West Ham Utd 1 Middlesbrough 1 (20/03/12)

[CentenaryUpperHammer]

The tactics were all wrong last night. We were majorly lopsided when going forward and our attack was a ****ing mess. Maynard isn't a right winger. He is a striker. This meant everytime we went forward we had no outlet on the right hand side as Cole, Nolan & Maynard all stood within 5 yards of eachother. At times in the second half when we were coming forward it was Taylor making a run across the back four rather than Cole. Doesn't make any sense.

Play a right winger at right wing. Play a striker as a striker. If it means dropping people then drop them. If it means playing Faubert at right wing then ****ing play him. He gives us that bit of width that we so massively missed last night. Maynard and Baldock must have been promised games otherwise they wouldn't have come here. It frustrates me so much to see players like Maynard & Baldock sitting on the wings being wasted when they have proved they can score goals in this league.

And our defending policy of thinking "Oh lets back off, he won't shoot, we never score from there so he can't...oh b*llocks he's scored" has got to go now. If you are defending a one goal lead you do not let a player run at you and shoot from 20-25 yards. The introduction of Carew summed it up really. Not been playing and when he has been he hasn't been great but he gets put on basically because he is someone to aim for. b*llocks. Keep it on the floor, there's 10 minutes left everyone is knackered so just play it around.

I understand that you cannot expect to build a league winning side in 8 months but we have got a better squad by miles than 'Boro yet the manager cannot seem to work a formation to beat them. We have done well to get where we are but he needs to have a long hard look at his selection policy because at the moment it is costing us valuable points.

[bubbles1966]

The Big Picture

The other main results, Southampton aside, went for us last night - so for that we should be grateful. That said, we have passed up on another chance to cement an automatic promotion slot (though after Reading's result last night I'm inclined to think that our away form will just about seal the deal for us in the next five weeks).

The Right Result?

Did we deserve a draw at least? Certainly. A win? Well, in boxing parlance, yep, just about on points - but we nearly got caught by a couple of sucker punches at the end.

Possession and Play

For the first ten minutes we were undoubtedly playing lump it long....and only settled into a less airborne game after that. Much of it however was played in front and at arms length from the Middlesbrough rearguard for most of the first half. The possession was tidy until the middle third of the game when a rash of poorly executed or impetuous passes went astray - with no player immune.

We came out more energetically in the second half and Cole, Maynard and Nolan contrived some decent positions but the final ball was constantly wasteful. When we did score it was fortuitous, and from a lump forward (which BFS will no doubt point to). Steele's save from Tomkins header was perhaps the pivotal moment in play - at 2-0 we would have gone on to win - but Egbeche's introduction immediately injected more pace, numbers and threat into Boro's attack - and then in a carbon copy of the Watford game - an effort from the edge of the box won them a point. In truth, we'd given them a fair few invites to shoot from distance during the game which also mirrored the Watford game,as did McCartney saving a certain goal and a point late on - this time with a goalline clearance.

The Achilles Heel..... Again

Eleventh home game that we haven't won. That's eight where we have dropped the points in the last 15 minutes. I thought stopping this kind of thing was supposed to be Allardyce's forte. I am a bit surprised at this tbh.

Why aren't we finishing Teams off?

A lot of our "impressive" passing play is at arms length, in midfield or with the ball being taken off the back 4 - virtually none of it in the opposition's danger zone.

There were quite a few decent deliveries last night from Taylor in particular, as well as a number a good positions inside the opposition area - but the front players especially were slow to react or executed poorly.

[Clacton-ammer]

Felt crap all day yesterday, was 50/50 on going but went as usual. Driving back in the motor I obviously wished I hadn't, the numpties I was around, the football, the tactics, the substitutions, I could power walk past Carew in a race!

BFS HAS to take the majority of responsibility for our home form, yes there are many numpties in our crowd but if we go out and give it a go "most" will shut up. I cannot knock the effort from our lads, I can knock the quality though, we must have the most pedestrian side in this league. When we did show a bit of quality, mainly Taylor crossing, we didn't have enough in the box to make it pay.

Just awful to watch, and after every home game BFS is sucking something out of me, and not in a good way.

The only positive was Reading slipping up, for me we are now fighting for second place, I know it's not over but I cannot see Southampton slipping up enough for us to catch, and in truth they deserve to win this poxy shitty league - They are the best side in it and are not even that good, a very poor league with very poor teams, us included.

[Up the Junction]

There were quite a few decent deliveries last night from Taylor in particular, as well as a number a good positions inside the opposition area - but the front players especially were slow to react or executed poorly.

Including that fantastic cross in the first half, perfectly placed along the six-yard box and head high. Three of our players in the box, not one took a gamble.

