Allen Cummings offers a Monday reflection after a difficult and disappointing weekend
Disappointed doesn’t cover it!
Saturday’s performance against Bournemouth was well below what most of us were hoping for! The optimism I felt before kick-off was still there with our 1-0 half time lead. But oh dear. The second half fell sadly well short.
It’s left us all looking for reasons ‘why’. For me the single most obvious reason for such a disjointed second 45 minutes in particular has to be the fact that new players in a new team, working under a new manager and adapting to new tactics and mindsets WILL take time gel.
Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe, a young manager I admire, hit the nail on the head in his post match interview. He pointed to the fact his side only included one of his summer signings in the starting eleven.
The players he used have been together as a group for a considerable time. They know each other’s play inside out. They know the manager’s tactics off by heart. West Ham, on the other hand, started with four of our summer signings in a system we rarely played under Moyes or Bilic.
A further three new signings came on during the game. So the team that finished had no less than seven newcomers.
It’s generally agreed we had a very ‘positive’ close season. In the main most of us were delighted with the players new manager Manuel Pellegrini brought in. I find it difficult to believe that already people are beginning to question some of the new additions.
Has our ‘marquee’ signing Anderson suddenly become a bad player? Has Wilshere lost the appeal he had just a couple of weeks ago? Is Balbuena no longer the solid defender we were led to believe? Is what we’ve seen in just two games so far enough for some doom and gloom merchants to be predicting relegation already? Come on. As ‘supporters’ we’re better than that surely.
Is it surprising that Fabianski is the one newcomer who has hit the ground running, already looking worth the investment and with no real blame attached to the goals he’s conceded. Surely that’s because goalkeeper is the one position that is least reliant on fitting in with his teammates.
Yes he needs an understanding with his defenders, but in the main he’s a solo performer. He has a job to do and that’s pretty easily defined. That’s not the case with outfield players. Often you’re as good as the people around you will allow.
We demanded new faces and the club responded. Now we’re complaining because they are taking time to settle in. That was always going to be the case. Anyone who thought differently are either naïve or deluded. Team building is like a jigsaw. All the pieces are there – but you need to work out where they fit to complete the picture.
Trouble is when things aren’t going smoothly all the old chestnuts surface; the moans about food prices, drink prices, stop/go boards, queues to the station…they’re all being trotted out again.
Come on, don’t let’s put ourselves through all that bickering and in-fighting again. This was meant to be a new beginning. A fresh start. It still can be if only we’re willing to give it a proper chance.