Monday 28 December 2009

Tottenham 2 West Ham 0 - Damage Limitation, Injuries Apart.


So, how stupid does Zola look at the moment? Interviewed before the kick off, he said he left the decision to Parker as to whether or not he should start. I'm sorry, but that is piss poor management. If Parker was feeling a hamstring two days after the Pompey match, there was no way in a million years that he should have been considered as a starter for this game. And so it proved. After 10 minutes, he was off and we were a goal behind because he was unable to track back as Tottenham broke. Eight minutes later and Ilunga was off too, having looked less than enthusiastic at the prospect of coping with Lennon. Let's hope neither injury is serious but with Parker, a niggle usually becomes semi terminal doesn't it?

The injuries apart, this was a huge mismatch from start to finish. It was to the immense credit of the defensive unit that we kept the score down to two, but by defending with such discipline, we offered absolutely nothing going forward. King and Dawson must have been wondering when the game was going to kick off as the ref signalled the end of the match! Gomes did get his hands on the ball once but I don't think he had a save to make as such did he?

Mind you, Green wasn't exactly busy was he? And what he was called upon to do, he did abysmally. Fair enough, he was unlucky with the bounce on the first goal, but unlucky is becoming his middle name. He made a terrible hash of catching one corner and was lucky Crouch barged into the back of him after he dropped the ball and he should have done much better with Defoe's initial shot for the second goal. His kicking throughout was woeful, culminating in the dreadful slice into touch. Ask yourself, how many saves has Green made over the last five games? Hardly any. Not only is he not an England keeper on his present form, it is questionable whether he deserves his place in the West Ham team.

Defensively, we were impressive. I suspect Zola has lost control to Clarke when it comes to how the team is set up. As soon as we tried to move on to the offensive, gaps appeared and Tottenham broke to score. That is our problem. We can defend as a unit but if we try to show any adventure, we are buggered. When Stanislas came on to add attacking impetus he was, yet again, played wide left with Diamanti switched to the right. It is madness, sheer madness, but incredibly some on here continue to defend the decision to play the kid on the wrong flank.

I know Tomkins lost Defoe for the second goal but, that apart, he coped well. Upson was rock solid. Faubert did his job and Spector coped manfully on the wrong flank up against Lennon. Kovac marked space well but again had no concept of how to track a runner from midfield, even when it was Huddlestone. Dear God, the guy is not easy to miss is he but Kovac managed to overlook his runs all afternoon. Behrami stuck to his defensive job well but offered nothing going forward as a result. Diamanti was barely in the match but still should have seen red for repeated fouls on Lennon, capped by mouthing off at the ref. Collison managed one shot on goal but, like the rest, spent the game marking space rather than running in to it. Jimenez returned to type by looking lost and poor Franco was more isolated than Yuri Gagarin when he was blasted into space. Still, he achieved his primary object, collecting a yellow that keeps him out of the Arsenal cup game rather than the crucial fixtures against Portsmouth and Wolves.

2-0 flattered us to be honest, not because Tottenham deserved to score more but because our zero return was too generous given how rarely we crossed the half way line! Reality bites back and mid table looks a million miles away all of a sudden!

Player Ratings: Green 3 - Faubert 6, Upson 8, Tomkins 7, Spector 6 - Collison 5, Behrami 6, Kovac 6, Jimenez 3, Diamanti 4 - Franco 4 (What could he do without the ball?)

9 comments:

steve said...

thought tomkins was your best player by a mile and with him having youth on his side could be a good buy for someone in january. maybe not as a first choice but as a backup for one of the bigger teams. your goalie looks to me to have lost all his confidence and apart from upson and parker i do believe you have a squad that will be near the bottom 3 for a long time to come. only problem is if both of them leave then relegation will be odds on to happen. what do you honestly think will happen in january and where do you think you'll finish up hammersfan? im not trying to wind you up or anything, just want to know what you think.

Hammersfan said...

God only knows Steve. I have been warning about the possibility of asset stripping since last April. I hope to God I am wrong.

Dave D said...

I cant believe Zola was praising the team afterwards.

Three ways of looking at it.

1.He knows nothing about the game and there for likes would he sees?

2.He has no balls to give his players a bollocking?

3.He is under the doctor for depression and because of his size the prozac is making him too hyper active & positive.

I think the latter,

Zola if you are reading this, try cutting the big blue tablets in half next week & maybe we might see a game next sunday.

Hammersfan said...

See a game next Sunday? We don't have a forward line for next Sunday! Parker may well be injured and surely won't be risked unless 100% (the same for Ilunga) and Upson may have been sold and, if not, won't be played to avoid him being cup tied!

Dave D said...

Alas, HF I think you are right yet again, I am hoping that the arse will only put out there kids,

But on second thoughts...getting spanked by there kids or first team ...hhhmmmm

but you never know we might even sign a player or two.

TBI said...

Tomkins hero, Green get rid his best days are past him.
Terrible performance had me moaning and groaning for 90mins and it didn't involve a woman.

T.I.S said...

I think our problem was clear. We we were overwhelmed by Tottenhams ability and looked pressured when closed down. Our players looked two dimentional and were turned with ease. The amount of long balls forward must have been a tactic of Zolas, which he insisted upon all the way through the game. Our midfield was congested with 5 players, none of which supported Franco. I think it was clear we were out to defend today, which I thought we did reasonably well, however we fail to learn from mistakes, and failed to pick up that ball that was sprayed to Lennon all game. Another six pointer against Wolves, and an Arsenal game I believe we should field a reserve team for.

Stani Army said...

HF
To be fair, Parker did have a fitness test which he passed.

I agree, Green was poor again. Joe Hart will take his place to S.A. James, Foster and Hart. He's always been poor with his legs. By that I mean kicking and running out to command his area and punch/catch balls.

Dave
The players did work hard even if we were clearly second best. I think this is what Zola was talking about. Also, having dragged ourselves off of the canvas with two recent good results against Chelsea ad Portsmouth, it would have been counter-productive to come out and be critical when we were clearly not going to win this one. If he comes out and sounds resigned, the players can pick up on it and it may needlessly damage our recently found confidence.

I accept, it may look from the outside that he doesn't know what he is talking about but I think he spoke well.

And a lesson in etiquette for Harry Redknapp; when the opposition manager comes to shake your hand, you get your lazy arse off your seat.

Anonymous said...

Zola gets treated with contempt because he's a twat, everyone knows it 'cept him