Sam Allardyce is set to take his place in the dug out tomorrow night for the FA Cup Third Round replay against effort declaring: “I’m not totally there but the anti-biotics are working.”
A win and place in the fourth round would be the perfect tonic but he claims that our failure to see out recent games is a concern.
He said: “It’s a concern, we are not as free scoring as we were. The results have dipped a bit but the performances haven’t. One thing that has to happen is we get to more resilient defensively.
“We’ve been talking about that all season. We’re becoming a much more creative side but our defensive weaknesses have been exploited too much.”
“We’ve only had four clean sheets so far and that’s not good enough to keep you in the top six. If you look at Southampton, they’re up there because they’ve had 11 clean sheets in 21 games. That’s why they’re in the top four and we’re not.”
The Hammers have suffered no further injuries apart from “kncoks and bruises ” which Allardyce says he hopes will have all been cleared out by Tuesday meeting.
What does the man expect when we go 1-0 up and then rely on defending for the rest of the game? Instead of his cautious approach we need to look for the second goal instead of trying to protect the lead. There was such an air of inevitability about Swansea’s goal on Saturday once we sat back and let them pour forward. What does he expect when he plays unlikely combinations, such as Carroll and Valencia. He should either play (hate to say it) Nolan with Carroll up front or Valencia with Amalfitano in an attacking role. there’s no understanding between Carroll and Valencia because they are different types of players. Perhaps Nolan would actually be more effective up front with Carroll because he just doesn’t have the legs for his current midfield role. At least tomorrow night we can’t try to “respect the point”!
Posted on BBC Sport website today:
Sam Allardyce: I’m a more flexible boss than Roberto Martinez
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce believes he is more “flexible” in his tactics than Everton counterpart Roberto Martinez.
The Hammers are enjoying a fine season compared to the struggling Toffees, with the sides set to meet in a third round FA Cup replay on Tuesday.
“I’m a little bit more flexible than Roberto – he is a total believer in one style,” said Allardyce.
“You become flexible as time goes on,” added Allardyce.
“Flexibility teaches you that you have a philosophy in the way you want to play, but if that way of playing doesn’t suit the players you cannot keep that philosophy.”
……..Errm! Excuse me! Whose the fat bloke who plays people out of position to suit his one style of “boot it up to the big man”??
..I think the antibiotics have affected his brain!! 🙂