Category: News

A Flattering Scoreline or Spirited Fightback?

Yesterday’s game was nowhere near as close as the record books will show for eternity.  After a cagey opening period Spurs, realising that there was to be no early West Ham onslaught, upped their game and, by the early part of the second half, had taken a commanding hold on the match .  The visitors with a midweek European adventure on the horizon decided to ease up rather than go for the jugular in the way that Arsenal and Manchester city had previously done at the London Stadium.  West Ham, to their credit, did not implode on this occasion despite heads appearing to have dropped at the time of the third goal.  The two headed goals plus the sending off leading to a barnstorming finale that was out of character with the rest of the match.  It was not that West Ham lacked spirit but they were very much second best in terms of quality and cohesion.  Should the Hammers find the same desire (frustratingly reserved for matches against the north Londoners) in the coming run of fixtures then a reasonable haul of points might be expected.  How can it be that the team is not ‘up for it’ every week?

Decide On A Shape and Stick With It

With the players available most were happy with the starting lineup and for the opening twenty minutes or so the team pressed and blocked well.  On paper Spurs looked vulnerable in the centre of midfield where expensive misfit Sissoko filled in for the absent Wanyama and Dembele.  Although the Hammers did little to exploit this weakness they were more than holding their own until the Michail Antonio injury.  Antonio’s pace, power and stamina are one of West Ham’s greatest assets and he was always going to be missed but, even so, it was a baffling decision to replace him with Andy Carroll and to meddle with the shape of the side so early in the match, given that things were going reasonably well.  It should be safe to assume that our preparation had been based around playing in a particular shape and style; to change it appeared, and was ultimately proved, to be foolish.

Individual Errors, Collective Disarray

When any goal is scored I guess you can always point to someone who could have done better to prevent it.  Yet I believe that individual errors are far more costly when a side is poorly organised, where players are not firmly drilled in what is expected of them and where the need to cover for each other is not apparent.  Giving the ball away cheaply is an all too common feature of our play and Carroll’s attempted pass, without looking, on the half way line led directly to the opening goal; as did his half-hearted challenge for the second one.  On both occasions, however, Tottenham still had lots to do and it was disappointing that there was so much space for them to exploit and that a number of players were merely ambling back. In different circumstances it would be possible to admire how fast clinical Spurs were on the break; an ability that is in stark contrast to our own laboured efforts to turn defence into attack.

Arnie Is Back – To Being Moody

In what was probably our best move of the game, Mark Noble played an astute pass to Marko Arnautovic who powered past his marker only to be denied by what one commentator describe as ‘an absolutely brilliant tackle by Aurier’, when in fact the tackle was only possible due to the fact that the defender was tugging at Arnie’s shirt.  Why this was not a foul and yet Alli’s blatant cheating dive in the build up to the third Spurs goal was, is anyone’s guess.  Not that the officials can be blamed for our defeat and, despite claims at the time, there was no offside for either of the first two Tottenham goals.  After his encouraging performance in midweek it was a disappointing show from Arnautovic who doesn’t look the type of player you can rely on to run his socks off each week.  Sadly there are too many like that on show in the current team which continues to give the appearance of a group of strangers rather than a well oiled machine.

Dead Manager Walking

Almost everyone you talk to believes that it is only a matter of time before Slaven Bilic is replaced as West Ham manager.  Maybe the mood in the boardroom is to allow him to see out his contract (whether this is out of loyalty or to save money, you can decide) although such procrastination is a dangerous game, as we know only too well from the Avram Grant experience.  As I have mentioned before, I see no scenario where Bilic is still manager at the start of the 2018/19 season.  Everyone must know that including himself, the coaching staff, players and the tea lady.  It must produce a completely negative and toxic atmosphere around the club.  It is not impossible that the team could muddle along and collect enough points here and there to survive but it is not going to be pretty to watch.  The ongoing concern is that with over two years under his belt we are no nearer seeing any emerging direction or style from Slaven.  Although I have no knowledge of who the potential available replacements might be I still see little justification for putting off the inevitable any longer.