[kitthehammer]

I was actually more disappointed in collison coming on for maynard than carew coming on for cole.
I have yet to see what collison brings to us and if he was going to replace anyone it should have been noble who was having a shocker.
Carew did more than cole, baldock would have done more than maynard had he been given longer and as others have said, maynard looks totally lost.
What is it about our managers that they insist on playing strikers out on the wing?
But it has to be said, it is the players that should have rustled up a second goal during the mid 2nd half spell. We know we will let one in so we have to score two. I blame both the manager and players.
All of the defence had a good game but we seem to say that most seasons despite letting goals in.
Its all down to the strikers not sticking it in the net with ample opportunity to do so.

[WHUFCCE]

For me Carlton cole has a go but he doesnt score goals, which is something we need. The man for that i think is baldock he gets in good goalscoring positions and if he gets a run in the team then i tthink he could bang in quite afew for us over the coming games. again the defence looked pretty solid.

[BMLGirl]

Faye dragged us through another game simple as!
Cole, taylor and noble were awful!
Tomkins is not a central midfielder!
Play Maynard as a striker and not winger, and play it to feet or in to the channels not hoof ball!

This.

In fact, play Maynard and Baldock and thread the ball through to them on the ground - then we'd score. They are both pacy, proven goal-scorers and their movement will make space - you would need to play Lansbury and Collison as I think they have the vision to work with 2 small strikers. I am so bored with watching West Ham - can't take any positives from last night - we are so slow (did anyone actually break into a run?), we play with no creativity, no imagination and no passion. As for Allardyce's subs - they were a disgrace, you just knew we weren't going to win when he made those changes and was obviously playing for the 1-0. Can't wait for the end of the season (whatever the outcome) - at least only 4 more home games to endure

[freddies shears]

How many years now have we watched managers picking Cole and honestly thinking he is going to be able to win us games when all we do is fling **** balls at him then moan he doesnt put it in the back of the net. It dont work, he is not henry/drugpa he isnt even Zamora so until we get away from this Cole will get us some goals mentality we will continue to have no strikeforce. Baldock and even the unknown morrison would not hurt to start. Is it true Noble is running his socks off and doing well for us. But when we get a free kick on the edge of the box and he steps up to take it. We all know it aint going anywhere near the goal. Dont we practice these set pieces, a few weeks ago during one game we commited 3 foul throws. Now how / why. Last night result was exactly what was expected as we still doing the same things as grant ,zola. Everyone that has had sam give a big cheer when he left them. We will do the same

[Marky]

This is the worst team I have seen in 15 years. .[/quote]

Really? It may well be one of the most frustrating and disappointing sides I have watched here over the years, given the players we have and the league we are in, but to compare to the last two seasons where we meekly rolled over against nearly every team we played when it mattered, where we couldn't hold a two goal lead against nearly anybody I find very strange.

Nothing will ever be as bad as last season, although the season before came close.[/quote]


Sure but at least last year we had players that could do something Parker and Ba for instance.
We are in a league where Jason Roberts looks like Drogba in his prime. We look poor against Doncaster at home now

[aitchayell]

You can't really blame the players. It is the manager who played Maynard out of position, played two holding midfielders,played yet again with no width, had only one up front, took off Cole and Maynard, brought on Carew and Collison, waited until the 87th minute to bring on Baldock and who gave woeful interviews both before and after the game. He is a dinosaur in denial. I have been patient with him hoping that he would restore the club that I love to its rightful position but my patience has run out.

[The Old Mile End]

IMHO he picked the wrong team, played the wrong tactics and made the wrong substitutions at the wrong time.
Sam got it all wrong and I don’t believe he can make any excuse or blame anyone other than himself. And he should put his hand up and admit it.

The team was not balanced – there was no real right midfield. Maynard was there, but he also was trying to get into goal scoring positions – so he appeared to be in any position except where he was needed. This meant all play was down the left – where McCartney looked more of a threat than Taylor. Hence no real creativity and Boro knew how to close it down.
The starting eleven had one goal in it at best. It was obvious this was going to be a close game.

The goal we scored was a deflection. A little bit of luck had come our way. But, instead of letting it ride for another 10 or 15 minutes, Sam made a big error far too early in the game. With over 20 minutes left, he took off two forward players in one go – possibly the first time I have seen this happen at the Boleyn in 50 years of watching.

This change was far too early. Sam didn’t need to show his hand – the ball was in our court. Bringing on Carew and Collison was as subtle as a flying mallet. A five man midfield with Carew up front alone can only mean one style of play – lump it long and hard. I have to say, we were very close with Tomkins’ header, but that’s the game. Mowbray now knew exactly how we were going to play and what he had to do. He made his subs and promptly did it with great effect. A goal soon followed, plus a couple of very near misses.

We were now in a corner with very little choices. Baldock had to come on, but how to get the ball to him? Last mistake. He should have taken Tomkins off and at least left Noble on to make the plays.

I am sure he saw this game as a must win. I am sure we will get better results than this in the future. I am also sure that Sam will play the same way, regardless.

