Tag: Sam Alladyce

WHU vs Sunderland 22/09/2012 – EPL


I said at the start of the season that we needed 10 points before the visit of Arsenal, and we started off the day being in line with that, and with a chance of going 3rd in the prem, as anyone who is any good was playing on the Sunday.

With that in mind i set off towards London with a confident feeling of another 1-0 win ,a la Villa. The journey to UP was a little disjointed as i got to the Pub in Forest Gate to be told i had missed the lads by 5 minutes, and they were on their way. Now i know they are old boys, but they do know their mobiles are not just for answering !

Anyway, a quick trip on the 58 later, and I arrive at the Theater of Mediocrity in time for a beer (which they had got me, despite having no idea where i was !) and kick off. The game started as these seem to , with a bit of feeling out from both sides. WHU seemed to be on top, but not too keen on pushing forwards. WHU seemed to be happy playing across the back without advancing and this is one thing that gets my goat. If you want to move it around down the pitch fine, but when it gets back to the anchor (in this case, Collins), then make sure that we are further up the pitch than when that phase starts. Anything else is a waste of time. Anyway, Collins seemed to be a little uncomfortable with this. So uncomfortable infact, he tried a hollywood ball out to Taylor, miss hit it, and gave is straight to Larrson, who then put in a beauty for Fletcher to get onto, nuts Collins and put the Black Cats one up. Arrrrgggg. This is the second time this season Collins has given away goals for no reason, and still he starts in front of Tompkins.

This put WHU on the back foot for some time, but with about 10 to go in the half we started to put the chances in with Vaz Te missing a sitter on the back post, while in the air. CC put a header just over, and the “athletic” Kevin Nolan forced a great save from Mignolet in the Mackem’s goal, with an overhead volley.

WHU go in at the break with a goal deficit, but seem to be capable, if they push on a bit. But there are too many loose balls from RVT and Noble needs to play further up the pitch.

The second half was a different story with WHU having all the game, but no clinical play near the Sunderland penalty box. CC was very quiet, and the crowd are getting on his back again. I have defended this guy to the end, but they now have a point, he is getting support from Nolan and RVT, but is not making the moves that a premier league striker needs too. Along with the fact that Bramble and O’Shea were playing well, meant he had to up his game.

The lack of incisive play was apparent to BFS as well, so he brought on Jarvis and Benayuon just before the 60 minute mark. This changed things massively. Jarvis forced Gardner into an early yellow, which gave him free reign for the rest of the game, and without the stats to hand, I would say he put in more crosses in 30 minutes than the rest of the team in the whole of the game.

With 90 gone and our pressure unrelenting it looked like just a bad day at the office, right up until another Jarvis cross led to some toing and froing, and ended up with Kevin Nolan getting on the end of a loose ball to equalize. Chicken dances all round, and a deserved point for the Hammers.

Martin O’Neill suggested his team should of won 3-0. I have no idea what game he is watching. Without his centre backs he would of got an hiding. No Idea what Sam said, but i imagine it was along the lines of hard fought, no easy games,etc, etc.

So what do we do now? Sam needs to start Jarvis. Why pay 11 mil for a player of that quality and put him on the bench. Hopefully we dont have another Baldock on our books. We are not Man City and every pound has to count.

RVT. I have suggested elsewhere, that this lad is not Premier League quality, and yesterday was more proof. He looks OK when he has space, but with quicker players closing him down, he was terrible. He doesn’t have the quick thinking a player of his undoubtable talent should have. Maybe a Jan exit back to the championship for a few mil will help everyone. Talking of slow thinkers, Mark Noble. He may be Hammer of the year, he may be a local boy, but he is not irreplaceable. He takes too long on the ball, and seems to always go sidewards and backwards. Now with Diame in the team, he should play deeper, but he’s almost a 5th defender. And his obsession with taking every free kick and corner is starting to grate, especially with Nolan, Taylor and Jarvis on the pitch ! Apparently he’s getting a new 5 year contract on Monday, but if someone comes in with silly money we should move him on.

CC needs to buck up. Obviously the Carroll situation has pissed him off, but come on Carlton, move about a bit. You were an international 2 years ago, where’s it all gone ?

SAM: Jarvis must start, no negotiation, he was the best crosser of a ball last season in the prem. Why bench him now? Also Collins need to be given a kick up the arse. Play Tomks in mid week, and if he does the business, then let him start against QPR next Monday.

