West Ham Player Ratings Against Manchester City

The lunchtime kick off in the Barclays Premier League saw West Ham United travel to Manchester City.  City have a pretty good record against us in recent seasons, the only time I can remember winning at The Etihad was when Dean Ashton scored in our FA Cup run which took us to Wembley under Alan Pardew.

Sam Allardyce managed to keep the same line up for the third game running, something unheard of really as we normally pick up an injury or two.  The first half was poor from The Hammers, allowing City to pass and move, giving them time and space, and this allowed them to score a pretty good opening goal – Aguero putting the finishing touch to a slick passing move, despite Jaaskelainen’s best efforts. We coasted through the first half, like a team who knew they were safe from relegation and sat in mid table.  The second half was much improved, and Allardyce must have got at them in the dressing room, because we were more ambitious, our urgency levels rose, and we when searching for an equaliser.  We never really threatened to be honest, a Carroll header was the closest we came – City were always a danger on the break away, and despite our efforts and long stints of possession, we couldn’t break down Kompany, Lescott and Hart.  Just when Allardyce made some changes, and actually went 4-4-2, Yaya Toure sealed the win for City by smashing a screamer into the top corner.  Andy Carroll managed to get a consolation at the end, embarrassing Hart by volleying at the England keeper, who let the ball slip through his legs.

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Here are my player ratings for the game:

Jussi Jaaskelainen – 6 : Could do nothing to stop the two goals, made a few saves which would have been expected, but as usual, made a couple of errors which could have lead to goals had our defenders not been on their toes!

Guy Demel – 6 : He tried to support Vaz Te in the second half more, I’ve been impressed with Demel’s form of late, but he was at fault for the first goal by not tracking Nasri, who was the player who cut the ball back for Aguero; an average day at the office.

Joey O’Brien – 6 :  Another solid display from Joey, nothing fancy, solid as usual, made some last ditch blocks to deny City running away with the game, but didn’t get as forward as he normally does.

James Collins – 6:  Again, made his trademark blocks numerous times, won the aerial battle, but that wasn’t hard against the likes of Tevez and Aguero, however struggled when it came to playing on the floor; plays too many long balls out of defence for my liking.

Winston Reid – 7: ‘Reliable Reid’ had a good game.  He read the play well, played the ball out of defence on the floor most of the time, and is such a good reader of the game.  Big Sam needs to find a partner for him, who is not prone to a gaff or two.  Is that Tomkins?

Gary O’Neil – 7:  Another good performance by O’Neil, he really has had a chance to shine in recent weeks.  He keeps the play ticking along nicely, gets stuck into the tackle, and his passing statistics are always really good – I hope he stays as he is a good man to have in the squad.

Momo Diame – 7:  After a quiet first half, Diame stepped it up in the second, and I thought he troubled City with his movement and runs.  He has a good engine, his footwork is excellent – he just needs to find a way of picking a final ball, and I think he will be a good all round player.

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Kevin Nolan – 6:  Another quiet one from the captain, second half he looked dangerous when getting the ball in the box, but he couldn’t find the turns he normally does, in order to get his shots in goal.  I like him in the box, that’s where he is dangerous, however, I have to question what he brings to the team if you take his goals away….

Ricardo Vaz Te – 6:  You can’t fault his effort can you?  I tweeted during the game that Vaz Te looks like he has feet which are two sizes too big for his body.  Whenever he runs with the ball, he never runs full pace, and he looks so clumsy – his ball control is terrible.  He persevered, but didn’t really threaten the opposition and was withdrawn for Jack Collison.

Matt Jarvis – 7:  I thought Jarvis was a thorn in the side of Zabaleta.  Sky Sports were bigging up Zabaleta before the game about how good he was, yet Jarvis skinned him everytime.  There are some fans who don’t think his crosses bring anything to the team, my point back is saying that we don’t get enough players in the box for him to be able to find anyone!  I thought Jarvis had an excellent game, and he is finishing the season in good form.

Andy Carroll – 8:  My man of the match again, industrious, powerful, passionate and workmanlike.  Carroll is quickly becoming a fans favourite.  Very much like the Man U game recently, Carroll absolutely battered two international defenders.  He won headers, he gets the ball down and plays it wide and is also useful defending set pieces, as seen by the amount of clearances he made.  I really hope Big Sam can keep hold of him, and I hope the Chairmen can see what a vital part of our team he is.  He deserved his goal at the end, and despite a little help from Joe Hart, he brought the ball down under pressure in the box, and connected well with his volley, on his weaker right foot.

SUBS:

Collison – 6:  Added fresh legs, and gave City a different threat to Vaz Te.  I like Collison because he get’s the ball down – no doubt due to his upbringing in the Academy.

Cole & Taylor came on with ten minutes to play and did not really contribute anything of significance.

I wasn’t totally disappointed with the performance, I think City could have found an extra gear, however, we gave a good account of ourselves, second half was much better.  All we need to do now is add some goals to our away performances.