Following the disastrous defeat to Fulham on New Year’s Day, I have picked out the five things I have noticed from Sam Allardyce’s team that we took from that game.
1. Kevin Nolan is losing the plot
Picture the scene, both teams are on the pitch, it’s a massive relegation battle six-pointer, and your team has an abundance of injuries to key, first team players, including one going off after half an hour. Cue Kevin Nolan, a kick out at an opposition player off the ball, and another red card, his second this season, and a four-match ban to follow.
Nolan is meant to be Allardyce’s trusted captain, but the Scouser has let everyone connected to the club, down. Nolan has been poor all season, but we are hardly rich with choices at the moment. Nolan should be stripped of the captaincy, and fight for his place back in the team – or at least not picked until he has his head straight.
2. 5-3-2 is too defensive against a rubbish team
Allardyce started with a 5-3-2 system at Craven Cottage, a system which was wildly criticised by almost every supporter. 3-5-2 with attacking wing-backs would have been better, but with the likes of Matt Taylor pumping long balls into the wings where ironically, it should have been him on the end of them, was a taste of things to come.
This formation has worked once, away at Old Trafford in the FA Cup replay last season, however, we lost that game, and it should not be deployed again until we have the players to play it.
3. We have a lot of injuries!
Winston Reid, Andy Carroll, Ricardo Vaz Te, Stewart Downing, Ravel Morrison, Alou Diarra, Joe Cole, James Collins, James Tomkins and now Mark Noble are either still out injured, or have had long term injuries this season. Is it something to do with the warm up? Is it the training schedule? Is it because we have injury prone players? Or is it just bad luck? What I do know is, is that any team who suffer this amount of injuries to it’s first team squad, would struggle like we are.
4. Big Sam doesn’t think it’s his fault
This point leads on from the last one, in the sense that Sam Allardyce is blaming the amount of injuries to his first team squad as the reason why we are near to the bottom of the league. He doesn’t think it’s because we didn’t sign a second quality striker in the summer, he doesn’t feel it’s poor performances – nope, injuries are to blame, and that’s final! Even the most ardent of Hammers supporters who were behind Allardyce, me included, are starting to lose their patience with him.
5. The FA Cup game is a chance for some of our youngsters
The FA Cup third round tie with Nottingham Forest will probably see a multitude of changes from the game against Fulham. Key first team players that remain will be rested, and a number of the Development Squad will come in and make up the numbers. Sadly, the FA Cup has lost its traditions in recent years, and staying in the Premier League is more important for the future of the club. Those squad players who played against Fulham are likely to keep their places, but I doubt we will see the fourth round as Forest are a decent outfit at the moment.
By Chelmo Hammer
Follow me on Twitter: @ChelmoHammer
The injuries apart from Downings are due to muscle injuries due to fatigue Two reasons for this 1) When muscle fatigue sets in two things happen; performance drops & then if not rested injury occurs. We dont have enough decent squad players to rotate the players so those whose performance drops (as Ravs did for example according to SA’s stats) continue to play even though the fatigue warning signs are there, then injury occurs. More importantly because our possession percentage during a game have been predominately in the negative this season our players spend the greater part of each game running and chasing the ball, the distance covered during a game increases and therefore the fatigue is greater than teams in positive possession every game.
Well what you are both saying to me Chelmo & Paul, is that it really should be Sam’s time to go, as Sam’s way is not West Ham’s way. It’s like trying to change a leopards spots. West Ham have always been a possession based team, and getting players to chase useless long balls all the time is not working, and in fact it’s causing injuries. Sam we can’t keep playing like this. This is our 7th stint back in the top flight and I can hardly believe that it is about to finish again so soon. Please go, so that we can appoint a coach who plays the West Ham way. We don’t want your way.
I don’t think people should get too carried away & too negative. We are only 3 points below 17th placed Cardiff, who we have a better goal difference than, meaning we are 1 win away from overtaking them, who we play next, and if we do beat them, and there’s every chance we will as we have already beat them 2-0 at Upton Park this season + we beat them 5-0 on aggregate in the semi final play offs in 2012, so psychologically, we have the edge to jump over them and back up into 17th place, and with the form Crystal Palace are in, in 18th place, we could well be back out of the relegation zone after 11th January, so don’t be too eager to write us off yet, OK? because if we can do that then I am sure the confidence will return to keep us out of those bottom 3 spots. Keep the faith. C’mon You Irons!
