Ben Johnson – first goal
Yes, it was poor, very poor indeed and David Moyes takes most of the blame.
I gave him a four in my manager rating basically because he managed to snatch things out of the fire in the second half having got it totally wrong in the first, for which I had him marked up at zero.
Mark Noble? Oh please, that day is done!
Yarmolenko was 100 per cent more effective and Lanzini did really well so the idea of giving him a minus four – as suggested by somebody on the forum – is merely an understandably OTT disappointing response.
Perspective is not a great virtue of us fans – we live in this West Ham bubble (excuse the pun) and generally take only a passing interest in what’s happening elsewhere.
But a glance at the results so far this weekend show that life in this great old game is hardly predictable and that a 2-2 draw is not a result to which we throw up our arms and bleat ” We’re doomed.”
Was I a fan of Liverpool, Chelsea, Palace or Saints I may have a reason for being a lot unhappier tonight than I am as a Hammer.
Lampard’s Blues slipped to eighth after three defeats from the last four following a summer when they were the PL’s biggest spenders with over £250 million.
Their conquerors – Arsenal – are 15th having had one win in the last five before the 3-1 at the Emirates whilst Saints slipped to ninth following the goalless draw at Fulham and Palace sit 14th following a 3-0 beating at Villa Park.
Lacklustre Liverpool stays top but a couple of thousand disconsolate fans trudged unhappily out of Anfield after that 1-1.
We will always have our down times but, come on, things are worse elsewhere so let’s get a tighter grip on our emotions eh?
There were some good moments: young Ben Johnson’s first-ever goal and the great cross from Yarmo that led to it along with another example of the menace Soucek provides at set-pieces with his strike. Couval was excellent and Lanzini demonstrated again he is coming back to his best.
Yes, be aware of the minuses in performances but never lose sight of the plusses and the agonies being suffered by the clubs and fans mentioned above.
We are not alone
COYI
I do like David Moyes honesty when facing media post march including his own mistakes and giving credit to opposing teams. This non fan going season should be treated as a transition as we are not ready for euro competition yet. He needs to try a few ideas out while we are not looking over our shoulder at relegation. He has proved so far that he can get a good response from some players that have been written off by us fans. In doing that there will be failures as well.
Good summary, Hugh. The crazy scheduling is leading to poor performances and unexpected results across the division. It also amplifies how thin we are in central defensive midfield and up top, in particular. There’s been enough discussion about Haller and we all miss Antonio. Rice and Soucek’s performances may have dipped a little but they have both each been playing like 1.5 men in most games and, not surprisingly, look tired – some of the criticism I’ve read about them is very harsh. Even when tired out, they are the best options we have. Let’s hope fatigue does not lead to injuries and we’ll need them both at their best for the next 2 games. A player like Obiang would be good to come in and do a job. Bowen as well looks knackered – again, some the criticism just illustrates that his usual level of performance is so high. Coufal yesterday maybe could have done with a rest as well – not that it showed on the pitch but he’s just become a father and that takes its toll emotionally. If we were to rotate players, yesterday against Brighton would have been an opportunity. That said, there’s still no case for starting Noble. I thought Chelsea were poor and we were worse. I though Brighton were poor and we matched them. If our benchwarmers aren’t good enough to start against Brighton, then it shows how thin the squad is. One final point – I’m not convinced we would have got anything yesterday if the crowd was in, if the level of dissatisfaction and the ‘Moyes Out’ calls on here are anything to go by.
I guess it’s the results elsewhere that cemented why it was so disappointing. Yes we’re not much worse off in the table (although further behind teams like Villa and Everton) but it was a chance to get closer to those around us. It’s also a recurring theme; our inability to beat the poorer teams in the division and therefore build momentum and confidence.