I am old enough to remember the early days of the League Cup, currently the EFL Cup, and as a result of sponsorship known as the Carabao Cup this season. It has been a competition with a number of guises (mainly drink ones), the Milk Cup, the Littlewoods Cup, the Rumbelows Cup, the Coca Cola Cup, the Worthington Cup, The Carling Cup, and the Capital One Cup, and perhaps others that I have forgotten, but essentially the competition has remained unaltered since its inception, being open to the 92 clubs in the four divisions of the Football League.

The first Wembley final was in 1967, when third division Queens Park Rangers produced a comeback of Lazarus proportions against West Brom to win 3-2, after being two goals down at half-time. Prior to this the final was a two-legged affair. With effect from then, the winners gained a passport into Europe, initially the Fairs Cup, and now the Europa League, provided that they were in the top flight of English football, although that rule has since been relaxed.

Despite this, it continues to be perceived as a lower priority tournament than the more prestigious FA Cup, although it is surprising that many teams outside of the elite do not appear to take it more seriously with the carrot of Europe on offer to the winners, especially as it is perhaps the only realistic chance of qualifying.

West Ham’s first ever game in the competition was 57 years ago next Tuesday with a comfortable 3-1 win over Charlton. But in the next round we began a long history of being dumped out of the tournament by lower ranked teams when we lost 3-2 at Darlington, despite fielding a full strength team. It is a competition that we have never won and it is about time that we did.

So far this season the draw has been kind. In the last round we were drawn at home to Cheltenham, almost bottom of League Two, but of course had to play away from home as the stadium was not yet ready for football. A 2-0 win created the opportunity to progress further when we were handed another home draw, this time Bolton being the visitors. It is hard to believe but Bolton have made a worse start than ourselves, with two draws and six defeats leaving them rooted to the foot of the Championship. It was therefore a formality that we would move into the Fourth Round, or last 16, leaving us just two wins away from a two-legged semi-final appearance.

And a formality it was with an excellent commanding performance from an almost wholly changed team, including younger players being given their chance. Everyone played well, especially Arnautavic who played as if he owed the supporters something, and ran the show. Almost certainly I can see him filling in Lanzini’s position while our diminutive Argentinian remains injured. I hope the manager can see the same. And how good was it to see a centre back so comfortable on the ball with excellent distribution, as well as defending well, albeit against weak opposition. I wonder if Declan Rice will be given another chance as a starter, but this time in his natural position?

Ogbonna’s early goal was a boost and gave the side confidence from the start. Once Sakho had doubled the lead the game was over as a contest, and Masuaku’s thunderbolt at the end was the icing on the cake. Despite the impressive performances all over the pitch it is unlikely that more than two or three of the team will be in the starting line-up when Tottenham are our visitors next Saturday lunchtime.

In the meantime we move into the last sixteen of the competition hoping for another kind draw, which takes place at 10pm this evening. After the farce of the second round draw where John Salako confused the issue, and then the third round draw taking place in the early hours of the morning in China, I wonder what they have in store this time? Perhaps it could take place in a rocket orbiting the earth if they can overcome the gravity issue? Or even under water in Thailand? Anything that can boost the name of the sponsors is usually the order of the day.

Last Saturday we took part in one of the most uninspiring games in the Premier League when we came away from the Hawthorns with a goalless draw. My web colleague Geoff Hopkins wrote an excellent review of this game and I don’t propose to add anything further. Since then our manager is reported to have said that he is finding it difficult / it is challenging / he is struggling / he is finding it almost impossible to pair Carroll and Hernandez up front in the same team. Yes, the “big man / little man” combination has never worked in football has it! Come on, let’s make it work! Hernandez is a goalscorer of the highest calibre and we need him up front, and not cast aside out of his best position on the left wing. Surely it cannot be rocket science. Work on it and find a way to get the best out of both of them if you want them both in the side. Don’t just accept the situation. How long did it take to realise that Antonio was not a right back? We need to play to players’ strengths, and fit them into a workable formation.