Over the last few years the West Ham model has failed due to very poor management. We are now trying to rebuild using the Bolton model – which has proved to be more effective in the modern game. We are still in with a chance thanks to Reading's failure. We might well go up at the first attempt. That's all well and good, but then there will be the Premier League and at the end of the day nothing will change with this man. It is sad to see what we have become.

[libero]

What a horribly frustrating performance. I've supported Sam since he signed, but it's easy to see why he's got the reputation he's got for being obsessed with big blokes, long balls and safety first tedium as opposed to skill and imagination!

He's managed to get himself a completely unbalanced squad - and he's the one to blame for that: the fact that he's having to play CBs in midfield, strikers on the wing is because he didn't think out the needs of the squad in the January transfer window. We've simply got far too many strikers and nobody to pass/cross them the ball.

And while playing Tomkins as a defensive midfield player in tricky away games is OK as a short term fix, how on earth did Allardyce not see that it was completely wrong for last night's game. I think Tomkins is a wonderful prospect, but last night he was truly awful - because he shouldn't have been given the sort of role he was given for a home game.

Maynard was also awful last night, another player played out of position - wasting the position and the player. I've seen nothing from him that makes me think he's any better than Piquionne or even Hines - Baldock must be going bonkers with frustration that Maynard so undeservedly gets pick ahead of him

By getting this constantly wrong in home games, Sam is destroying confidence (the players' and the fans') precisely when it is most needed.

He's convinced himself that it's all down to bad luck, but it's not that. It's bad management, and if he doesn't work that out and change his tactics and team selection, we'll kiss promotion goodbye for this season

[Kent-Hammer15]

To be honest, we was beaten by a peach of a goal from Ogbeche. If Ogbeche hadn't have scored I think we would have claimed all three points. Apart from some heroics by McCartney and their lad who hit the bar we really didn't look troubled in defence.
The midfield annoys me, there was countless times we could have sprung forward quickly however Tomkins, Noble or Nolan slowed down the play and Middlesbrough got back in numbers. We had some good passing spells (62% possesion at one point) but it was all to slow making us predictable. Best moment of the game was Faye's face when the ball went it :lol: priceless.
All in all obviously disappointed 2 points droped on Southampton but then again im happy that we 1 gained on Reading, Mixed emotions for sure! Roll on Burnley.

[Korea Hammer]

Its ******* football not conkers you bellend

I believe this to be the single best post I have read on kumb this week.

[Bobby Orangeboom]

To be honest, we was beaten by a peach of a goal from Ogbeche. If Ogbeche hadn't have scored I think we would have claimed all three points. .

This isn't far behind Korea... :lol:

[libero]

I posted without seeing The Old Mile End's excellent post - I couldn't agree more

[Geordie Hammer]

Last night, BFS reminded me of Roeder. "This is my way of doing things....we'll keep doing it because it will come right eventually"

The most frustrating part for me was everytime we got the ball the midfield slowed it down. Too many times, instead of going forward, the ball was held up Noble/Nolan/etc would turn and play backwards. When we did play with pace we caused them problems....like whipping low balls in across the 6 yard line instead of constantly floating high balls into the box.

And then there was the negative defensiveness that happened the second we went 1 up. Making defensive substitution in the hope we'll cling to a 1-0 lead for 20 minutes only for the panic to set in and bring on Baldrick when it was far too late!

The only saving grace was Reading losing last night!

[Korea Hammer]

I thought the substitutions were sound.

I don't personally rate him as highly, but Carew for Cole was basically a like-for-like change, and Carlton had been middling, to say the least.

Similarly, neither Maynard nor Collison really belong in that position, but given that Maynard was playing there and finding it quite difficult to get involved in the game, bringing on the player who's been in that position most lately, and who has developed an understanding with the rest of the midfield, well it seems like a reasonable decision.

Could he have made more attacking substitutions? Yes, but we were winning and having the best of the game. Of course, in hindsight, we'd all do something different, but that's the beauty of football, its unpredictable nature!

[Gummi]

I'd like to apologise for the rant I did towards Allardyce last night. All those who were insulted, please take my apologise.

I overslept the thing and I'm now sure he has the best intentions. We're sitting comfortably 3rd in the table with only -2 and a game in hand for automatic promotion. We all have our favourites amongst West Ham players but we're missing the fact that Allardyce and his crew spend 30 hours every week with them, he has shown in the past that he's a good manager and I'm sure he knows exactly why some younger players don't get the chance (yet).

Green was superb as always. I think Cole played very well, he knows how to step on the ball, it's impossible to take it away from him once he has it in control.

Even suggesting that board should sack Allardyce and appoint PDC at this stage of the season is absurd. Like Mr Sullivan said - PDC come at West Ham will come.

I think the disappointment is there because we didn't expect Reading will go on a run and endanger our 2nd place. It came out of nowhere. But we must not forget - it's all in our hands. I'm sure this time next month we'll be celebrating.

[bubbles1966]

I wasn't too impressed with Allardyces introduction of Carew - but it was Mowbray's substitutions that changed that game.