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Hardly any positives for West Ham to take

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Sam Allardyce (West Ham)The Sydney Hammers supporters group travelled on mass across the pond to watch West Ham during their tour of New Zealand.

Here’s how it was received in Wellington:

The build-up:

The weekend fixture in Wellington against Sydney FC provided opportunity for even more fans to travel over to see West Ham first hand.

The team held open training on the Friday, although they seemed to be going through the motions after double sessions for most of the week.

The flatness of the players was contrasted by the atmosphere in the pubs and on the walk to the ground the next day. The signing was incredible, while there was little talk of the dour result three days before.

Certainly in Sydney we have always said if West Ham ever took on Sydney FC, then they would always come out on top and this was a chance to prove it.

And expectations were heightened after the players promised a better performance and said they were hopeful of delivering a result for the travelling fans.

The game:

There were no positives to come from this performance. None. The team looked disjointed, under-prepared and struggled against an average Sydney FC side.

Players suffered injuries, performed poorly, and even the goal was terrible.

There was very little to differentiate the style and tactics on show in Wellington from those so heavily criticised for most of last season.

The highlight came from the support the fans showed to the team. They never stopped singing, and it was only a small minority who were actually baying for blood.

Some supporters had now followed the team for the whole week, and at the final whistle there was almost relief the football was all over.

The reaction:

This really was a disappointment, and despite the meaninglessness of the game, to lose the way the team did was a bitter pill for many to swallow. Some fans had spent thousands to watch the team, and they were rewarded with two insipid displays.

Post-match, the Sydney players were clearly delighted, and their manager talked about the confidence they could take from the result.

This contrasted to the weary Winston Reid and Sam Allardyce who entered the press conference, with the manager admitting: ” I’m just a little sorry for the West Ham fans who came that we didn’t give them a bit more.”

He claimed the team was working on a new style, due to the demands to play more “expansive football”, and as a result the players lost their defensive resilience.

It very much seemed a bite back at the perceived pressure he has been placed under to deliver more attacking football, and how it contrasts to his more defensively minded practices.

And although the players should be able to balance the demands, these results show attacking flair should not be an expectation at the expense of stability at the back. Most fans would surely take a dour win against poor opposition over losing games 3-1.

West Ham were participating in the Football United tour of New Zealand, which included fixtures in Auckland and Wellington. Thousands of fans from around the world travelled to watch the games against A-League sides Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC.

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A lifelong West Ham supporter, Kevin is a journalist and editor from Essex now based in Sydney. Defying the time difference, he watches every game, and keeps a close eye on everything happening with The Hammers.

2 comments

  • AmericanHammer says:

    I agree with you that “attacking flair should not be an expectation at the expense of stability at the back”.

    Now, explain to me just when there was attacking flair…

  • Dave says:

    It seems to me that when anyone dares to challenge Sam’s way. Then the performance and results are disastrous, could it be deliberate on Sam’s part? Could it be a case of how dare you question me I’ll show you. The poor youngsters destroyed by Forest a case in point.

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