It’s time to realise that when Carlton Cole is leading the attack, that it isn’t going to be a successful attacking day for West Ham.
First choice Andy Carroll is forever injured. In comes Mauro Zarate and Enner Valencia for around £20million combined. But still the height and weight of Carlton is favoured. Zarate scores goals. Enner may well do. But when you see Cole up top, you never get the feeling that we’ve got a goalscorer forward on the pitch.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with the loyalty of Carlton, but he was released and we couldn’t find better (somehow?!). He’s a decent squad player and off the bench he can sometimes shake it up, but can we please have a different “type” of forward start upfront?
I don’t necessarily want two up top, but I don’t want Carlton anymore. Our style doesn’t need to change to suit a different mould of forward as you can’t be as ineffective as Cole is for the majority of a match.
Plan A is Carroll as target man – that’s fine. However I don’t want plan B to be a lesser version of plan A. Something different please?
Give it a rest. Even with Carroll up top we hardly set the world alight with our attacking play. Carlton is a big bloke but he isn’t cut out for the stand up top on your own with no one around you for 40 yards role (I don’t think anyone particularly enjoys it to be honest). He gets no help from Carroll’s best mate Nolan. Yesterday on a few occasions Nolan was nowhere to be seen in around the box, if Carroll was playing he would have been right up there.
Everyone loves to blame Carlton but under Zola he proved what a decent striker he can be. Zarate is as pointless a signing as Maiga as he won’t get played in his preferred role. We’ve got a lot of strikers in the squad but it doesn’t really matter who plays, they’ll still be isolated and have very little chance to make an impact on the game.
We do have to change our style to suit whoever is playing up top. This one size fits all approach is idiotic from Sam. If Zarate started he would be up top on his own as well and we saw how well that worked in pre season. You can’t just stick someone in a position they aren’t particularly good at and expect them to perform well and fans should stop berating players for not performing well when not played correctly. Diame is not a wide midfielder for example. Vaz Te is a striker/winger not a wide midfielder. And Carlton Cole is not cut out for the sit up top with absolutely no support role either.
It all comes down to Sam, end of.
RVT 12 someone else noticed it too! Under Zola he proved his ability, his form was so good for a while he was pushing for England, and his form at the time, it was warranted.
Nolan doesnt try to get into the box nearly half the amount of times when Carroll is playing, I noticed that as well when Carroll kept getting injured in his first season.
And yes, it comes down to the manager not picking/telling players to support correctly.
Carlton is still a useful centre forward if partnered by another decent forward, not the likes of VazTe who is not a decent championship forward yet alone premier league. We lost to the spuds yesterday because we started the game with two passengers Nolan and VazTe. When we had them on the ropes and should have brought on extra firepower what does the genius that is Allardicci do, he swops over one right back for another. The following Allardyce quote sums up why the man must go!
““We outplayed, out created Spurs.When you have had 20 attempts and the opposition had hardly any, why do you need another striker on.”
Because we didn’t get hardly any of those attempts on target you dumb f***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sam has to go. There are no two ways about it. The man can’t change his ways and the sooner West Ham realises this the better. Yesterday, his initial selection and subsequent reluctance to change it so at to take advantage of Spurs going down to 10 men was bordering the criminal. I mean really, if he brought in Zarate and Valencia for Cole and Vaz Tez even at half time we would have won the game for sure. I am sick and tired giving Sam the benefit of the doubt. I think he has confirmed beyond any doubt that he is an trick pony. It is really unbelievable how he managed to lose the game yesterday. The sooner he goes the better as far as I am concerned.
same old players, same old style, same old story, same sam
give it a rest it aint gonna change nomatter who is up front the problem is even if carlton gets the ball there is no one near hi, for 30 yards put some one next to him that he can flick the ball on to 6 times yesterday he got the ball and lazy arse nolan no where to be seen
Those couple of clowns up front wouldn’t get into a decent championship team.
Allardyce is clueless muppet – until they give him the tin tac we’ll always be a two bob football team – ask the Geordies !
