Twattenbung apart, and he did show a red to Diakite, it was an excellent night. The Taarabt goal was out of the top drawer, absolutely unstoppable so no blame to be assigned there, and a couple of long shots apart, QPR rarely threatened. The defence on paper looks decidedly suspect but happily the game is played on grass and not paper. Noble and Diame are screening the back four superbly and whilst we look dodgy down our left, we seem to find a way of keeping the ball out, even when Collins loses the man he is supposed to be marking.
Jussi made one superb save tonight and another decent one, but he seems to have an issue, like Green, with grubbers close to his body. Two tonight spun off him when he really should have collected them comfortably.
Most impressive tonight was Allardyce's positive team selection. Whilst Hughes left his flair players on the bench - Hoilet was brought on too late (but forced a save from Jussi) and Taarabt had an immediate and spectacular impact - Allardyce picked an offensive team with Jarvis and Vaz Te playing wide and high. The reward was goals from both, albeit Vaz Te's may be ripped from him by the dubious goals panel.
All night we were stretching QPR down the flanks and with a decent centre forward, we would have won the game at a canter. I've defended Cole so often in the past but there's no defending him now. One header in the first half was bulleted wide of the goal when a deflected header back across the face of goal was the obvious call, whilst the second half miss when played in by Nolan was nothing short of disgraceful. He was centre of the goal, Cesar was slow out of the blocks and hopelessly committed, and Cole didn't just side foot it wide, he missed a gaping goal by three yards. It was woeful finishing. And most annoying of all, he smiled. 3-1 at that stage and it was game over; instead we had to live on our nerves for another thirty minutes!
Mind you, Carroll looked rusty when he came on. One Jarvis cross found him flat footed, failing to commit in anticipation of the cross, and Nolan didn't mince his words after playing a tantalising ball across the face of the six yard box only for Carroll to start for the cross ten minutes after his marker.
But hang on, I am criticising everybody, and we won, and won quite comfortably. The pluses? Who replaced Demel over the summer? The guy playing at right back is a revelation. We saw a lumbering carthorse in the play off final, now the guy being presented as Demel looks positively live wire, getting up and down the right flank brilliantly.
Diame too was superb. If he could learn to shoot, he would be the complete midfielder.
Vaz Te looked good too, and Jarvis even better.
And Nolan and Noble did their England chances no harm at all, with Noble controlling from the base of midfield and Nolan from the pinnacle. Again, their critics will scoff, but this game was won in midfield, and Diame, Noble and Nolan were the bedrock upon which the performance was built. Yes both Noble and Nolan gave away silly free kicks in goal scoring range, and yes one Noble header deep inside his own penalty box was weak, but overall, both had commanding games.
The goals? Lovely work down the right for the first and a deft header by Jarvis; the second, a clever cross from Tomkins after a panicked clearance from a Noble free kick, and a lovely finish by Vaz Te via a deflection. It should have been four with Cole's two misses, and Cesar made a truly brilliant save to keep out a pile-driver from Vaz Te, deflecting the ball onto the bar.
So, QPR are now rooted in the bottom three with just two points - a position very similar to ours under Grant after easier fixtures - and we are suffering a nose bleed and altitude sickness in seventh place in the Prem. And Robert Green watched it all, witnessing two great saves in the game, one from the man who replaced him at Upton Park and the other from his replacement at QPR. Shame!
One question. Where the fcuk did six minutes injury time come from in the second half? There were only five in the first half after Reid was down for what seemed hours. Twattenbung doing his best to help QPR after the sending off perhaps?
Player ratings: Jussi 6: Demel 7, Collins 6, Reid 6, O'Brien 5; Diame 9, Noble 7, Nolan 8; Jarvis 8, Vaz Te 7; Cole 4 Subs McCartney 6, Tomkins 6, Carroll 5
32 comments:
Agree with you there, however, and I know I will be slated for this, the abject finishing apart, Cole did hold the ball up well and had a decent game.
Poor old Greeno, and he probably will be old by the time he gets a crack between the sticks.
I agree Saf, but you can't have a centre forward who can't hit a barn door from five yards. He has to go I'm afraid - and it hurts to say it!
I agree, apart from Vaz Te. He is terrible at this level. Always goes to far, one too many touches. He got lucky for his goal and to hold the ball for the first. Against good defenders he's terrible, against terrible defenders he isn't much better. Yossi really needs to start now.
