Last night, I began to run out of options. Both with the team and a very (very) small minority of the West Ham support. Particularly a handful of people behind Robert Green’s goal in the second half – your vitriolic and spiteful hatred towards your own players is vile and abhorrent. It literally achieves nothing.

Here are my worrying observations of our tacticts, our team, our confidence and our manager.

Tactics: 4-5-1? At home? Against West Brom?

Hearing the lineup was unusually pleasant. A starting XI including Piquionne, Cole, Dyer, Barrera actually sounds OK. It’s got the makings of an exciting, attacking 4-4-2 with two pacy wingers and one inventive striker on form.

Seeing the lineup however was a completely different matter.

We have to keep it simple, we have to play to our strengths.

We were at home, to West Brom. Not to take anything at all away from the way West Brom have performed so far this year – they’ve been at times a real breath of fresh air. Who goes 3-0 up at the Emirates after all? But they’d lost two on the trot the incentive had to be with us. We were at home and desperate for a result. There was no other option than to take 6 points from this week. Again giving West Brom the respect they deserve, but it’s the sort of game we do have a chance of picking a win up in.

You do not start the game with a formation that says we’re scared of losing and are happy with a point.

It is not acceptable. It’s not the way forward this season.

I understand that the role of Piquionne was to be our right sided midfielder when defending and to push forward to join Cole when we had possession going forward. We’re not Barcelona Avram. We don’t have it within our team who are low on morale, to play a fluid/liquid system where players such as Barrera, Piquionne, Boa Morte & Dyer each have a variety of responsibilities. We have to keep it simple, we have to play to our strengths.

Dyer. Pacy & tricky.
Barrera. Pacy & tricky.
Piquionne. Striker. Our goal threat.

It makes absolutely no logical sense, whatsoever to stick our main goal threat (exlcuding Parker) on the wing & effectively out of the game for large portions.

We have to keep it simple. We have to play to our strengths.

It’s almost like when tickets are cheap they give us a cheap performance (Newcastle, Bolton, West Brom) but when tickets are full price (Spurs) they’re out there to give us our money’s worth (of course that’s not actually what they’re doing, but it does feel like that sometimes).

That’s just how we started the game and played for the first half. The second half was a little different as we saw Dyer pushing forward a lot more to support Cole. It became a lot more attacking and we started to carve out a few more opportunities.

At least, we did for 10-15 minutes.

Move. Move. MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE!

One of the most frustrating things for me last night was a complete lack of movement. Which was quite ironic seeing as the system we had set up required players to be mobile and switched on the whole time.

There were times when the whole team were static. Not pushing forward and sitting in our own half. At home, 1-0 down, to West Brom.

In fact if you look at the moment immediately before Parker’s goal you’ll see that our entire team bar Cole who was roughly on the edge of their box, were way back on the half way line. As great as Parker’s goal was, we were so fortunate that he showed the initiative to burst forward from midfield and actually move. No-one else seemed to want to take that upon themselves. Once again, we relied on Parker.

Parker – different role.

Just as a quick aside, it’s clear that Parker has a very different role this year. And I do like it.

Louis Boa Morte & Herita Illunga

Quite amazingly, these two still keep getting picked.

Herita Illunga has been a significantly worse player, with apparently significantly less interest since he earned a contract with us. He was once again completely missing when we conceded the second goal last night. No matter how much you look at it the left back has to be responsible for not picking up Ibanez. The time he had to put that ball in the back of the net was horrible. But sadly, not unexpected.

Louis Boa Morte has had his fair share of stick over the seasons. He works hard. But is rubbish. Simple as that really. He is wasteful in possession, he can be a liability in a tackle and doesn’t have a role in the side. Is he there to attack or defend? Often, he’ll do the hard stuff but fail on a simple 3 foot pass – or, as we saw last night, pass the ball off the pitch either for a throw or a goal kick. It’s basic basic stuff that is beginning to cost us.

These wasteful, frustrating mistakes, or going AWOL each time a cross comes in from the opposing team’s right flank are beginning to cost us games. Everyone makes mistakes, I get that. But it’s becoming predictable each week who’ll be making them and making them consistently. Has to stop.

Carlton Cole, confidence.

I actually feel for Carlton a little. I’ve often been a critic and it’s fair to say that for a striker he simply does not score enough goals. However the tactics that Avram played last night completely isolated him. He had very little chance to impact the game in a way I reckon he’d like to.

