You come into the game on the back of a 6-0 victory achieved playing expansive football in a 4-4-2 formation, and with a red hot striker fresh from banging in a hat trick. So what do you do? Not rocket engineering is it? Unless you are Allardyce!
Tell me, is there another manager in the game who, under those circumstances, would feel the irresistible draw of safety first? Is there another manager in the game who would seek to win that game 1-0 given those circumstances? Is there another manager in the game who would say, 4-4-2 is too risky away from home? Is there another manager in the game who would play with one man up top utterly unsuited to the lone striker role? Is there another manager in the game who would pull his on fire striker back into midfield and push him out on the flank, assigning him defensive responsibilities?
And there you have Allardyce in a nutshell. He can't help himself. He only knows one way of playing and, no matter what the situation and no matter what the opposition, he will set up to play that way. And boy has that blinkered tactical ineptitude cost us this season!
And before the Allardyce Apostates pitch in to defend the anti Christ, I will give them two words: John Carew. Why? Why would you have him on the bench ahead of Baldock in a must win game? The answer: if it isn't going to plan send on a bigger battering ram. Welcome to the tactical world of Big Sham Allardyce!
34 comments:
Funy how you never post anything when we win games, you sir are a moron and west ham united does not need the likes of you claiming you support them
Who is Funy? I post after EVERY game if you are calling my Funy. Funny that!
He clearly doesn't know how to play "only one way" as he set up the tactics in the Brighton game. He set up that 4-4-2. Yes he got it wrong last night but he doesnt only know one way.
Got it wrong last night? How about at home to Bristol City, Doncaster, Palace, Middlesboro, Reading....
I've stayed pretty positive throughout this season because for me, compared to the last couple of seasons, it hasn't been too bad. We have been winning more games, obviously because of the difference in teams we face each week, so I thought id enjoy it as much as possible. But the last couple of months has taken it's toll on me a bit and I'm sick of him setting out with this crap formation and shit bench. For Christ sake he's only just realised that Lansbury is a quality player! Hardly played him up till recently. Lansbury could have been the difference in those dyer home games if he had started. The final straw for me was bringing Collins on rather than Lansbury for noble against reading! What was he thinking? Can't comment much on last nights game as I didn't Listen to it but if he used the tactics you have explained he did, then I'm completely baffled. Allardyce is more than partly to blame for west ham playing on the whole some pretty poor football this season and failing to finish top 2. But I'm going to grit my teeth and get fully behind him and the players for the playoffs, you've gotta love em
Anony-mouse says,
19.01- In fairness to HF he does post after we win, just not as much and with nowhere near as much joy and energy as when we lose.
HF, you had to be told last night by another lad and me that Cole was unfit so that was one option gone. In addition although the club are keeping quiet about it the rumour is that Baldock is injured too, so if true that was another option gone. That's why he had no other option than to have Carew on the bench, unless you know of a spare class centre-forward that we have hiding in the back of the changing room.
So he had no option other than to play Maynard. Before you say that RVT should have played up front with Maynard, that would have been nice but it would also have severely diminished the creativity, unpredicatability and movement that he has given to our midfield. And before you mention Morrison as an alternative in that role he's injured too.
I hope that clears things up for you. You'll need another reason to beat Allardyce up tonight. Knowing you, I'm sure you'll find one.
Did anyone notice the difference between Reading and us? They were 1-1 playing at Southampton, a position most away teams would love to be in. Many managers would have tried to close shop and take the point. Not McDermott. He actually took a midfielder off and replaced him with a striker. That is such a brave move in a match of such importance. Total contrast to Allardyce!
He had Faubert available for the right, Taylor for the left, Noble and Nolan down the middle, and still had Collison in reserve. So even if Baldock was unavialable - and I've not read that ANYWHERE else, he could still have paired Vaz Te with Maynard. Never mind could have, should have! We had to WIN the game. We set up as if a draw would suffice.
I don't usually leap to HF's defence but I find myself siding with him on this one; we were not set up to win last night and take the game to a relegation threatened team. If we had lost it would have made no difference but at least we would have given it our best shot. I am not anti-Allardyce, god knows I hated it when he was manager of Bolton as we could not often beat them. He does know more than one way to play but last night was the wrong night to hamper the team before the whistle had even blown and here he alone is culpable.
Anony-mouse says,
He had Faubert available for the right? If that's the best you can do as an alternative to what he put out last night then you're struggling. I don't like singling out players but he is beyond poor. His 'performance' against Watford (since when he's hardly featured) was as bad as I've seen from one of ours- and I remember the likes of John McDowell, Tommy Taylor, Tommy McQueen et al.
And yes I do recognise he's shown some signs of improvement this season, but not in his end product. Sadly at the end of the day he's still a winger who can't cross.
Hammersfan you are bang on mate,makes me wonder if some of the anon comments are'nt other clubs fans taking the piss,dont let it get you down mate,keep telling it how it is,at the end of the day that fat prick did'nt have any choice but to go for it,astoundingly narrow minded stuff from a tactical moron!!