Have seen a vast improvement in the overall play of this WESTHAM side but still not converting enough chances.COLE being the main culprit ,worked hard for the side ,gets into the right positions, but just not clinical enough. May well see ALLARDYCE looking to replace in January.JARVIS is the pick of the bunch for me,does exactly whats expected from him,top player.Would like to see another quality winger working the other side ,but VAZ TE serves the team well for now.The player who has been overlooked is BENAYOUN ,quality creative player who seems to be the cover for NOLAN,but with his abilities he can play anywhere in an advanced role.For all the plaudits WESTHAM got tonight,which is certainly deserved ,thought there should be some concern over the number of GOOD opportunities QPR had at goal,7 on target I counted,a better team would have punished .Still get a little nervous watching the team defend a fast counter-attack .ARSENAL on Saturday and can see an upset on the cards with CARROLL playing and another 3points.
Oh dear,w,ham roar to victory over the mighty qpr and hf wets his knickers. Yes a 2-1 reverse is a hell of a beating isn't it? Not like 4-1. As usual you can't even think of anything original so you steal the commentary from that Norwegian reporter at the England game. But this time you use it for a shitty little monday night game which is of little interest to anyone. Those words had become iconic,at your fingertips they're moronic. Look how many people have commented on tonights win. Sad isn't it?
CuldeSac says,
You really have a serious problem with referees in England. This fellow has no criteria, no sense of equity, no psychology. He just pulls cards for anything and nothing. As you say, there was not ONE nasty foul from WHU players all night. This idiot pulled a card for Diame (not even a foul), Jussi (I've seen much worse in terms of "wasting time" go unpunished), Cole and Nolan together in less than 15 seconds (and Nolan, as captain was asking for clarification, which he is allowed to do), and Collins for kicking the ball on the advertising panel (which on such a small pitch and with a replacement ball at hand is not a waste of time in my opinion). However, he does NOT give a card to Onuhoa for repeated fouls in the first half, nor to number 40 for an agression on Noble, nor to number 6 for an attempted aggression on Vaz Te, or to Julio Cesar for wanting to make justice himself, forcing Vaz Te to get up.
If you give Noble, MC Cartney, and NDiame a card for benign actions, you have to be consistent, or your credibility takes a nose dive.
Also, besides the preposterous actions with the yellow, there is the 6 minutes added for what in second half. This ref has to go to second division, that is where he belongs. A fairly clean game could have degenerated easily because of this "referee" upsetting everyone on the pitch, and for no reason at all.
Good game but to be fair QPR were very poor. The real test will be on Saturday at home against Arsenal. 11 points in 6 games is not bad at all, but 14 in 7 is even better! COYI!
I'll be in London this Saturday HF. Are you back from Romania?
HF Carroll deserves at least a 7. When he came on the difference was amazing, scared the defence and created space for others, even did a little cameo in defence towards the end of the match.
Our midfield was dominant. They won us the game. Vaz Te played like he has been having nightmares about Benayoun all week. Jarvis played like he wanted to stuff Neil McDonalds words down his throat. And perhaps that was the point.
As for Cole, I have to side with Saf here. He played far better than he did against Sunderland. He is not a starting center forward, and once Carroll is fit Cole will be a sub. And not a bad one to have for the final 20 minutes of a game.
I disagree av, but no surprise there. I feel as if you are still trying to belittle a certain player's contribution for the sake of your argument. On paper, QPR fielded a strong team, but we outplayed them and controlled great chunks of a game away from home by passing the ball. I was hugely impressed with the way that Noble and Diame collected from our back four and with the calmness of our play on the ball. Yes we played it long at times, but rarely aimlessly, and the QPR defence looked stretched all night.
I disagree with the Carroll praise. There was much more space after he came on because a midfielder had been sent on for a defender. He was slow to spot the opportunities created for him and was twice caught flat on his heels. But he was rusty. I expect him to pose problems for Arsenal at the weekend.
One point off a Champions League place after 6 games! I'll take that thanks very much!
2316, don't you wish Leeds were seventh in the Prem? And doesn't it show from you childish bitterness? Can't stay away from this blog can you?
Haha you're such a comedian HF, when you said Nolan, noble and England in the same sentence......very funny
Not bitter at all mr racist,just like to compare the number of comments. The w,ham response is grim mind. You seem to think that you're going to remain in 7th place hf. As for jealousy? I wouldn't swap for the world, Bates is leaving and whoever replaces him will be an improvement anyway. Your obsession with Leeds is certainly jealousy. You realise the potential there don't you? A massive fan base,You've had first hand experience of the fans, passion. It's all in place. Its actually you who can't stay away from all things Leeds,the amount of reading and research you do on LUFC in your spare time proves my point. Nah,wouldn't swap with you at all,something massive is about to happen and you've been feeding on the back of LUFC like the parasite you are trying to piss on the parade all to no avail.