The Best Supporters

Pride of place goes to the supporters who once again proved that they are the club’s greatest asset.  Despite an indifferent start to the season and continued mutterings about the London Stadium experience almost 36,000 turned out to watch the third round EFL Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers.  Maybe the fans see this competition as the best route to glory and silverware but it is still an outstanding effort compared to the less than 24,000 that rattled around in the national stadium at Wembley on the same evening.  Should there ever be a Board and team who get even close to the enthusiasm, loyalty and persistence that the supporters show then what a force that could turn out to be.

A Very Satisfactory Performance

There is nothing to criticise about the performance.  Bolton were clearly low on confidence and offered little in the way of threat or resistance yet the West Ham performance was efficient and economical.  As they say ‘you can only beat what is in front of you!’  A third clean sheet in a row should be a tremendous boost for confidence as we embark on a run of important games.  With the first goal going in so early in proceedings the game was effectively over as a contest as soon as it started.  Following the second, the match became something of a formality with little incident of note until the super third goal by Arthur Masuaku at the death; a strike worthy of both Julian Dicks and Frank Lampard (senior) in their prime.  We can now look forward to today’s fourth round draw and make sure that, at least for now, we keep the weekend of 25^th February 2018 free in our diaries.

I’ll Be Back!

The stand out contribution on the night was from Marko Arnautovic in providing the assists for both of the first two goals.  Slaven Bilic was right in saying that this was ‘the beginning of the comeback’ for Arnie and to emphasise that ‘more was required’.  As the Hammer’s record signing, he needs to atone for his stupid sending-off at Southampton and start to perform on a consistent basis regardless of opposition; he needs to prove that he can be a game changer as well as a player who shines when we are on top anyway.  At the moment, there is an impression of a luxury player who after demonstrating a flash of undeniable skill then spends the next ten minutes reliving and admiring it in his head.  A fine performance but more of the same please.

The Promise of Youth

Each of the young players that were given a chance acquitted themselves admirably.  It would nice to think that they will not just be packed away until the next round but also given a look-in on Premier League match-days; and not just as 92^nd minute substitutes.  Declan Rice looked much more at ease in his natural central defensive role and is by far the most comfortable of our centre backs when in possession.  Sead Haksabanovic put in a tidy performance, as did Nathan Holland when he replaced the Montenegrin just after the hour, while Domingos Quina also contributed an encouraging cameo during the final fifteen minutes.  It would be foolish to throw them all in together in league games but careful management with occasional starts or fifteen to twenty minutes off the bench would be very welcome.

What Lessons Learned?

There is apparently a big game coming up at the weekend and it will be interesting to see what if anything has been learned from last night’s more fluid performance?  The presence of Diafro Sakho in the lone striker role offers far greater movement and mobility creating space and options for the midfield passers and runners; yet, he is likely to remain behind Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez in the pecking order.  Just how do West Ham accommodate a player like Hernandez or has the ‘signing of the summer’ suddenly become no more that the impact substitute that he was at Manchester United?  Is Arnie the best option to fill the creative void left by the continued absence of Manuel Lanzinin? Will Bilic be brave enough to let Rice to show what he can do at centre back in the Premier League and should Sam Byram and Arthur Masuaku be challenging Pablo Zabaleta and Aaron Creswell for the wing back berths?  Stay tuned and all will be revealed on Saturday.

Oh What A Terrible Game!

Dull, dire, dismal, ghastly, abysmal, boring, joyless, tedious: none of these words alone do justice as to how bad this game was as a spectacle; in what is supposed to be the world’s elite football league.  In truth, I was expecting a poor game from two very direct sides lacking creativity and subtlety and, in that, it did not disappoint.  West Ham were shockingly bad and West Brom were probably even worse.  It was best summed up in a comment I read online at half time where someone suggested that they would take a point now if it meant not having to watch the second half.  Entertainment it was not; and the fact that both teams are allowed to keep a point as a result seems a travesty.  Possibly our brains do a good job of expunging the most dreadful games from memory with the passing of time; maybe there have been worse games in the past but none readily spring to mind.  Even Fat Sam at his most unenterprising and point respecting pomp would find it difficult to top such a shabby display.

