By CandH blogger Allen Cummings
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and as football fans we are all massively wiser after events!
When we’ve seen what’s gone wrong – and can’t wait to announce how we would have played it differently and always assume that would have brought about a different conclusion.
It’s what we do. It’s very much part of why we love this game so much.
On Saturday Manuel Pellegrini made a couple of calls on his team sheet that had us all scratching our heads before the game – clenching our fists half way through it – and shaking our heads at the end.
The fact that he made half time changes which saw the kind of team the majority of us would have picked in the first place, didn’t seem to quell our anger and frustration.
We drew the second half 0-0, but it was the first half that did for us. As a result the manager has come in for plenty of criticism, and that’s fair enough. It goes with his job.
The buck stops at his door. But just as we all feel let down – he was badly let down, too, and it clearly showed in his post-match comments.
So what was the reason for his team choice? While we’ve all been twiddling our thumbs over the past 14 days, Pellegrini and his coaching staff were still at work – with whatever squad players he had at his disposal.
Once the returning internationals joined the fold, and the manager sat down to choose his team for Saturday, he had a number of things to consider – based on what he’d seen for himself regarding fitness and mindset. Facts we could only guess at.
Based on that, he clearly picked a team and formulated a plan he felt would work but for any plan to work effectively, you need the full application and co-operation of the players.
It was abundantly clear he didn’t get that from certain individuals. They let him down badly. He was furious! We were furious. He reacted mid-game, but it wasn’t enough to save the day.
So with hindsight (that word again), what have we learned?
O That Perez and Obiang are finally finished in claret and blue.
O That despite his critics Noble is still an influential ingredient of this side.
O Anderson may be frustrating at times, but it definitely shows when he’s absent.
O Lanzini is still a jewel in our crown, but it’s unrealistic for us to expect after his long absence he can step straight back into the fold as if he’d never been away.
O And that Manuel Pellegrini is still a vastly experienced and capable manager that we’re extremely lucky to have at our club.
Like us all he is fallible and gets it wrong sometimes.
But to calls for his head,which I’ve seen in a couple of places, are the height of absurdity.
To the Pellegrini apologists: not just his HEAD!
He is paid vast sums for his alleged vast experience to demonstrate even a modicum of FOREsight, not just HINDsight.
Perhaps you could explain what this fortunate vast expeience actually brings to our club?
As for “Mindset”, perhaps double all their wages, so that a positive minset is included?
Not to worry, everyone will ‘turn up’ for Chelsea………
Like you I also miss the excitement of relegation battle, witnessing all our players as right-backs, uninteresting pre-season, big distance from academy to first team, defensive mentality with 1 goal leads and lumping the ball up to AC at every chance, including when he is not playing.
Why or why did Pellegrini have to take all of that away from us?
I think West Ham have lacked a few ‘lead by example’ type players in recent seasons. Mark Noble might be Mr West Ham, but he never filled the boots left by Scott Parker. Parker’s attitude typified the type of player we still need all over the pitch.
Trevor, when Scott Parker played we were nearer the bottom more often than not and ended up going down! He was good for a spell but so is noble a good player. So don’t agree with you.
A sixth lesson is that we will not progress, & will continue to be threatened by relegation, unless the defence is sorted out. If you have the odd bad match but can scrape a draw from it that will be worth another 10+ points over the season. On Sky last night they put up some embarrassing stats showing us with one of the worst defensive records in the PL over the last two seasons ( for lack of clean sheets & for goals conceded). Benitez has kept a very ordinary Newcastle squad in the PL by making them hard to break down. In our case we have had some decent strikers but if we are not chasing 7th spot in six weeks (& I don’t think we will be) it will be down to the defence. I am amazed that a manager with Pellegrini’s reputation has not sorted it out.
Tend to agree with that 64, however bear in mind we brought in Zaba, Diop and Balbuene on defence + Fabianski in goal. 4 defensive players whom all have done quite good in my mind. That said I completely agree it needs strengthened over the summer.