Still, however, we cannot be relying on a striker who needs confidence if he’s going to put in a good shift. We can’t have him moping around the pitch not scoring.

Obinna was on the bench last night and Piq was on the wing. I’m sorry to say it Avram but those two have to be starting ahead of Cole when he’s a ‘feeling sorry for myself’ mood. We literally look toothless with him up front on his own. And I don’t think it’s his fault.

Avram: “From my experience, if we continue like this then the points will come”

It’s fair to say, that if we can’t pick up points off Bolton, Stoke, Wolves, West Brom, Newcastle and maybe even Blackpool, playing this system then it’s hard to see where the three points will come from. It’s not points against Arsenal or United that we want, it’s not even a cup run. It’s points against the teams around us.

I understand that confidence plays a huge part in all of this and confidence is clearly very low. It’s low on the pitch and low on the stands – I’m not sure which breeds the other but us fans are there every week, and are vocal in our support but last night showed that if you start a game negatively then the fans are going to struggle to be as positive as we can be, because we’re not seeing it reciprocated on the pitch.

4-5-1 at home to West Brom. You look at that and you can predict how the game will pan out – it happens each week and for me personally it’s becoming very difficult to get behind and support that system. But I’ll be there on Saturday and I’ll be there at Anfield. I’ll be there at United and by the looks of things, I’ll be there at Scunthorpe next year.

Of course, every new system does need time but for me it’s just not working. It may change, but right now it is not working.

Please do not take this post as knee-jerk or definitive, it’s what I saw last night and I’m worried if this is what the future holds. Thoughtful opinions always welcome

COYI

Update: What Kieron Dyer has said through the Official Site is spot on in my opinion – it was also great to see him play 90mins!

Other players to have been included are Joe Hart, Jamie Carragher, Stephen Warnock, Adam Johnson and Darren Bent. Amongst the usuals.

Zamora and Hargreaves miss out.

Here’s the full provisional squad

It’s nice once in a while to focus on some positives and I think the prospect of Terry Dixon has to be mentioned. Most Tottenham  fans were confident that the fella was going to be a big talent, but all agreed that his injury history was holding him back significantly. The gamble on our part to take him on board still does remain, in my eyes, a gamble – but seemingly at the minute, one definitely worth taking.

He stuck two away in a 5-2 reserve win last night (Dyer grabbed a couple and Nouble got one more – also a big talent), and played a full 90mins…a lot of credit has to go to our backroom team for bringing him back to fitness. At 19 he still has a huge future ahead of him and it encourages me to know that in him and Nouble we have two exciting understudies to our current first choice strikers and potentially, a couple of players who could also competently start up front with Cole.

COYI!

Sam

So optimism and expectation was high going into the Everton game. Morale was up, confidence was good. That, it would seem, is often a problem for West Ham – perhaps we just get carried away too quickly?

It’s fair to say that we had the best of the game last night – the players were hungry (particularly Parker and Behrami), we were creating chances and I felt were up for it. And then, out of nothing, Saha just decides that it was about time he put the ball in the back of the net…so he did.

Strikers and chances

Was that the difference between the two sides? The ability to put chances away…we certainly had the lion’s share of chances (I think 18 attempts on goal compared to their 9), yet we only manage a poor 4 on target (compared to their 5). How we were not 1 or even 2 up at half time, I don’t know.

It was becoming frustrating at times – my mentality was becoming, “well even if we are in a good position, I just can’t see us scoring”. That’s never a good sign.

Tactics

However…was the difference more to do with tactics? From where I was standing, and this is not a criticism of Parker or any other midfielder, but I felt the decision to start with Jiminez in a forward position (think it may even have been a 4-3-3 setup from the outset) was a wrong one. Fellani was having a lovely time in the middle of the park and he, to me, was running the show. Every instance the ball was at his feet, he seemed to have time to do something with it. That should never have been the case. I really felt we were crying out for an extra man in the middle – and although he’s had some criticism this year, that man needed to be Noble.

The only good thing to come out of playing against Fellani yesterday was the song that originated from the back of the STB lower…

“He’s got an old bird’s muff, on his head”

The ‘Ref’

Or perhaps, and finally, we were subject again to a poor refereeing performance. Running the risk of sounding sounding like Steve Bruce here, but are the refs getting worse and worse every week? I don’t think it’s an excuse for all those chances we spurned, and equally he was bad for both sides, but was Franco not onside when he put the ball in the back of the net in the closing minutes? Did he not warn Fellani over and over again for a) some of his challenges and b) for arguing back- yet fail to book him until late in the game?