Selections and Substitutions

As predicted, Slaven Bilic opted for an unchanged team to start the game.  There is some merit in the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ approach but not when it extends to ‘don’t fix it until it breaks,’ which is what will eventually happen.  Optimists may point to a steadying of the ship with two consecutive clean sheets as proof of the wisdom of a move to three at the back; even if we did play against two teams who appeared to have little interest in trying to score.  We will now stick stubbornly to this formation regardless until the next time that we ship four or five goals (e.g. against Spurs next week) and then it will be a return to a back four.  There is no concept of setting up to counter the opposition, just a collection of players who have been assembled without any apparent thought as to how they will work together.  When James Collins had to be replaced due to injury the obvious options would have been a straight replacement with Angelo Ogbonna or a switch to a back four.  Instead Bilic elected to go for one of his baffling re-arrangements that saw Zabaleta move from right wing back to the left side of the back three and Michail Antonio (the only real attacking threat) withdrawn to wing back as his replacement.  If confusion was the objective then it was certainly successful.

Slave Wants More From Wide Players

Having spent the best part of three transfer windows scouring the world for a proven goal-scorer, finally signing a supposed long term target with one of the best goals to minutes played records in Premier League history, agreeing to pay him well in excess of £100, 000 per week to secure his predatory fox-in-the-box skills, who in their right mind would then play him on the wing.  To add insult to injury, Bilic then berates the wide players in his post-match press conference for not doing enough to win the game.  The passing was woeful yesterday with Kouyate, Obiang and Cresswell particularly culpable but despite that our overall passing success rate was a creditable 86%; the reason being the preponderance of pointless passes in our own half.  I can only assume that it is under instruction that the first instinct on receiving that ball is to go sideways or backwards rather than forwards; and what is it with the short free kicks in good positions that end up back with our own keeper when there is a perfect Andy Carroll head to aim for?  With the team lacking pace and movement throughout the options for the man with the ball will remain limited.  Where Cresswell was able to put in great crosses in the past by running into space created by Payet or Lanzini now he is attempting to do the same from a standing position in congested areas.  Ponderous build up has successfully nullified our own threat.

That Obiang Shot

The forty-five yard shot from Pedro Obiang that hit the bar after he spotted Foster off his line was the one moment of class in the whole match.  It didn’t really belong in this game at all such was the vision, quick thinking and execution; it would have been perverse had such an amazing goal won such an appalling game.  According to the statistics there were only 15 shots in the entire match of which only one each side were on target.

That Foster Tackle

Aside from the Obiang shot, the only other incident worthy of note, and one that finally managed to stir the emotions of the West Ham players, was the tackle by Foster on Hernandez. Did it warrant a red card or not.  It could have gone either way based on the precedents of last week’s refereeing decision and Tierney played it safe by not sending off the home keeper.  It was all a touch unseemly to see the manager and players waving imaginary cards in a desperate attempt to gain an advantage.  As soon as laws of the game got to be interpreted not based on an action in itself but took account of the surrounding circumstances or where on the pitch it occurred then you are always going to be left with a matter of opinion.  What is consider dangerous, was a goal scoring opportunity denied or who is the last man mean?  I blame Willie Young for all this but in attempting to eliminate the cynical challenge all that has been achieved is to move it further up the pitch, where ‘taking one for the team’ is now seen as something commendable.

A Welcome Win and Clean Sheet

A wise man once said ‘Football’s a funny old game!’ At last, there are points on the board, a rare clean sheet to celebrate and a welcome birthday present for forty-niner Slaven Bilic.  It was not a classic game, the football was seldom slick and the team still had a disjointed look; but there was no doubting the effort put in by all and sundry and the vastly improved levels of fitness on display.  The intensity was several levels higher than anything we had previously seen this season and that effort, in itself, usually translates to the mood of the crowd.  Why it needed to reach crisis point before there was a reaction is a mystery; but not one that is unique to this set of players in West Ham’s history.  One game does not change a season but it gives Bilic a platform to build on and to prove to the doubters (of which I am one) that he can be a competent manager.  As they say ‘you can only beat what is in front of you’ and that was accomplished with relative ease against a strangely unadventurous Huddersfield side.  There was a huge slice of luck for the first goal (I wonder where the ball was headed before it hit the defender’s back) but we had squandered a handful of decent chances prior to that and clearly had the upper hand.  Sometimes in sport a change in fortunes can be sparked by the most accidental of incidents.  The visit to West Brom next weekend will provide more of a clue as to whether this will become a corner turned or a mere arbitrary wobble.