How can he start Cole up front !!! He is an average Championship player on one of his good days !!! Im sick of idiots saying what a good bloke he is and how loyal he is , what a load of Bollocks !!!! Down to ten men so take him and Vaz Te off and put Zarate and Valencia on and we win the game , end of !!! But no he does it his way and tries to go for a draw and can’t even get that !!!! We will get done by Palace and Southampton and then hopefully we can then say goodbye to that idiot !!!!
Good shout gents still fucked off about yesterday and getting loads at work. Valencia and zarate to start against palace please or else we will be turned over again and lets have nolan on the bench and replaced by diame.
New season – same old shit. Once again we sign players – and sit them on the bench. Cole looked very unfit yesterday, if only his efforts matched his love of the Club. Supposedly unmatch fit Valencia put in more effort for the short time that he was on the pitch than Cole had put in for all of his session. Time to face facts that Cole is way past the pace, seeing him bent over gasping for breath while Creswell was being treated was quite unbelievable. He towered over the Spurs defence, but still didn’t get his head on the ball very often, and as for the flick on, whats the point of that – direct the header to another West Ham player. And its about time he stopped falling over! Time for Cole to retire – and Allardyce for that matter!
So we miss a penalty, get a man sent off, can’t score with 15 attempts but the manager is to blame lol? A large section of our fans are embarrassing and pathetic! Blame the manager when he is at fault but the players on the pitch (ginge, noble, vaz te) lost a game we clearly should’ve won
Who put this these players in the team? Cole, Nolan, Vaz Te, Collins… all miss quality to wear claret and blue. Adrian, Demel, Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell, Kouyate, Poyet, Morrison, Zarate, Valencia and Downing should be the team imo.
Demel?????????No, not for me – this season you will see why without a doubt if you didnt get a glimpse in his brief yet poor showing saturday – why he replaced Obrien is criminal – Vaz Te and CCole shouldnt be in the squad, neither are PL standard, but its Sams selections and decisions that are really baffling – i dont get how Vaz Te even makes the team over a fit Diame, or how CCole is even considered adequate to fill the forward role, he has never been and will never be good enough, i cringe when i see his name on the team sheet, he never fails to deliver what you know what youre going to get even before the games started – i actually think west ham have a decent squad this year, but Vaz Te, CCole, Demel need to be offloaded.
Was O’Brien injured that he had to be replaced by Demel. From where I was sitting he look ok and couldn’t understand why he was replaced.
Cole is no substitute for Carroll! If Carroll’s injured we need to change the shape and play 2 upfront – Nolan is getting past it, Cole was let go for a reason and with the signings we’ve made, despite his loyalty, it’s time for Cole to go! Cresswell, Kouyate, Valencia all look good going forward so why not put another striker on and let these guys together with Downing and Noble have a chance to get the goals we need?! COYI!!
You will get zero goals from Noble … carthorse !!
What a shambles ….. Cole is not good enough ,end of … Noble flatters to deceive and must be replaced by Poyet asap . Before you morons start getting abusive just consider , can’t run , can’t pass forward , can’t tackle cleanly , can’t take corners , can’t take free kicks and now misses penalties . Apart from that he is great . Lets have a look at what the youngster has to offer because we are going nowhere but bottom 6 with present team .
Totally agree. Overrated and promoted by some at all costs to the team. Get rid of Noble, Nolan, Cole and then we may start building a proper team capable of playing football and scoring goals. But first we must get rid of Big Sam.
Misses one pen and now he is rubbish at penalties, fickle fickle fans. People moan that not enough of our “yoth” get in the team, one does and now he isnt good enough! Maybe Noble is having to do the job of his captain and has to work harder? Yesterday Noble had the same amount of shots as our captain, yet produced alot more elsewhere.
Oh and the difference in the chances were Noble made a lung bursting run near the end and had no puff left so hit a weak shot. Nolan was goal hanging from a corner.
Nothing wrong with his free kicks, corners are ok, tackles are good and in fact makes some tough ones as well, seems to get caught out when making runs forward to compensate starting with 10 men.
