FIVE things we learnt about West Ham against Southampton

Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Southampton at Upton Park brought the club their fourth successive win in a row, pushing them up into tenth place in the table, and at last some breathing space from the bottom three. What five things did we learn about West Ham from this performance?

1. West Ham were ruthless and clinical

West Ham certainly didn’t have as many chances or attacks in the game as their counterparts from the south coast, but they were far more clinical in their finishing which was very good to see, and is so often the difference between teams at this level.

Firstly, Matt Jarvis took his chance well, controlling a great pass through to him very well and slotting the ball under the keeper’s body. Then a few minutes later to completely turn the game on its head, Carlton Cole reacted quickest to the rebound of his own effort to smash the ball into the net.

Finally, at a point in the match where Southampton were really exerting some pressure on the Hammers goal, Kevin Nolan conjured up a brilliant overhead kick to virtually seal the game. The fact that West Ham didn’t require too many sights of goal to score three is a good sign – especially when you consider how wasteful Southampton were with their many attempts. This shows the players are confident and willing to take on shots as soon as the opportunity arises. This wasn’t happening earlier in the season.

2. The Hammers English contingent outshone their Southampton counterparts.

There has been plenty of talk this season about the potential call-ups to the England World Cup squad this summer for some of the Saints starlets. Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez, Rickie Lambert and Luke Shaw in particular have been tipped for a place in Roy Hodgson’s squad. However, several of the Hammers English contingents caught the eye much more in this match.

James Tomkins was yet again immense at the back, continuing his great partnership with James Collins, which has seen the pair now only concede one goal in five matches. Mark Noble was superb, especially in the second half, snuffling out the likes of Lallana and co, and releasing pressure by winning free kicks on several occasions.

Then there was Stewart Downing, who was a constant threat on the left and right, and who helped set-up two of the goals through excellent crosses. Jarvis was good too, and took his chance well. Kevin Nolan looks a changed man and his goal and assist continued his fine run of form recently. Finally, Carlton Cole was very good, especially in the first half, consistently causing havoc from balls into the box, and took his goal very well. So any chance of a call up for any of these then Roy?

3. The defence lacks pace

One negative from the game was the fact that it was highlighted on a few occasions how the likes of Collins and George McCartney can struggle against quick attackers. Whilst overall it was another fine performance from the defence, at times they couldn’t cope with the bursting runs of the likes of Lallana and Rodriguez. The introduction of the speedier Winston Reid helped with this, and he may need to be called back into the starting line-up when playing against such strikers in future. However no one from the back 4 deserves to be dropped at this moment in time.

4. Andy Carroll shouldn’t walk straight back into the team.

Carroll will finally be back from suspension after his three-match ban for the game against Everton next week. However, the team have won all the games he has not been there, and certainly Carlton Cole does not deserve to lose his place the way he played against Southampton. It would send out the wrong message if Sam Allardyce were to bring the big England striker straight back into the fray. Carroll will of course get his place back in time, but he should be made to earn it.

5. Manager and player of he month?

February has been an incredible month and turnaround in the season for West Ham, with four wins out of four and a tenth place position at the end of a month they started in 18th place. Surely Allardyce has to get manager of the month for this?

Not even the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal have had such perfect months. In addition, with five goals and two assists in the four games, Kevin Nolan has to be a candidate for the player of the month award. If he gets it, it will be a remarkable turnaround for the club captain, after the huge condemnation of his actions in getting sent off against Liverpool and Fulham in quick succession in December and January. His captaincy was also in doubt, and a lot of people were questioning whether he was past his best. However Nolan has proved everyone wrong with some sterling performances.