Gonzo gets the hump
West Ham v Crystal Palace at the London Stadium on Sunday was a damp and arduous experience.
Whilst the above comment is probably a fair reflection of the 94mins of football on offer, I was actually alluding to my journey to and from the stadium rather that the game itself.
The weekend rail strikes may well have been cancelled but due to the late agreement between union and train bosses but the timetable remained restricted and infrequent.
As a result, my usual two hour journey each way to Stratford was almost doubled and myself and many other fans had to wade through puddles and floods as East London did its finest impression of The Serengeti’s monsoon season.
The surrounding canals were flooded by a tidal surge from the Thames and the walkway from Pudding Mill Lane was completely submerged rendering it inaccessible.
In summary it was a nasty old journey to the ground but as ever we did so in the hope of witnessing a much needed victory and possibly a few goals.
As we approached the lengthy stadium security checks, the heavens opened up once more to deliver another soaking. Hoods were raised and umbrellas were opened whilst all about us fans cursed the slow progress through the 100 yard queues.
Eventually I and two friends reached the shelter of the security gazebo for the standard bag-check and frisk. Following a most unthorough frisking (I’m not complaining), I was informed that I would not be able to take my umbrella into the stadium concourse and would have to put it into the bin.
Much to my surprise there were bins full of fans umbrellas at the beginning of each aisle. I protested against the decision but apparently “rules is rules” and my very feminine brolly (borrowed from my mother) could be used as a weapon.
Eventually I did manage to argue that my tiny umbrella was not a weapon of mass destruction (it has the tendency to collapse inside out when confronted by a mild breeze) and eventually he waved me through.
However. there were a number of fans who had the make the final walk to the stadium without their confiscated rain protection. One mischievous Hammers fan suggested that he expected to see a lot of Stratford based umbrellas appearing on Ebay shortly.
Eventually we made our way into the stadium (via a second long queue for the turnstiles) and headed to the kiosk for a pre game drink. Three pints of Stratford’s finest ale and £19.80 lighter we headed up to our seats to enjoy the match.
There wasn’t an awful lot to cheer as West Ham started slowly and invited Crystal Palace to attack and grow in confidence. Fortunately Said Benrahma seemed unaffected by the contagious lethargy and decided to attack Patrick Viera’s defence.
He scored a scrumptious goal which put West Ham undeservedly into the lead but it gave us something to enjoy and a glimmer of sunshine during the deluge.
I’m sure everyone reading this will be familiar with the match details which followed but to summarise. . . . the Irons lost to an injury time deflected goal which was predictable given the paucity of ambition and defensive tactics.
The real story was Benrahma’s substitution. He was West Ham’s only threat yet he was hooked after 64mins and replaced by Manuel Lanzini.
Moyes had suggested that Benni was injured but clearly the player himself hadn’t received the memo. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as his number came up on the 4th officials substitution board.
He looked broken and deflated yet totally resigned to his fate. As Benrahma trudged off. the crowd began to sing his name in defiance at the decision from the manger. It was a protest from the terraces, a song which questioned why the manager was withdrawing our potential match winner.
Moyes response when questioned about the crowd’s support/criticism was spikey and condescending. He remarked “Well, there are a lot of experts out there these days”. The insinuation is that us fans don’t know what we’re talking about, that we can’t possibly understand the complexities of his tactical decision.
Moyes has cut a frustrated figure recently and I’ve questioned how much he’s enjoying the task but to dig the fans out is unacceptable.
I’m quite sure that if questioned Moyesie would suggest that he’s never lost his Glaswegian working class roots and we’d hear an adage about tenement building’s and how he’s not always had it easy in life.
But being condescending towards fans who have spent their hard earned money, swam across shark infested Stratford and survived the great umbrella heist to support the team he’s done himself no favours at all.
OK – I understand where you’re coming from, but Benni did nothing apart from that goal – was totally anonymous after. So not sure where you get the “only threat” from – as feel we had no threat, something had to change.
