No quibbles from me about the winner, the home game against QPR apart, Reid has been superb all season. Avram won't be remembered too fondly but he was in charge when Reid was signed - albeit he did his best to destroy him by playing him at right back against Villa on his debut. Great credit is also due to Allardyce, who took hold of the rough diamond and polished it superbly whilst ensuring that the experience of Faye and Collins were there to guide the boy. After Bale, and everybody is after Bale this season, Reid has to be the most improved player in the division.
But he is not the only hero this season. With no Scotty Parker hogging the headlines unfairly, the whole team have pulled together, with Allardyce, to his immense credit, producing a team much stronger than the sum of its parts.
For me, O'Brien deserves a special mention. He is a limited player, but my God he tries his hardest and has rarely let the team down. True, when against the best - Walcott and Bale - he has been exposed but, considering he has been covering at left back, he has coped manfully and his never say die spirit has been infectious.
Diame too has been consistently impressive. OK, there was that nonsense period where it looked as if he was trying to engineer a move to Spurs or Arsenal, but that never stopped Scotty being Hammer of the Year did it?
And finally, Old Father Time Jussi should be acknowledged. He has made more saves than any other keeper in the Prem this season and the new found confidence of the defence is down to knowing what the guy behind them is going to do - which was never the case when Robert Please Don't Cross the Ball Green was flapping inside his six yard box.
But, and I will say this through gritted teeth, the real Hammer of the Year was Allardyce. The games at Stoke, Newcastle, Liverpool and Southampton showed what he has brought to the West Ham table. It aint pretty at times but it bloody works!
Touché. I actually think obrien is better on the left than the right but you got it when you said he's limited. Still people like him and oneil are great for an 18 as they do put it all out there.
ReplyDeleteStill the best move west ham has made in years was getting rid of slippery green. The guy was terrible.
US HF
I agree. O'Brien deserves his new contract for his tireless work playing out of position. A right sided midfeilder playing left back, and sorry Walcott didn't have it over him at all....
ReplyDeleteWell done Joey, you had my vote...
HF, when are you going to do the article about your boy Tal Ben Haim and his fourth relegation in four seasons? :D
ReplyDeleteI know good grace isn't exactly one of your strong points HF but shouldn't you be mentioning the good work done by Zola this season - took the job on only 4 weeks before the start of the season and he's in a better position than Sam was this time last year..... or perhaps you were hoping no one had noticed.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree, with the squad he had at his disposal, Big Sam has done very well to keep us at around mid table and with a bit of luck it could have been even higher
ReplyDeleteWell said Hammersfan and it's good to see you giving credit where its due and all of that.
ReplyDeleteI think that the value of 100% committed players is underestimated in the extreme and all of the above have that in abundance.
I've always rated Reid as I could see that he had bags of ability and all that he needed was to acclimatise to the British game. Unfortunately a manager like Avi was the last manager that you would want to play under in your first season in British football.
I take my hat off to Diame for showing 100% commitment to the cause with all the speculation earlier in the season. He gained my respect because other players (Parker & Green included) weren't able to do just that!
But the biggest cheer must go to Big Sam who is a much better manager than most people realise or are willing to give credit. What he has achieved in the last couple of seasons has been nothing short of miraculous. When Big Sam has had money and spent as badly as 'Arry did with the Rio money....then judge him but until then, the ill informed should keep their powder dry.
Informed supporters will be aware of what stability means to a club (Man U, Sir Alex and Moyes's 6 year contract),an experienced manager like Big Sam should be allowed time to work his magic, instead of trying to micro manage & tweak this club to disaster!
COYI
0951, How are Zola's Udinese Calcio in a stronger position than we were last season? We finished with SEVEN more points than Hull, who were automatically promoted, and we won all our play off games, whereas Watford are behind after the first leg!
ReplyDelete06:53 they're playing the better football
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