So for MOTM, Reid and Diame were again solid and played really well, but for his support play, his attempts at goal and keeping our unbeaten home record this season, it has to be the newer, fitter, Kevin Nolan.

Captain Chicken to the rescue.

Swansea City VS WHUFC 25/08/2012 EPL


Last week, i blogged about us getting away with it, this week it showed.

The Swans trumped QPR 5-0 last week, and for successive weeks they gave successive WHU (past and present) goalkeepers a torrid time.

I watched the first half in the house, and listened to the second in the car, but i dont need to be there to comment on this game.

So the game. We started Collins again in defence and gave record signing Matt Jarvis Taylors berth on the left. RVT was dropped in favour of Tompkins who started in the middle of the park, to allow Nolan and Jarvis to support Cole.

We started off, OK at best, but soon the cracks started to show. But after 20 Jussi made an absolute howler, rediverting a cross under his body and into the goal. Nine minutes later, Collins passed back a ball so poor it has no home, and Michu ran onto it to put the Swans 2 up.  We started to pick up a little, with some interesting corners, and Nolan came close just before half time.

Nothing changed on the second half, it was all one way traffic ,with Graham getting the third and final goal in the 69th minute.

So what went wrong.

1. Tompkins in the midfield. This was tried last year and was OK at best, as the opposition wasn’t good enough to exploit it. However Swans just moved around him, once they realised he’s not exactly Iniesta on the mobility front.

2 No Vaz Te, a negative move again. Against a team who love to push forward, surely a pacey winger with some skill should be playing. Ahhhh, Jarvis is already playing and you cannot have 2 on the pitch until it goes wrong. NO Sam wrong, wrong wrong. This was a game we were probably going to lose anyway, so why not go for it.

3. Poor old Carlton. Again left in no mans land, about 30m from any other Hammer player. Nolan drifted backwards, unless we had a corner or free kick, and if CC did hold it up, it took and age to get to him. I have moaned and moaned about BFS’s inability to play this lad properly, and its really starting to get to me. He needs support and balls on the deck, end of.

I really hope Tompks doesn’t piss off this week, but if he is going to misused every week, then you cannot blame him. Baldock did and fair play to him. Who’s next, Maynard ?

Personally , i think we had the tools to give the Swans a good game, but Sam made the mistakes, along with Collins and Jussi.

Bad day at the office? hope so………..

NO JAMES. SHIIIIITTTTT !

Heres a useless fact (lost hammers ?:)). The last three -including the current- coaching set up at Liverpool had ex Hammers personnel in. Steve Clarke, Kevin Keen and now Mike Marsh. And look how well they are doing !

 

WHUFC vs Brighton and Hove Albion – 14/04/2012 Championship


After the Reading and Southampton game the previous evening, it appeared that WHU’s chances of automatic promotion were slim if not gone completely. With this in mind, the fact that we had a near full house surprised me. Over 32000 came to watch a game between two now playoff hopefuls. Once again the cold set in, and i expected yet another draw for Big Sams team. It was refreshing to see that Vaz Te was allowed to play up front with CC, in a near 442 formation. Also coming in for a second time in just over a week, was Guy Demel, making a welcome run in the team post injury.

The two up front strategy seemed to work as we hit the bar in the first minute. Then out of nowhere Vaz Te banged one in from range, leaving the keeper like a Coldstream guard, one nil 3 mins. By seven mins he had doubled his tally with a header for 2 nil. Brighton had no response and by 10 mins Nolan had got onto the end of a Tomkins back post header to tap in the 3rd.

By this time Hamers fans were dreaming of record wins, and closing the goal difference on Southampton. And then BFS switched to one up front again, and Vaz was restricted to shots from distance which i assume was team orders as Brezovan, the seagulls keeper, didn’t like to catch and kept punching out, giving forwards who follow up some sort of chance. Half time came and went, pretty quietly, as did the first 20 mins of the second half. The we moved to two up front again, and Vaz Te took a stunning bicycle kick  to get his hattrick, and celebrate his change (not BFS’s in my opinion) to go back up front.

This reopened the floodgates, and CC got his first of the day with a hard shot that deflected off Lansbury to go 5 nil up. CC by the way had his worst day bar none, missing nearly all balls hit his way, but he didn’t give up and got his reward. Just when things couldn’t get any worse for Brighton, in came a Noble corner, which hit the back of the calf of Dicker for an own goal, and the last of the day.