Instead of Cole would love to know who plays, bearing in mind who our manager is……
When is nolan going to get dropped?? It should’ve been Zarate’s day!! All that talk in the summer and what a load of the same shit. I hope he sorts it out soon because it’s boring. I was really looking forward to see our new look and all i feel disapointed. Fix up!!!
Totally agree! Zarate could do a lot of damage along with Downing!
Would like to see Zarate, Valencia and Sakho together, could be very good.
Time for Nolan to go!
Im really fed up people slating Cole his not blame sam is and why don’t we all force the board to act by not paying to watch this crap rout one football
AND the Cole bashing starts. What is Cole supposed to do with no support in front or behind him and when the ball he hit hard at his head? Once or twice yesterday he had the ball passed to him, at pace, to feet. What did he do? Control it well and play a nice lay off.
I seem to remember Carroll last season having games where he was not doing anything, he too was getting the same service.
How many balls into space for Cole? How many through balls for a chance? How many times did we get wide and whip a cross in around the back of there defence for him to have a chance?
This is not Coles fault, he is playing the Allardyce way and in fact has adapted his game to adjust to hoofs up in his general direction.
Let’s step back a bit. We all seem to know what we don’t want. It’s who we want is the critical question. And a conundrum. For instance, do we need wingers with full backs like Jenkinson and Cresswell? Do we need Kayoute to start alongside Diame. Do we need a great final passer like Morrison? (If/when he’s rehabilitated). We cannot play, I suggest, a caution to the wind, all out attack format. The balance is critical. We have some exciting combinations to consider. But deciding the right one, for each match, is a lot more difficult than deciding who we don’t need? COYI
I think AppyAmmer has a point, it’s never been an issue with the staff, it’s the management that needs addressing (I know Carlton ain’t everyones cup of tea, but he can only score if he’s given chances) I see Noble as another Frank (alright maybe Lomas) that you only miss when he doesn’t play. Prepare yourselves for more of the same folks, because, the frankly ludicrous demand from D&D for more attacking football and ‘demanding’ an attacking coach will not change anything. Having said all that the Spuds looked pretty poor too.
1-0 in your cup final.. 1-0 in your cup final..
Well that short lived miracle didn’t last long.. After all those cringeworthy t shirts and mugs were made, it’s business as usual.
10 men, we only had 10 men.. and you still couldn’t score and we had more possession than you.
This is getting a habbit now.. Stalteri, Bale and now 20 year old Legend Eric Dier has broken your hearts with an injury time beauty..
OH WHEEEEEN THE SPUUUUURS…
Wow, your wit is incredible. Such originality. Sad little man, how about you stick to your own sites?
Ah, you don’t like it now. Of course none of you did this sort of thing last season did you???
You really should have thought it through because you surely knew it would be short lived..
I would like to thank the person who was responsible for setting this fixture up so early.. It was absolutely perfect.. We wanted a chance to shut you up nice and early and it was handed to us on a plate.. Beautiful..
You lot are so success starved it’s untrue.. How can you be happy with that display?? we had 10 men ffs and still had more possession than you and the same amount of shots on target..
I would be livid if that happened to us, but that’s the difference.
We were awful and you couldn’t even take advantage, even though the ref helped you out as usual.
If that was a good performance then you are in for another long season and your usual relegation scrap..Boing boing boing.
Billy billy billy… calm yourself down little man yes you beat us correct well done. Why do all spuds fans think they are a big club you are no bigger then us but I know you like to think you are. arsenal are the big club that comes from north London you will always be in there shadow. You win Fuck all. wasted all bales money on shit players that don’t even get in your first team now go back to shite Hart lane.
A very poor tottenham team with 10 men and we still never created anything. We need a manger not a defensive coach. Cole, Nolan and Vaz Te struggled 2 years ago in the championship, if anyone thinks they are good enough to start together in the premiership they need their head examined. Cole was a free agent last year and no one wanted him ( what a surprise). If we had a proper manager and maybe a top centre half to partner Reid and another centre forward we could do well this year. Like the new signings unfortunately Sam hasn’t a clue how to get the best out of the squad. Has anyone ever told him the best way to defend is to attack!!