Good post Hugh – I agree on the need for perspective. I feel that if we can finish around 12th that would be an improvement on last year
Positives – our second half performance and Lanzini showing that we need someone close to Haller to collect his knock downs and lay offs
Negatives – as you pointed out in another post why did we buy Benrahma if we are not going to play him? Also lack of depth in central midfield – unfortunately Noble’s time has gone
It is ridiculous that the PL has us playing Saints with only a one day break – in defence we might have to give a game to Fredericks (good to see how he celebrated with Ben Johnson), Diop or Dawson, in attack we have Fornals or Benrahma while Yarmo and Lanzini only played half a game so might be a bit fresh – but central midfield? Both Souceck and Rice looked like they could do with a break – I am still not sure why we sold Josh Cullen
So a) I agree that some perspective is needed and b) Saints away tomorrow – it will be difficult to be too critical given the short turn around time
Thanks for the mention hugh. Minus 4 might have been abit harsh however it was such a negative starting line up It was almost like saying he doesn’t trust our attacking players to take the game to brighton. Eveyone was scratching there heads at this starting line up and I’m sure the squad were not much differnt in their thoughts, for me that’s concerning. The decision to play noble after his performance again concerning.
As for getting a grip on emotions perhaps people should apply the same courtesy when commenting on Haller! He was very effective in a system that had players getting beyond him hes simply not built for the way we have been set up. Youd think if Moyes was going to make drastic changes to the shape and system he would at least try something similar to one used at Frankfurt.
You are, of course, right about perspective. tt was a bad selection which Moyse acknowledged in his substitutions at half time and comments after the game. Yes we played very poorly in the first half but we did come from a goal behind twice.
With social media it is far too easy to be over critical and lose all perspective.
Yesterday, Boxing Day, was the 57th anniversary of a home defeat to Blackburn. We lost 8-2 What would have been the reaction if social media was around then? Sack Greenwood? Drop Moore, Hurst & Boyce ? No, they kept calm, won next game and went on to win FA Cup. Today we drew. Lets keep some perspective
Sorry. Don’t agree much with the posts here today. With Moyse’s decisions he demonstrates that he will never be a winner because he is always safety first and shows very little creativity. How on earth could he decide to continually play Haller when it has been obvious all along that he just has not got the ability to play in the Premier League. I don’t think Moyse ever attempted to think outside the box. In my view view there have been other things to try while Antonio has been out. And the things he should have tried included playing without an out and out traditional centre forward. I could go on, but I am getting so fed up with it all. I know how difficult it is to change managers at a time like this, but if there is a decent manager with an imagination out there somewhere please West Ham board, hand David Moyes his cards and coppers.
Yeah a good assessment,,now the red mist has cleared,,let’s hope he is more positive the nxt game and let’s hope we buy a forward In January even if Sullivan has to spend some of his own money..we cant keep making mistakes or the chance of a great season is going slip away..
Agree Hugh, Moyes is probably too blame, I thought if Lamptey was playing 352 could be a good formation, when he wasn’t and seeing the way the first half went 442 would be the way, Johnson out of position did relatively well and really happy for him, he needs to keep working on getting the crosses in but defensively he is better than Cresswell or Masuaku by a country mile. Noble may just be off firm but to me it looks like he should probably continue his playing career either as a sub and in cup games or a division lower. With Haller up front we are playing every match with a fraction over 10 men, he is offering very little for a player of his ability, it’s sad but it hasn’t worked out and if it continues we should cut our losses on him if we can even find a buyer… considering we have been playing with 10 men for the last couple of months we have done well but we need Josh King or another striker fast.
You meant Lanzini was 100% more effective I’m sure. Yarmolenko came on in place of Bowen.
Also ,on any other day,that goal of Brighton’s would have been a handball and we would have scraped a win.Yes we were horrible in the first half,but relieved the second half and we did get a draw.
I am a little worried when you look at our performances .
Fulham very lucky
Villa- played off the park, very lucky
Chelsea- only win in 4 against us easily
Brighton- pretty lucky.
All of these performances were pretty poor.
Leeds away pretty good, but they are a weak team .
Next two games are really tough.
It mirrors last season, Antonio gets injured and we plummet.
Club still hasn’t sorted a forward in 5 years.
Moyes needs to be more positive at home, he’s lucky there isn’t a crowd, because the last 4 home games have been dross.
Well said Hugh…we are beginning to realise that the whole league can beat one another on any day but as you said Nobes best days are behind him…sad but oh so true! Haller I have given time and he is so Ineffectual it’s beyond belief…time to get rid as soon as and realise pellegrini was the wrong choice Rose tinted glasses and all that. COYI ⚒️