West Ham win 6 0, but it’s all a little late, we need Southampton to lose at least one of their next 2 games. We have to win all of our games, and it really didn’t need to be this way. Once again, 2 up top is the solution, and Sam should be by now getting disciplinaries from the board based on this omission. Even today it proved the difference for probably two more goals. Speaking of which Lansbury should of got one, when he blazed over the bar from about 8 foot. This was a player who i thought would make the difference, and always scores for the under 21’s, but looks terrible for WHU. Where does he need to play, Centre Mid ? Would you drop Noble, or introduce some sort of xmas tree formation?

Apparently Morrison in injured. Or apparently Ravel has had a tiff with our own Kevin Nolan, and is currently on suspension from the club. This of course could be nonsense, but not surprising.

One other thing i heard is that if we dont get promotion, then Kevin Davies is on his way this summer. Really ? To replace who, Carew? Baldock ? or someone else who hardly plays.

Cheers Vaz (again !)

 

We have Bristol City on Tuesday, in a game to extend our away record and close the gap on Southampton. We drew at home, in a dire wet evening game, lets hope Tuesday is better. Then Leicester away on Saturday. By then, realistically we will know where we are in relation to a straight promotion.

Fingers crossed and 2 up top.

 

MOTM: Ricardo Vaz Te. who else.

Barnsley vs WHUFC 06/04/2011Championship


I watched this round a friends house, so i cannot really comment on tactics, and ebb and flow, as i was half on this on half elsewhere. BUT.

0-4 to West Ham and an all time away wins in a season record. Nice work chaps.

The front 3 seemed to actually be a front three with Nolan, Maynard, and Vaz Te, involved and all scoring. nice chip from Noble for his one as well.

Barnsley were poor thought, almost completely bereft of ideas.

The real issue is that we are now third, and if Southampton win, 6 points of auto promotion with 5 games to go. If we need to overtake Southampton, they need to lose three games (goal difference), and Reading 2. At this stage of the season, that is a tall ask. So it looks like we could have 90 points and be in the playoffs. Obviously Sam’s plan of averaging 2 points a game to guarantee promotion was spot on. Shame he never set the team up with a chance of doing that until its too late.

Brum on Monday. MASSIVE.

WHUFC vs Middlesbrough 20/03/2012 Championship


Is this the night Sam lost the Boleyn ?

This game was rubbish, for both teams from start to finish, and the draw was fair. Also fair play to the Boro lads coming down that far on a Tuesday, and having to suffer a game of such low quality. Also, apologies to any one who tuned into Sky, as a neutral, to catch this “top of the table” clash

Now onto the meat and veg. We were poor, and played the old one up front game again. How many times do I have to say this Sam, Carlton Cole cannot play every ball up in the air. The guy is good on the ground and can bring others into play, but you continue to choose to use him as a traditional target man. David Cross left some time ago.

Noble and Nolan were inefficient, and Noble looked like he had been on a treadmill all day, he was that slow. Tompkins has to come out of the midfield, you are destroying a lad who could be a United legend, and if we don’t go up, will definitely leave at the end of the season.

Greenie was getting v.frustrated with the teams lethargy, and this has to stop. If you have a plan, stick to it, else change the plan.

Maynard was completely wasted on the wing. This is not his fault. Yet another who must be wondering why he is there.

Then we come to the tactics. Once we went one nil up (to a lucky goal, but we had had all the pressure to be fair), why did CC and Maynard have to leave the pitch immediately ? Did you not think they may go on to score another, as Boro would have to open up. Collison has been poor all season. This was the time to introduce Morrison, to inject some pace and vision into proceedings.

Once they equalised (great goal by the way), you almost admitted this by bringing on Baldock.

Sam , you are losing the home crowd. We don’t expect to be winning leagues all over the place, and knocking out Barca in the CL, but we do expect common sense.

You have done well thus far, but you have to play to our strengths, as well as the weaknesses of the opposition. I’m sure you heard the Paulo Di Canio calls , the same as I did. If backed by the board i think you can do a job for us in the Premiership, but currently the main objective is the Championship. A win on Saturday is a must.

Stand firm, keep the faith !

MOTM: N/A (it really was that bad)