ALLARDYCE has definitely cost us automatic promotion by his negative home formation and tactics.If he takes that mentality into the play-offs WESTHAM have no chance .The comment at 20:06 basically sums up why ALLARDYCE is not a winner,because his philosophy of football is not to lose.Can you imagine this scenario:WESTHAM 1-0 up after the first leg,what team and formation will ALLARDYCE play for the second leg?... You've guessed it .
Cheers 2204, but no chance of the anonymouses getting me down.
Never mind if we are 1-0 UP after the first leg Essex mate, it's if we are 1-0 DOWN that terrifies me. He will STILL set up negatively.
I know Faubert is crap Anonymous but so is Carew and so is Maynard if played up top on his own. Who put this squad together exactly? If Faubert is crap, why didn't he source an effective right sided winger? You see, which ever way you twist, Allardyce is culpable.
Yeah I never thought of that scenario,in fact,thinking about it thats more the likely one..Thats why he has got to go.
Anony-mouse says,
He's had two transfer windows to work in - just two. In that time I think he's signed about 17 players- quite prolific really. But he had to be after the shambles your man Grant left him.
He did bring in a right winger- David Bentley, but he got crocked after the first window shut. In the last one he bought in RVT who can play in that position, as well as left wing or through the middle.
We ended up with Carew cos we are a Championship team with huge debts unable to attract or afford better options. We needed back up for Cole who I like, but whose body can no longer take two games in a row. It's called making do. Do you seriously think Carew would have been his first choice if money had been no object? No, me neither. But money is short at our club- something you never seem to acknowledge.
In short he did pretty well given the sh*t situation that he inherited from your man. I don't expect you to appreciate that, let alone acknowledge it HF.
Anyway- I'll leave you in peace for a couple of days now - nice wedding to go to.
Allardyce is on an extra bonus for promotion through the playoffs and he set it perfectly give the man some credit
As ever, HF, you tell it the way it is. To those who accuse you of being some sort of anti Hammers Fan, I say 'you are wrong - no one could write with this level of knowledge and passion if they didn't care about the club'.
It is clear from the posts on this and many other forums that the criticism of Allardyce is gathering momentum.
Failure in the play-offs, if it comes to pass (as I believe it will) will result in the rumble of malcontents becoming an avalanche.
"In fairness to HF he does post after we win, just not as much and with nowhere near as much joy and energy as when we lose." I nearly pissed my pants!!!!!!! Laugh out Loud FUNNY
Of course, Anonymouse, you are beng very selective with your evidence! He bought Baldock and Maynard, and God only knows why given he wants to play 4-3-3 and neither can play wide nor down the middle on their own. Sharp was avialable. Roberts was availabe. Both were better options than Maynard. He let a certain Mexican go if you are talking wide men.
100% spot on, Liverpool won the league and cup playing with the same team in the 70-80's, all the players knew they job. BFS tries to over manage and hasnt a clue what his best team is, 4-4-2 and we win six nil and then he changes to 5 defenders again when we had to win. Think he does it on purpose just to pi@@ me off
Anony-mouse says,
Selective? I think the word you're looking for is comprehensive. I'm nothing if not thorough and a wind-bag.
As for Roberts? He has done amazingly well for a team on an absolute mission. But show me one of your posts from January where you were calling for the signing of a 35 year old reserve from a relegation threatened club and I'll doff my mousy cap to you.
Headmaster- of course you agree with HF. You're in the same pessimistic "it's all sh*t" camp as him. I've seen your site- it's pretty down-beat. As for HF being knowledegeable- I beg to differ- he continually gets basics so wrong. My favourite instance was when he was slagging off Allardyce (there's a first) for haranguing refs. He said can you imagine Lyall (RIP- 6 years ago yesterday I believe) doing the same. I pointed out that Lyall rightly did so to Clive Thomas after the '81 final. Cue bluster from HF, and an eventual promise that he'd look it up in Lyall's autobigraphy. I never heard back from him after that. But then I didn't expect to. HF does not do humility.
As for passionate? Can't see it myself. Certainly not in a positive West Ham type way. Vehement more like. I see no or little affection in what he writes about the club that I love. That's why I am why I am with him. And that's why I rarely post on your site, cos whilst I disagree with many of your views, I can see you have a genuine passion and love for West Ham and I will never give anyone with those qualities a hard time.
Whatever our financial position there can never be a case for getting a busted flush like Carew on our books. He is not up to it and he should never have been offered the chance to wear a West Ham shirt let alone appear on the pitch in one. The press pillioried Green for an uncharacteristic error but the reality was that Carew missed a hatful of chances by being too slow. We would have won comfortably without him on the pitch
I think that Sam is sticking to the system that he will be playing in the playoffs. Its no good changing the team and going for goals, we all accept that Saints are up, then changing the team again for the away game in the playoffs. He knows more than you HF - thats why he earns millions and you moan on a blog.
Hi HF. My first time posting here but have always enjoyed your rants.
I am no fan of Big Sam but I think it is interesting to note that we have scored more goals at home than Reading and more goals away than Reading, also, more goals away than Southampton. So he must be doing something right?