Well there you have it in a nutshell. Sam has burned the team out with his non possession style of play and all of this stupid running after long balls. This is soccer Sam, not gridiron. No wonder Heitinga didn’t want to come here and it’s no wonder hardly anyone else wants to come here. Sam just runs them into the ground while he sits there during a game feeding his face. That’s why he got so fat & that’s what they didn’t like about him at Blackburn, and that’s why he got shafted. Sam doesn’t seem to have any other answers. Now this explains why so many of the lads have got injured and why James Collins performance dropped off, who before muscle fatigue set in, was almost impossible to get past, as you could see, that just before the inevitable injury came, people were getting past him. Winston Reid is probably injured from the same cause & effect. And to the 2 Davids, you can’t go behind Sam’s back and talk to other managers while Sam’s still in the job, like what happened with Martin O’Neill while Grant was still in the job, you have to be bold enough to sack the manager 1st & then hire another one. Personally I think Pardew should never have been sacked & he could be approached after Sam’s gone because Pardew has no grudge with these new owners. I’m sorry before Sam came we relied on possession and skill. Sam has totally overlooked what he has inherited, and his way is half killing people. We were a very skillfull team under Zola even, and possession and skill with letting the ball do the work when laid off with skill and precision has always worked for West ham, so much so that other teams would always poach our talent, and that’s why we haven’t won enough trophies. We’ve had so much talent that has to often been sold before we could win things. Surely we deserve more than being treated like cart horses under Sam murderous style of play. Does anyone else have anything to add to this? And if things carry on with Sam in charge & all of his bloodymindedness? Then relegation is all that we will face! Or Sam could change, but that would be like hoping for a miracle. His cast appears set in stone!
Well there you have it in a nutshell. Sam has burned the team out with his non possession style of play and all of this stupid running after long balls. This is soccer Sam, not gridiron. No wonder Heitinga didn’t want to come here and it’s no wonder hardly anyone else wants to come here. Sam just runs them into the ground. Sam doesn’t seem to have any other answers. Now this explains why so many of the lads have got injured and why James Collins performance dropped off, who before muscle fatigue set in, was almost impossible to get past, as you could see, that just before the inevitable injury came, people were getting past him. Winston Reid is probably injured from the same cause & effect. And to the 2 Davids, you can’t go behind Sam’s back and talk to other managers while Sam’s still in the job, like what happened with Martin O’Neill while Grant was still in the job, you have to be bold enough to sack the manager 1st & then hire another one. Personally I think Pardew should never have been sacked & he could be approached after Sam’s gone because Pardew has no grudge with these new owners. I’m sorry before Sam came we relied on possession and skill. Sam has totally overlooked what he has inherited, and his way is half killing people. We were a very skillfull team under Zola even, and possession and skill with letting the ball do the work when laid off with skill and precision has always worked for West ham, so much so that other teams would always poach our talent, and that’s why we haven’t won enough trophies. We’ve had so much talent that has to often been sold before we could win things. Surely we deserve more than being treated like cart horses under Sam murderous style of play. Does anyone else have anything to add to this? And if things carry on with Sam in charge & all of his bloodymindedness? Then relegation is all that we will face! Or Sam could change, but that would be like hoping for a miracle. His cast appears set in stone!
AND WITH SOLSKAR GETTING A WIN FOR CARDIFF AT NEWCASTLE, THIS IS WAR. ACT NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. WE CANNOT AFFORD ANOTHER PREMIER LEAGUE LOSS SO SOON. IT WOULD SURELY SPELL THE END FOR WEST HAM. IT’S CARDIFF OR WEST HAM. STUFF SOLSKAR. GO FOR THE JUGULAR
I reckon West Ham should get on the phone to Alan Pardew. Ask him to resign from his current position & leave the job to Joe Kinnear, sack Sam & appoint Alan in time and ready to get revenge over Solskar this Saturday! The stage couldn’t be set any more perfectly!