees. But also, it's no fun if you are wrong. And I am so rarely wrong!
ReplyDeleteKevin, all I'm saying is that people were going overboard about how Dr Evil had turned things around. Would we have been any worse off under Grant? I doubt it personally. Everyone was saying what a great squad Allardyce had built but a couple of injuries at the back and we will struggle, we have had to take a very expensive keeper on loan, we have no alternative for Taylor on the left, and a few injuries have suddenly made us look depleted in midfield too!
Hardest league in the world to get out of 1107? Newcastle and West Brom found it pretty easy, and Norwich went straight through the division like Epsom salts.
ReplyDeleteFor once Stani,I agree with you - far too many changes - plus far too much respect as to how OTHER teams play.
ReplyDeleteAllardyce by now must know which is his best formation,he should be saying "This is how we play,you worry about stopping us" instead of "I'm going to change our formation this week to stop you".
But as you say,injuries will now probably dictate...
I'd like to see Brian the Paraguayan given a go before the likes of the Hellspawn that goes by the name of Diouf.
Jonny Hammer
For once Jonny? Liar
ReplyDeleteNo lies here chum, this is just about the only thing we do agree on....
ReplyDeleteAnonomously yours...
JH