By CandH blogger Allen Cummings
There’s very little need for in-depth analysis or for studio pundits telling us what we can easily see for ourselves.
Manuel Pellegrini summed it up perfectly in two simple sentences in his post-match interview. He said: “We saw a team without any desire to win.”
He then added: “We (meaning the team) thought we were going to win because we are a Premier League team.”
That’s it in a nutshell! A short, and not very sweet, damning assessment of West Ham on the night. For those unfortunate enough to be inside the ground that was obvious from almost the very first whistle.
There is a different feel to watching football live and in the flesh – in real time. The frustrating casualness and lack of desire and intensity of certain players – I wont name them but we all know who they were – had those of us on the terraces screaming our anger and disapproval in that shameful first half.
The performance improved with the three changes at the break, it could hardly have got any worse, and there will be those who criticise Pellegrini for picking the wrong starting team .
But the first reaction was that it was a strong side, and in truth the players he entrusted should have been good enough to overcome a team at the bottom of League One.
Certain players in that starting X1 let their manager and loyal fans down. Do they care? If they do it certainly didn’t show.
On the night they were nothing short of a disgrace! Enough to make a saint swear – let alone a C&H forum member.
No doubt we will get the usual ‘positive sounding’ social media posts coming out of the club between now and Tuesday when we face Wolves.
It’s true we have to move on from this – and quickly! Would three points at Molineux transform the atmosphere. Well it would certainly go a long way to doing that.
But for many of us the events of Saturday night will leave a bitter taste for a little while yet.
I’m not surprised Pelligrini is fed up and angry , they let him down , the club down , us fans and themselves. Sort it out lads much more effort needed. COYI
They had a chance to stake a claim in the 1st team and instead were a disgrace to the shirt.About half of that starting 11 have been linked with moves away in this transfer window.Well that total lack of commitment and getting stuck in with a supposedly inferior team proves they should be sold asap.The defence is a total shambles without Zaba and Balbuena.No drive and calm clearing up in midfield without Rice and Carroll is lost upfront in the system the manager wants to play.The starting 11 picks itself when everyone is fit and those players who were moaning about not getting a chance have proved us all right in that they are simply not up to it even against a league 1 side.
Disgraceful performance, I reckon our under 23 team would have beaten them. Annoyingly you hear on the official site a young player like Diangana spouting about how he wants everyone to see how good he is. Talk is cheap boy, this is the type of game you and the other fringe players should have grasped their chance. When Pelle was appointed I was very optimistic for the future of the club under his guidance, and to a degree still am, however is it something in the Westham DNA ??. For the 50 odd years that I have supported them there have always been this hangover performance far too many times in a season,we will probably get some kind of result on Tuesday and beat Liverpool next weekend, such is the Westham way. Fasten your seat belts and hope for some consistent performances for the rest of the season.
I live on the other side of the world & the game wasn’t shown anywhere on TV here in South Australia so I could only listen online to the game live on radio via talkSPORT & they kept saying that AFC Wimbledon kept pushing up to keep us in our half of the pitch & we kept trying to work a way out & couldn’t & the commentators kept saying why don’t West Ham kick long to give Carroll a chance & for us to move up at the same time & try & keep
the ball in their half which all sounded logical to me…as I said I haven’t watched the game & I have no intention of watching a replay online either as it would seem like it would be just a waste of my normal monthly internet allowance, but does anyone else think the talkSPORT commentators had a point?