A West Ham performance to be proud of

I write this piece immediately after the final whistle has blown in Cardiff, and the sense of relief, even if it may be short lived, is just immense.

After two performances against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City that rank as all-time disasters, and that’s saying something given our chequered history, todays game was critical for so many reasons, not least the fact that all our competitors were themselves facing tough fixtures. Every one of them lost.  Lady luck has not only smiled upon us; she’s given us a big kiss and taken care of the bar tab!

One swallow does not make a summer, as the old saying goes, but given what has gone before us, whichever way you look at things this result was huge. Morale had all but vanished, players were either hiding or excruciatingly poor, motivation, both from the manager and from within the players themselves appeared non-existent, and the team simply had no shape, no fight, and on the face of it no hope. Something had to change and quick.

I would actually have accepted a defeat today provided every one of the team showed some spirit, some heart, some desire, and a tacit acknowledgement that the fans had been badly short-changed for some time now. So what was different between our victory in Wales, and the shocking shameful shambles of the last week or so?

The fact that we started brightly and put the opposition on the back foot at least made some sort of early intent statement. In any sport you need to let the opponent know that they are in for a game, that you haven’t just turned up to make up the numbers, and against Forest and City, that’s exactly how it appeared.

Players were actually looking to get forward, and first goal by Carlton Cole came after a decent multi-player move that involved more than a hoof-ball from a centre half. It showed the disbelieving world we can actually play some decent stuff, but did it convince Sam Allardyce that there is life after his much favoured route one template? I hope so.

The degree of effort and commitment from the side as a whole, but from individuals like Mark Noble, George McCartney, Jack Collison, Matt Taylor (cant believe I’ve written that but he threw himself about today so fair play) and Razvan Rat gave us at least a platform to work from.

As any coach, manager or fan will concur, unless you put the hard yards in running, chasing, tackling, closing down and generally competing, then you can always forget about winning any match. Players should never ever be congratulated for “working hard”…its like house owners clapping and whistling when a postman “delivers the letters” or standing there in awe as a secretary types the word “no” correctly…it’s what they do, and what they get paid for.

If a highly trained and paid sportsman cant be bothered to put in a shift, do they deserve to be at our club? Probably not is the answer. Our work ethic of late just disappeared, and I suspect a lack of enthusiasm and almost defeatist demeanour from the boss played no small part in that. Today it was back and was a stand out feature. Lets hope it’s here to stay!

Though not as good as we would have liked, I felt the passing was better, the movement was more intelligent giving the man options on the ball, and at least we kept the ball for longer spells than of late. A worry that I still have is our tendency to allow the man on the ball to advance into danger territory without being challenged, and there were too many examples against Cardiff where the edge of the box became almost a shooting gallery. The unjust sending off of James Tomkins of course left us short of bodies, but the coaching staff really needs to spend time studying match videos and putting this high-risk strategy in the bin.

With regard to the Tomkins dismissal, I must confess that I became unaware that a defender is no longer able to “defend” his goal and hook a ball to safety, though it is perfectly permissible for a forward to perform a scissor kick at head level where decapitation is a real threat to anyone daring to put a head in the mixer! Very poor refereeing in my book.

Tomkins had his back to play, eyes on the ball, and one intention only, and that was to clear his lines, turn, and push up. If the ball had been allowed to bounce, a cardinal sin for defenders lets not forget, and Cardiff had taken possession and smashed the ball in the net, the condemnation from manager and fans alike would have been huge and deserved.  Perhaps ex-player referees would know exactly when a player was intending to hurt someone, and when a player was simply doing his job. And pigs may take to the sky!

Great to see Andy Carroll come on at long last, survive the ordeal without adverse affects, and create the second for Mark Noble. The latter showed what a real captain is all about. He was everywhere, closing, working, talking, and found time and energy to pop up in the box to net the winner. Goodbye Kevin Nolan, and a warm, overdue welcome to skipper Noble.

Other positives (god its great even to use the word positive) include Adrian who looks a very good stopper, and the contributions from both wings with Matt Jarvis and Stewart Downing looking lively. It’s the Jarvis/Downing/Carroll “ team within a team” that holds the key going forward.

We are out of the bottom three on goal difference and in amongst the sides above us. Today has shown that our fellow strugglers are just that, struggling, and looking over their shoulder. Fulham’s home drubbing to Sunderland gives us some hope, whilst Palace drop to the bottom of the heap after recent optimism. I genuinely feel there is now everything to play for. Its as if the season starts here and with morale boosted hugely and players returning from injury, there is every chance that we can make a fist of it and avoid the drop.

Yes, it’s one win, and yes we are near the bottom, but getting three points away from home against relegation rivals with 10 men for much of the game, and seeing your top striker return…lets just enjoy a decent performance and hope a corner has been turned.