By Allen Cummings
Hands on heart – are there very many West Ham supporters who didn’t go into last night’s Carabobo Cup tie against Oxford without giving at least half a thought that an upset might be on the cards?
It doesn’t make the result, or the shamefully, appalling performance any easier to swallow, but Cup upsets have been part and parcel of West Ham folklore for more years than I care to remember. We regularly talk of the ‘West Ham Way’. Being humiliated by so called minnow in cup competitions is exactly that!
I understand the on-line streams were virtually non-existent last night. Those at home were the lucky ones. I was unfortunate enough to have to stand and witness the whole 90 minutes – but not the added time – because I did what I have never done before, and left before the final whistle.
So where does the blame lie for last night’s debacle? Squarely on the shoulders of the players! No-one else, in my opinion. Any suggestion that Manuel Pellegrini is somehow to blame for making changes to last Sunday’s winning team is just a smokescreen.
Karl Robinson the Oxford manager made changes, too just as a number of other mangers did last night, and the night before. The difference being the Oxford changes came in a did the job their manager asked of them.
The players Pellegrini brought in didn’t. They bottled it. They cheated. Call it what you like – but the truth is they let the manager, the club and most of all the supporters down. Last night has nothing to do with the squad lacking strength in depth – but everything to do with those so-called squad players lacking the passion, commitment and desire to do the job they are paid handsomely to do. Far more handsomely than the squad players, or first team players, of Oxford United it has to be said.
Pablo Zabaleta has been quoted as saying the team ‘lacked intensity’. To those of us present that’s another way of saying they weren’t bothered, weren’t trying, too casual by a long, long way!
There was an interesting point raised on a call-in I heard on the way home, that some ‘second string’ players can often be of the mindset that they’re there to make up the numbers. They won’t be first choice in the normal course of events, so they don’t have the incentive or the desire to put themselves out too much!
It’s an interesting school of thought! Only the players themselves will know if that’s true or not. But if it is, it’s a shameful attitude and a sad reflection of modern-day, highly paid footballers.
I’ve seen plenty of angry West Ham supporters over the years. Last night’s anger was bordering on the fury. If you thought the scenes in parliament were bad yesterday – they weren’t a patch on the away supporters stand at the Kassam Stadium.