I’m sure Everton fans could probably chip in with some bookable offences that he missed for them them too – so it’s not a complaint of bias here, more a complaint (again) of inconsistency.

When and Everton player went down in the second half, the ref felt it correct to stop the game for him – despite the fact he was standing up. And then not ask him to leave the pitch for treatment – they’re just small things, but refs need to be consistent in these decisions. If he was injusred, yet still standing, make him leave the field for treatment. Is that not how it should work?

Some positives…

- Scott Parker, to me was immense…and I am left scratching my head a little as to why Jenas and co get picked for the England side over him (well, Parker at his best anyway)

- Da Costa seems to me to be brilliant in the air – although not 100% convinced, my opinion of him is growing by the game

- I don’t think we’re far from clicking as a team – and when that happens, I’m confident we’ll make ground on Liverpool

COYI

Sam

There were still the occasional runs into dead ends and the odd instance of just trying to do too much, but across the 90mins he truly stood out. He was taking most direct balls to him down brilliantly, whilst confidently holding it up until there were more players around him, his play on the floor was tight and controlled and his goal was instinctive.

As for Diamanti, his passion and energy is undoubtable and I sense that he is an intelligent player. He does strike me as a little bit of an animal and it worries me that he may be a hot head, but nonetheless the more he climatises to the English game the more impressed with him I am becomming.

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However, I’m close now and there should be something new coming your way soon

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IRRONS

Sam

It was not a sign that we are moving forward, and it underlined the fact the we are not really on a sound financial footing. I don’t think there is a single club in the Premier League who would consider signing Carlton Cole as moving forward.

The fact that Zola is personally giving him shooting lessons every day until he can score underlines that perfectly for me.  Zola says that, “From Monday on I’ll be working on his finishing every single day until he’s fed up with it. He has to score more goals because it can change performances so much”. No kidding. If Carlton could finish, we would have beat Chelsea, we would have at least got a point against Villa. And that is to name just two recent games.

We are a Premier League side, he is getting paid a Premier League players salary yet he needs finishing lessons. Give me a break.

I’ve kept calm for a long while as I know there is a lot of support for Carlton because he works hard. I’ll give it to him, he does. And he has also improved on his ability to trap a ball and to flick one on. I’ve now seen him win a total of 3 headers this year.I would like to hear from people why they think he is a good asset to the team, it genuinely interests me because I personally cannot see it. I’d rather us play football on the ground and utilise the combination of the pace of Sears and Bellamy.

He has to score more goals because it can change performances so much

Zola has realised that he is pretty much the main reason we are not winning games now, “We play well, we try everything, we create chances but we can’t get it going right now and it’s becoming a problem. Yet we are determined to change things. We deserve much better than this. Bellamy is playing very well and Cole is playing well too. But he needs to be more focused on scoring goals. He knows that”

Every single player in the side is putting in match winning performances at the moment. Green is outstanding, along with Upson, Davenport/Collins. Illunga is playing very well. Parker has been exceptional, so has Behrami. Noble is finding form again, Collison is playing brilliantly. When Mullins features he plays well and does his job. Bellamy is scaring defences and creating chances, for himself and for others (admittedly he’s not scoring as many as I would like, but he is creating so many  chamces for the team). It would seem that the job Cole is responsible for is putting his chances away. That is all.

We need to replace him with someone who can finish the chances we are creating. He can be lazy and not work hard for all I care because we don’t need someone who runs around a lot. We need someone who can score – and then we will start to win games and the results will reflect our performances.

I am very frustrated by him and my patience is wearing thin.

COYI

Sam

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Either that or we are improving the amount of money we can ask for him in the transfer window….depending on your opinion on Scott Duxbury our financial situation will determine on the outcome of that debate.

Upon signing the contract, Freddy had this to say:

I am obviously delighted to have signed for another five years with West Ham,

I am looking forward to concentrating on football now and getting ready for the next game that is coming up.