My personal beleif is that he has done a pretty good job of trying to get us up automatically. It is just that Reading have gone on an absolutely unbelievable run, and fair play to them. They have won 13and drawn 1 of their last 15 games. Like Reading, we have only lost 1 of the last 10 but 6 draws has taken its toll.
On the plus side, we are hard to beat and that is a great thing to be able to say going in to play offs. We have only lost 8 games all season, I think I am right in saying thats fewer than anybody else. 3 of them against the top two and two of them very early in the season before a new team was used to playing with each other. We have every chance in the play offs and I'm sorry but ANY manager that builds a new team and gets promotion in his first season at a club has got something, I don't care how much money he has to spend. He wasn't too restricted in cash as far as I can see, but there were a limited number of decent players available that would play Championship, and they were all playing for rivals that didn't want to sell to us.
Just my tuppence worth.
Just to say that I enjoy comments made by hammers fan and in the main agree with everything said.As for anonymous,well,no wonder you have the name anonymous.It seemslike too many westham fans you are happy to bury your head in the sand.Allardyce is shite,no guts,no glory.
For the sake of the club I hope I'm wrong,but,I firmly believe that if Allardyce stays,promotion or not(and I can't see allardyces tatics getting us through a two legged semi)season ticket sales will drop drastically.I have been a season ticket holder for years,but cannot stand another season of this.IF we get promoted it will be poor,if we don't,well it does'nt bear thinking about.
I don't agree that Sharp is a better player than Maynard HF. Maynard will score plenty for us if he is played consistently in the right position, which is one of two up front. The issue is whether Allardyce is able to see that the best returns have been with 4-4-2, so stop pissing about with it and give us the best chance to get back to the PL. I believe we will walk the play-offs with 4-4-2, worry is Allardyce setting us up to win rather than not to lose.
I am not a BFS fan but I personally dont think it was set up negagtively. The players we had out there should have been more than enough to get the win and if you look at the stats and the replays and listened to the commentary ATTACKING was not our problem, again it was scoring. I take on board that RVT should or could have been played as an out and out striker given his rich vein of form but with his pace and energy he is still in the furthest attacking positions even from the deeper line up. The crux of the matter is we have not scored enough and drawn some ridiculous games at home and if you and others weren't sprouting such venom all the time the players might not feel so intimidated evey time they walk out at UP. Why is everything with you a conspiracy? YEs we should have been far and away winners of this league given the players we have (not because we are a prem team, we are not) but we have not scored enough plan and simple.
0925, there you go with selective facts again Anony-mouse. I didn't call for Roberts, it is true, but I did call for Sharp didn't I? In fact I posted that I had travelled to Doncaster to try to persuade him to join us!
I can't find my Lyall autobiography - Just Like My Dreams - wife must have stored it in loft. May try Google Books. Must admit I forgot about it subsequently. I do remember Mini Me Sammy Lee ducking under the goal in an offside position so Lyall's anger would be understandable.The thing is, Allardyce is ALWAYS bemoaning bad luck and poor refereeing - and you will agree, I'm sure, that it was rare with Lyall.
As for passion v vehemence, I am passionate about the REAL WEST HAM and vehement about what is being done to the club I grew up supporting.
To others. Cheers for comments and welcome on board Tuckshop!
Well this post has certainly caused some reaction, from my point of view for what it's worth and debating with fanno on and off for quite a few years now I cannot see how anyone could criticise him for not being a passionate west ham supporter through and through. West ham and wanting what's best for west ham is quite clearly close to his heart and that's good enough for me.
There is plenty that I don't agree with in his posts and in my view he makes everything sound easy when in reality there is a lot more that goes on at a football club which have a great baring on the decisions that are made, these factors are rarely in the public domain so I tend to take a slightly more sympathetic approach than the man himself on occasions but cannot argue that his passion and desire for all things west ham is not there for everyone to see.
This is a blog that is designed to spark debate, if he didn't post thought provoking (and sometimes infuriating) comments it would all be a bit boring.
I say carry on what you're doing mate and keep the debate alive.
To the person who insists on calling themselves anony-mouse (how we roared!)you post as though you actually believe anyone gives a toss about what you say! You're off to some posh wedding? Great. Have fun.
You'll 'leave' HF 'alone'? Christ, I'm sure he's soooo relieved at that. He was all but on his knees with the constant battering you try to give him, eh?
Sorry you don't like C&B.com. I'll try not to let it bother me though. We seem to be well received by the majority of posters. Bit like this thread, if you think about it.
LOL Cheers Bas and Headmaster. Personally I suspect Anonymouse is a Fanno alter ego designed to keep the debate raging!
So Bas, given up on the Org completely?
Yeah too many pretentious, precious morons who are too busy on trying to get others kicked out for voicing an opinion (but then I guess what changes). To be honest with work now don't no where near as much time to surf the web as before so certainly can't be arsed to get into worthless debates time and time again over the same thread. Theres only so much repetition I can take. A bit like your qpr threads..........ha
probably, HF. If so, it worked (again) lol!
Now that would infuriate him, if people really started to believe he was me!
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