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Leroy’s verdict on the WBA issues

LEROY (1)Tony Pulis took as by surprise by going 4-4-2 at the start of the second half and we didn’t handle it because nobody would have imagined he’d do such a thing.

Pulis is a crafty old dog but let’s be honest West Brom still needed a massive piece of luck to get back into the game and Winston Reid was desperately unlucky to get that deflection into his own net.

After the way we had controlled things in the first half it was all so bitterly disappointing. Like all of you I feel flat, disappointed and let down and now we have to grind out a win – somehow, somewhere – we have to break this cycle.

Some of the problems we are suffering remain self-inflicted because we are losing the ball in good positions. Having said all that there were good things to admire.

The goal of course was sensational and in the first 45 minutes Lanzini and Zarate  as a pair looked as good as it gets. I was also delighted that there had been no hangover from the  Spurs defeat which there quite easily could have been.

There will be criticism of our performance – there always is when so much more looks possible – but we are being hit with some colossal bad luck such as that Albion goal but far more importantly the loss of Diafra Sakho.

I have always seen him as the key player in this team and Slaven said the same in his post-match press conference which is why I was surprised when he played him down the right previously.

We now have a major problem on our hands and I have to put my hands up and say I’m not sure how the manager will sort things out.

At a club like ours to lose one important player makes life difficult – to lose three of them is a real problem. I have a great deal of faith in the manager and every passing week sees Payet and Valencia on the way back.

I’m sure the boss will work things between the likes of Lanzini, Zarate, Carroll and Jelavic but we’ll need to see the extent of the Sakho injury before  exploring the various options available.

 

About Hugh5outhon1895

Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!" Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon

4 comments on “Leroy’s verdict on the WBA issues

  1. Does this mean we don’t think ahead,? Of course he changed his plan!

  2. The way that Zarate and Lanzini played, and were basically toying with West Brom’s defenders in the first half, shows that we can do well without Payet available. Let’s make no bones about it, that first half was as good as a West Ham side have played in a very long time, and we should have been out of sight by half-time. That we weren’t is an issue; the team doesn’t yet quite have that killer instinct. I think it will come, hopefully sooner rather than later. Sakho will definitely be a huge miss. But, I’m reminded of something that Jurgen Klopp said in an interview a week or two ago – he said that given his coaching, and hard work by the players, he can improve anyone’s touch, technique, and view of the game. Is there any reason to think that Slaven can’t do that with Carroll? Alright, he doesn’t have Sakho’s pace, but why can’t he adapt his game to play that role, if he has the patience to learn, and the commitment to work hard. After all, it can only make him a better player if he has more than one facet to his game.

  3. Agree 100% great performance and if Carroll can learn not to just try and flick the ball all the time pull wide like Sakho does to draw players away from the middle with his 100% effort he always puts in he can make the transition
    The midfield looked balenced with Kouyate ,Obiang,Lanzini and Zarate
    A part from Right back the defence did not panic and looked stronger,
    Moses just needs to up his work rate on the right hand side when not on the ball,
    We can change this around again without the panic

  4. The initial team set up and play was much better without Carroll – we play like we’ve got the handbrake left on when he’s in the Team.

    Jenkinson was poor again, he looks like the criticism is really getting to him, he looks completely shot – no confidence and frightened to make a mistake.

    Moses is an enigma – he’ll do something really good and then give the ball away extremely softly – he doesn’t work hard enough – very disappointing.

    The biggest problem is Sakho’s injury – could be catastrophic if he’s out for any amount of time – Carroll is no where good enough to start!

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