It’s nice to know the club wants you here, for that long as well. I am enjoying my football and all that I have been doing and hopefully I can now show there is more to come

Obviously I am learning every day, I am 19 tomorrow and just trying to get better all the time and see how far I can go

That, Carlton Cole, is how you respond to signing a new contract with West Ham. Sears has shown maturity beyond his years with this comment, and I am delighted to hear that he has signed. If you haven’t done already, have a read through freddyfreddy’s post a couple of days ago entitled More Bad News For West Ham Fans….

He is demonstrating a desire to be playing football, to improve and to go places with West Ham and that is exactly we need.

Have a read of this if you want something that will get your backs up

COYI!!

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Devestated.

That for me however is not the bad news, although I don’t really rate Cole. What is really disappointing is the comments from him and Scott Duxburry in light of the agreement.

Firstly, Cole:

I am here for quite a while so it is time to knuckle down.-BBC Sport

Sorry, what Cartlon? He’s pulling our legs right?

Time to knuckle down? What and the last three years weren’t. It has certainly shown if that is what he thinks.

He may as well have just said:

I’ve been here for three long years and never done much. I wasn’t even planning to stay for very long as I thought I was good enough to play for bigger clubs. West Ham (that is the team I play for right?) were supposed to just be a “stepping stone”. It’s not really turned out how I wanted though, so I’ve decided that I might settle for the hand I’ve been dealt and actually do something for the team I am playing for now.

I am so unimpressed with this comment. It has genuinely made me cross. How much does he not want to be here? He never did and he never will.

If it’s any consolation Carlton, I am as disappointed as you are that you’ve signed for another 5-years and I intend on making that as clear as you have.

Onto Duxbury:

This news underlines that as a club we are thinking only of moving forward and are on a sound financial footing - BBC Sport

Actually it doesn’t at all and don’t continue to try and pull the wool over our eyes. What this really means is that we have no money whatsoever to invest in a quality striker that we so desperatly need. I doubt there is a single club in the Premier League who would consider signing Carlton Cole as “thinking only of moving forwards”. If they did, then he would have had people frantically trying to sign him in the summer.

He has been better this year, but I remember last year thinking that in the transfer window we will get rid of Cole and LBM. I am still left thinking the same.

Perhaps he is actually phenomenal in training and a completely different player. I doubt that very much.

I am sorry to have spilt this rant onto your laps, but I am fed up with hearing Duxbury treat us like fools. I am also fed up with our ‘striker’ who doesn’t really want to be here. I know that the opinion is pretty mixed on him amongst fans (have a look at last week’s poll) but as far as I am concerned he has played 11 league games and scored in 3. We need to bring in someone who is going to be scoring more regularly than that because unfortunately goals are not coming from any other positions

How many more years does Cole think he’ll need before he ever reaches top form? I’ll go as far to say that in the next 5 years we would have sold him to QPR where he will continue to disappoint because he thinks he is good enough to play for Wolves.

I want to underline that this is just my opinion and there are plenty of people I know who will disagree but I am interested to hear what other people think on the matter of Cole and our long-term aspirations…

freddyfreddy

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There is a big debate as to whether Carlton Cole is good enough, not only for us, but also as a Premiership player. We have had to endure so many games where Cole has misfired and has been lethargic, yet other times he works himself into the ground which genuinely impresses.

Personally I feel that we do desperately need someone in his position fulfilling the role of ‘target man’ so to speak, but for me he comes with too many frustrations. He hardly seems to win headers, his first touch resembles that of a baby elephant and he doesn’t score enough. Three key factors that make up a quality striker.

With that in mind, I thought a quick poll could help conclude whether a decent cross-section of West Ham fans would be pleased or devestated at Cole signing a new deal:

[poll id="9"]

Just a quick question, if Arsenal are entitled to compensation over the Walcott injury (because he was away on international duty), are/were we also entitled to it when Dean Ashton broke his ankle during an England training session? We could claim well over a years wages…

COYI!

Sam

See the results of my Curbishley or Zola Poll

Andy Johnson was also sent off for Fulham deep into first half injury time for two bookable offences.

We have found ourselves at times on the backfoot, but our exceptionally strong finish to the half (and the sending off) should hopefully see us take the initiative in the second.

More to follow at full time

COYI!

Starting Fulham XI: Schwarzer, Paintsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky (booked), Gera, Murphy (booked), Bullard, Davies, Johnson (sent off), Zamora

Starting West Ham XI: Green, Faubert, Upson, Neill, Illunga, Behrami, Noble, Parker, Etherington (1), Di Michele, Cole (1)

Sam

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