And I also get his frustration – He said he was carrying a knock and not moving so well, and Benni then just frustrated as any good player of course doesnt want to come off. Why do the fans think they know more about his fitness than the management? And I honestly think that there’s too many people out there who’ve never done anything in football think they know better than a seasoned manager who’s done wonders for us. Best win % of any manager since the 1950’s, best consecutive seasons in our history and great chance of winning something this season
It’s clear to read on social media – all the Football manager experts out there think they know better who flip flop from game to game (not just Hammers fans). Scamacca’s great, no he’s a waste of money etc etc
I personally hope it’s just settling in after such an overhaul in the summer.
I’ll agree was dreadful Sunday but hoping that WC comes at a good time, players start to gel and rest of the season be better and hopefully some silverware
Time will tell I suppose
I hope you dont mind me saying but unfortunately your views do not reflect the reality of the situation. We have spent 150m in the summer and it appears that the players he has signed do not suit the system the manager wants to play. Benrahma was contributing alot more than Bowen so to take off Benrahma when a player is playing fo poorly as Bowen was totally wrong. The fall from grace started last season so this is nothing new, his approach will not change he is driving technical players like Fornals, Benrahna out of the club when he it is Moyes who has to go. Fans have had enough of his defensive approach which is costing us points in nearly every game. If we lose to Leicester this week then the owners need to align with the fans and get rid and bring in a manager that suits the squad we have, possibly the best we have ever had, to be sitting 2 points above the relegation zone is sackable in itself never mind how bad our performances have been.
Thats what Gonzo said. He wasn’t happy with Benrahma being subbed
No I dont mind 🙂 Its a friendly discussion after all. I think (and hope) that it’s just a case of so many new players and new system needed to click – it’s not unusual that a player from a very different league can easily take 6 months to adjust to a new league, system etc. Take Paqueta for example, he’s used to much more time on the ball. We signed 8 players and lost our captain, that’s a major re-adjustment I think, so hoping that it’ll start to click into place soon. And that with Moyes, I personally think he earned the right to see it through to the end of the season with what he’s done for us.
Best win % of any permanent manager since the 50’s, best 2 seasons back to back in our history, and the best chance of silverware since 2006
I agree I’m not happy at the moment, but I’d like to give the players and manager the benefit of the doubt (for now at least!)
ps who would we get? I don’t think we’ve any chance of Poch or Tuchel
Based on his his history with us rather than the one game I believe it’s fair to say that Moyes may not see him as a regular starter and usually and predictably subs him for Lanzini at around the same time thus showing he doesnt trust him which is why Benny gave him the look again hen called off
Yeah – seems to be 2 Benny camps – the one that love him and the one that he drives you mad with his inconsistency and lack of a final ball. I’m on the “drives me mad” side – 100 games up and still only producing in small bursts – would have expected better by now
I got to the ground an hour before kick off dry as a bone. It wasn’t raining at that point. Walked straight through security search zone. No queue at that point. It was an absolute doddle for me unlike Gonzo. So it was only the game that gave me the hump. I wasn’t overly bothered when Benrahma was taken off. I didn’t know he’d been injured pre game. I wasn’t bothered because he’d gone missing since scoring his goal and if I could have done I’d have taken all eleven players off. Yes the entire team. As it was the introduction of Lanzini and Downes made perfect sense because we’d not been passing or keeping the ball. Can’t blame Moyes for calling out the experts but it’s true there are a lot of experts out there particularly on social media that think they know more than the manager does but all I know is when Moyes made the changes our play improved. The end of the game was unfortunate. The penalty that wasn’t. The fluffed Antonio cross that turned out to be a pass to the goalkeeper instead of a pass to set up the winning goal. Game could have gone either way unfortunately it went to palace with a deflected sickener at the death.
Never a pen He dived – clear as day
At least someone on the same wavelength as me 😀
No pen for me. Antonio embarrassing us by a dive then the chip to the keeper at the end to set up the break. We were poor everywhere though, and I agree we passed it better after subbing on Downes and Lanzini. We simply must fill midfield with more passers – two it even three DCM is shot away.