This is a West Ham thread on a West Ham blog 0839, and you are a Leeds fan. Please explain why you are so obsessed with our tin pot won nothing club. And why you can't stay away from this site even when I am not commenting on Leeds. You are visiting every day, returning to the same thread over and over on many occasions. What's wrong with your life that you keep returning to a blog you claim to detest written by a guy you claim to abhor about a club that you claim is irrelevant? Strange! Trapped by The Game! I have you in my power. And now, what do you do? Reply, so proving you have returned again, or not reply to try to suggest you haven't? Catch 22 eh? Which string will I twitch? Which knee will you jerk?
2-1 is not one hell of a beating HF. Beating a top 3 team 2-1 away from home,that would be different. While the 3 points are obviously handy, it was v QPR. Can we get things into perspective? That way you won't make youself and West Ham look foolish.
Shall we get things in perspective 0906? How about we have 11 points after 6 games? How about we are one point off a Champions League place? How about Man City, for all their spending are just one point above us? How about the fact that QPR had a fantastic home record over the final leg of last season? How about the fact that QPR have invested hugely in their team? How about the fact that we won on merit? How about you kick perspective in the balls and stand gloating over perspective's writhing body. Bugger perspective. Celebrate if you ARE a West Ham fan. And read the report, there's plenty of perspective there if you want to be a cold blooded realist!
I reckon i've proved my point by your reaction. YOU'RE talking about Leeds on a west ham blog. Most of the other comments ignore any reference to Leeds but i can click my fingers and there you are. Well at least you're leaving Muslims alone for the time being.
Nob head ....u wont b that high up come the end of the season cock face .
And there was me thinking that the season ended after 38 games. Obviously in your world it ends at the start of october. What you will find is that the money Man City have spent will tell shortly,everyone will find their level. What you will also find albeit a few weeks later than the rest of us is that beating Qpr is as easy as drinking water. Derrr.
Its funny how you don't publish ALL comments on here isn't it?
Ha ha I luuuvv it when you talk football, HF. Its so much funnier than reading the other comments!!
Why are you getting so defensive anyway, its only a laugh isn't it??
On another note I bet you didn't know whether to laugh or cry when Vaz Te popped up with the winner (you know with him not being white and everything). I presume thats also why you had a go at that poor lad Saf?
Congrats on the win West Ham, youre certainly defying everyone at the moment. There's still a long way to go mind but clearly you have an excellent chance of staying up this season!!
What's this shit doing on a Leeds blog?
You wana leave the magic mushrooms alone you wet spam knobheads pmsl delude cnuts .
Thought Carlton Cole had one of his best games of the season other than the header and the one on one miss.The keeper was already down for christ sake all he had to do was move the ball away to the left and he would have had an open goal. He didn't even seem upset about the miss.I think Maiga should be given a try as a substitute for Carold
Probably the greatest performance i or anyone else has seen from a west ham side. Moore,Devonshire,Hurst,Peters,Cottee. Eat your hearts out you slaaags. Roll out the barrel,lets have a barrel of fun,roll out the barrel,west ham beat the rangers two one.
I'm not being funny HF but looking from the outside would appear 0839 and 0906 really pulled your strings this time and made you look a right tit in the process! Plus this is coming from an ecstatic West Ham fan.
COYI!!!
LOL We all know you ARE 0839 and 006. Back again WHILST Leeds are playing and losing at Bolton. What kind of fan are you exactly? Keep dancing as I tug on the strings! That's the way to do it!!!!
How is that Hostel in Romaina Mr Tracey ? They got Sky and hammers games on the TV ? 'thats a Television not your pastime mind" Get a life!!!
LOL Great two bed apartment actually. And I'm letting a 7 bed house in South East of UK in addition to a 2 bed apartment, a one bed flat and a one bed house. Life's tough!
This is 8.39 here. Looks like paranoia is getting the better of you hf as i haven't commented since,well since 8.39 and i can assure you i certainly would NOT post anything when Leeds are playing. Personally i didn't think it was possible for you to look more stupid than you already do,but you've managed to pull it out of the bag. It's amusing(not for you obviously) how i can now pull your strings without even trying. Keep biting and jumping to the wrong conclusions though.
Jeeezus boy! smell the bullshit! You live in cloud cuckcoo land with the hand slappers and window lickers more like.
Gyppo sells kids
Gosh what a prosperous man you are with all this property! Then again, it's probably all bullshit, eh Puppetmaster!
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