Three Men at the Back

A flat back four or three at the back is one of the hot topic arguments in football at the moment.  Listening to many you might be led to believe that it is a binary choice,  that you must always elect to play one system or the other.  Many will insist that West Ham are more solid with three at the back while others will swear blind that the exact opposite is true.  As I see it, a good team should be able to slip effortlessly between the two and that different opponents might require different solutions and different set-ups.  Recent history has seen us stick with one or other until a heavy defeat occurs when we revert to the other; rinse and repeat.  The back three was the right call against Huddersfield as it released the wide midfield players from most of their defensive duties.  Many of us were concerned that Zabaleta might not have the legs to carry off a wing back role but he did OK on fitness even if the quality delivery was not quite there.  Equally Cresswell had his most effective game for some time.  The presence of Reid on the pitch is always a boost and Collins, despite his lack of finesse, can be a colossus at times.  I would love to see Rice given an occasional chance as the one capable of carrying the ball out of defence as an alternative to Route One.

The Midfield Mix: Little Pea Cast Adrift?

I didn’t see any mention of the reasons why Noble did not feature in the match-day squad; perhaps it was an injury, convenient or otherwise.  Great servant and character that he is, his days as a regular starter seem to be over where his presence serves to slow everything down as we contrive play possession football well in our own half. The inclusion of Obiang and Kouyate worked well and gave the team the springboard to play at a far higher tempo; with the majority of our possession in the opponent’s half.  Obiang is the best defensive midfielder at the club by a street that is longer than a country mile, why he gets overlooked is weird.  Pace, power and athleticism are essential in the modern day Premier League football and with Antonio and Carroll added to the two central midfielders there are players able to mix it physically with the best of them.  The questions that arise from our formation are: the implications of playing Hernandez in a wider slightly withdrawn role which is contrary to his ‘fox in the box’ instincts; and how is a creative player such as Lanzini accommodated (or for that matter Arnautovic)?  The formation deployed and with Carroll spearheading the attack almost certainly guarantees a very direct style of play.  Possibly acceptable when desperate for points but as a footballing philosophy it is not necessarily the greatest entertainment, and not a significant upgrade from Big Sam style.

Andre Ayew Impact Sub

Maybe Andre Ayew’s best position has finally been discovered – super sub.  I have rarely seen him make a significant impact on a game as a starter but to come on with less than half an hour remaining with the score at 0-0 and contribute an assist and a goal is not to be sniffed at.  Mind you his assist was of the type that brings that particularly statistic into disrepute; a standard short range pass to a colleague well away from the danger area is not really opening up a defence is it?  On the other hand he does have a knack of popping up in the right place for tap-ins and his conversion from Cresswell’s corner effectively sealed the game.  A player who never does enough to justify a start but is worth having on the bench; but you could say that about a number of our players.

The Boot is on the Other Foot: Was Reid Lucky?

The boot in the face tackle by Reid on Mounie elicited something of a social media brouhaha, mainly from disgruntled Liverpool supporters still smarting over Mane’s red card, and the ensuing red faces, following annihilation at the hands of Manchester City.  A similar incident also occurred in the Swansea – Newcastle game where Ritchie was shown only a yellow card for a foot high tackle on Mawson.  The majority of fans interpret these situations according to who they support, or hate the most, but most commentators appear to agree that referee Friend was right not to punish Reid, and in fact did not even award a free-kick.  Graham Poll suggested the referee’s decision was right in the Mane and Reid incidents but wrong for the Ritchie one.  Fans moan about inconsistency and I guess this is where the argument for video referees comes in; but I am not sure that is always going to help if factors such as intent or how badly the opponent appeared to be injured are taken into account.  The question of intent confuses me tremendously.  I have no idea whether intent is technically allowed for in the way that referees interpret the laws of the game but it can be seen in practice every week with handball decisions in the area.