There is an ugly and familiar theme running through West Ham’s second half of the season; the inability to hold onto leads. West Brom (H) Swansea (A) Man United (H) Spurs (A) with the exception of West Brom who merited their point we should’ve won the rest and good God if we had we’d still in the mix for fourth.
It shows how far we’ve come that we’ve completely outplayed Spurs, somehow, someway they’ve snuck a point and celebrated like they’d clinched the title, in years gone by it would’ve been the other way around. I don’t rate this Spurs side; in my opinion they’re not a patch on the great team they had a few years back with Bale, Modric, Defoe, Van der Vaart etc. The fact we comfortably outplayed them is no great shock, the fact we came away with a point is no crumb of consolation.
Once again, when Allardyce’s position is being called into question, he has managed to produce a top performance; a performance that should’ve yielded yet another win at the Lane. If the club choose not to renew the big man’s contract they simply must have a stellar name lined up to replace him. Whether the #Allardyceout brigade want to admit it or not the fact is that when Sam replaced the shambolic Avram Grant we’d just been relegated having finished bottom of the league, four years later and we’re sitting eighth in the league, we all would’ve taken that after relegation was confirmed at the DW stadium in the 10/11 season with the last kick of the game.
There are causes for optimism despite the pain gnawing away into our collective chests every time we mentally picture Harry Kane tumbling like a felled tree under the slightest of contact. The return of Winston Reid was a welcome sight; he may be off in the summer but I thought he kept English football’s latest golden boy in check throughout the entirety of the contest. And of course there’s Cheikhou Kouyate who’s form and performances have been very impressive of late; his mobility, physical presence and goals make a sizeable difference our play.
The other major positive to take from that most gut-wrenching of draws is there are signs that the Sakho and Valencia partnership which terrorised the league for the first half of the season may well be having a little renaissance. Sakho took his goal well and the Spurs defence struggled all game to deal with the pace of Valencia…oh if only Enner had taken THAT chance at 0-2.
Crystal Palace at home next up and a win is vital especially with Arsenal and Chelsea back-to-back looming ominously, if we can match recent performances (excluding West Brom of course) a return to winning ways won’t be too far away.
Oh and if you simply can’t get over the Kane’s theatrics just watch the Hammers fan’s parody of the Chelsea metro; that video can’t help but put a smile on your face…same old West Ham taking the…mick.
What game were you at? Despite having played on Thursday night and with one eye on a wembley final (remember them? ) Spurs could have been 3 up before we gifted you a goal with your first effort on target. And only effort of the first half. Adrian kept you in the game….as did a referee who managed to find a way for Noble to avoid an overdue red card. Spurs played badly…..dragged down to your midtable long ball style….but fully deserved one point and probably all three. The goals came late……is it our fault or yours that our players are fitter? You have had a shocking record home and away vs Spurs apart from last season and we habitually score late goals against you. Staltieri, Bale, Dier, Kane, Rose…..ask yourself why you throw away more leads than a Crufts loser. Reid played well….he’ll be a useful squad player for us next season. And tell Fat Sam that you dont get penalties if the only time you get the ball in the box is when its a head-high cross. Run at defenders and you get penalties. Simples.
If I had my Keane would have got a oscar in Hollywood god he went down like a old lady who knickers had fallen if Gonzo had playing he would made sure he went down and stayed down, poor Danny Blancflower will be turning in his grave
West Ham dominated? Seriously you was lucky to get a point not Spurs.
Mafia, fire bombers, referee and cheats steal West Ham’s 2 points;
After 50 years of watching West Ham FC, I cannot take this game seriously anymore, and if the FA does not do the only reasonable thing that needs to be done, i.e. they overturn the result of the Spurs v West game on Sunday 22nd February, then I will never ever be able to take this game seriously anymore and it will have lost its integrity. I was raised as many children were raised, in the belief that cheats never prosper, yet when an attacker with the ball runs into the penalty area with the intent of going down, as in falling over at the slightest pressure from the defending team, then for me, that player is nothing more than a dirty rotten cheat. I had been admiring this player’s exploits up until now, thinking he thoroughly deserves a call up for the England national team, but after Sunday’s incident? No, never will I be an admirer of him ever again, and especially with him being an Englishman, as we are all brought up with the belief that English play things fair, so point 1 is the penalty should never even have been awarded for someone who had the intention of conning the referee by falling over or even diving, if anything he should have been booked. The 2nd point is that the penalty kick was taken in the 95 minute and 54 seconds and with only 5 minutes of added time that kick and the resulting save by Adrian should have been the last action of the match. The match report states; 90:00 +5:54 Penalty saved! Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) fails to capitalize on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom left corner. The final whistle should definitely been blown then, because with an extra 54 seconds being played over the added 5 minutes. That was overtime, just as a penalty shoot-out is over time where if a penalty is saved it’s no goal. I think West Ham United FC should take this case to an FA tribunal and the arbitration of sport if necessary, to get this result overturned and the 3 points for a win being rightfully awarded to them. If not? Then this game for me will have lost its integrity and I never ever am able to return to watching this game again and take it seriously as the game will have become a farce with the spoils going to those who cheat. It was bad enough and very saddening for me to read of the Archway Sheet Metal Works, in Paxton Road, Tottenham, north London being raised to the ground in a mystery fire at 05:00 GMT on 25 November 2014 and then the club appears to have the gall to blame this event on its own fans? This stinks of actions by a mafia, still what does one expect from the likes of people who are sponsoring Spurs new stadium reconstruction. Former US President Andrew Jackson threw them out of controlling the central reserve bank of America in the 1830s, only for them to return to take control of the US Fed again in 1913, and since 1913 we’ve had a 100 years of war ever since, as sponsoring war is their favorite money maker, no this is who Spurs are in league with and if ever I meet Mr. Josif Josif, 46, who ran the family business producing metal items for the catering and hospitality industry, I would personally like to shake him by the hand and congratulate him and his family in their efforts to continue running their business for the past 7 years up until the fire, and opposing a compulsory purchase order placed over them and opposing the likes of who they were up against, and it’s also thanks to this cartel, that West Ham FC got tied down in litigation which spoiled their chances of owning the Olympic stadium, and hey presto? As soon as that outcome became known to Spurs and their financial backers, their bid for the stadium was withdrawn as in mission of sabotage accomplished. This game cannot go on with any integrity. That result at White Hart lane on Sunday has to be overturned and the 3 points awarded rightfully awarded to West Ham FC. The FA where almost at the stage of awarding the FA cup match to Bristol City because of West Ham fielding Sakho. This is far more serious than that so, Spurs should also be fined for supporting cheats and the game forfeited to West Ham FC. That was also terrible refereeing so action should be taken by the FA over that as well.
How sweet it is, this is what saving Harry Kane to try and beat us cost them; Fiorentina 3 – 1 Tottenham. What goes around comes around and now suck eggs Spurs and bring on Chelsea next. The sight of a deluded Pochettino cursing yeah, guess Spurs will get ready for their expendable managereal musical chair soon, that club is a joke and in fact has been since the days when Alan Sugar took over