Manchester United 6 West Ham United 0
Sunday, 26th January 2003
by Graeme Howlett
After witnessing yet another appalling performance from our team, it's difficult to know where to begin when writing an analysis of todays game.
Manchester United were very good. Make no mistake, they played well and took their chances despite never breaking out of second gear all afternoon. They owed us one for the Cup game two years ago and they deservedly took their revenge.Yet how ever well Manchester United played, any side conceding six goals at this level must hold their hands up and accept responsibility. There can be little excuse for such a disgraceful performance from our side yet again - and this following conceding three at Arsenal and four at Charlton within the space of seven days.
Yes, the back four were awful - but the rest of the side must also accept partial blame for the rout. Defending, as they say begins at the front - and the ease with which Manchester bypassed our midfield was also duly noted.
It was clear from the off that we were here to defend, and somehow eke out a draw or a lucky, late winner. It's a policy which is hard to defend, not just because 9,000 people had paid a fair few quid to make the 250 mile trip north. How many times have we adhered to this policy away from home this season and failed to succeed? Lessons should have been learned from the opening day defeat at Newcastle, we don't have the players to do it and to persevere with it is futile.
The lack of confidence within our club at present is like a disease. It begins in the boardroom with the reluctance to spend our way out of trouble, and permeates right down to the players on the field who went out there today expecting a drubbing.
Somewhere in the middle of all this is Glenn Roeder, who is currently no more than a dribbling wreck, a man who continues to repeat the same mantra after every new, embarrassing defeat. 'I'll take it on the chin', says Glenn, 'I still have faith in my ability'; 'We'll work harder in training this week' ... the rantings of a beaten man, and sadly all but Glenn can see it.
Should he resign? Well I don't think there's much of an argument there. Pride aside, Roeder must realise that he has lost the players and the fans, and no doubt the board which appointed him some 18 months ago to much derision from many who could see what was coming.
Go now and he may at least be remembered for our excellent finish last season. A new man may just save us from relegation and the worries of the past six months would be consigned to history; a mere blip in our fortunes.
To stay? Well it looks as if that will happen and one can only hope that for Roeder's sake he does manage to turn it around. Relegation could quite possibly destroy this club and should that happen Roeder - and not those truly culpable, his cronies in the boardroom - will be held responsible.
Now it's easy to knock a man when he's down, which is why I will try and look on the situation as subjectively as possible. Last season, beyond the hopes of all we finished seventh in the Premiership. A fine result from a team - and club - in a state of transition.
Yet there were signs that all was not as it should be. The thrashings at Blackburn and Everton should have led to a re-appraisal of our defence (and I don't mean bringing Gary Breen in on a free in the summer).
Throughout all this Roeder has retained his dignity, and I for one have been impressed with the way he has continued to fight his corner, despite his apparent shortcomings. But even Glenn must be doubting his own ability to prevent relegation after taking the club to a run of 14 games without victory - just two games short of the clubs record.
The rows over Roeder will rage on, but this being a report of the game it would perhaps be prudent to return to the on-field happenings. It can probably be summarised in no more than a couple of words (ie. we stunk), but for the benefit of the records I'll go into just a little detail. Readers may be advised to pour a stiff drink before reading this next section ...
Manchester United took the lead after just seven minutes when Ryan Giggs shot into an empty next after Paul Scholes' shot had initially been saved by James. The lead was doubled on the half hour mark when Giggs' shot spooned off Ian Pearce into the unguarded side of James' net.
The Hammers, on the backfoot from the off rallied briefly and enjoyed their best spell of possession in the final five minutes of the first half, much to the enjoyment of the travelling fans who, up until that point, had had very little to cheer. Twice Lee Bowyer was denied, and the home side almost conceded an own goal when John O'Shea almost inadvertently turned a Joe Cole cross into his own net.
All to play for in the second half, you would be mistaken for thinking. But a twenty minute spell at the start of the second period resulted in four further goals for the homes side; van Nistelrooy (2), Phil Neville and Solskjaer profiting from further lax defending by the Hammers.
With the rout completed Manchester took their foot off the pedal and allowed the Hammers to at least regain a bit of possession; at one stage every touch was being ironically cheered by the 9,000 Eastenders, shellshocked at yet another inept performance from their side.
With nine minutes to go Glenn Roeder made three changes - again to ironic cheers from the away supporters - allowing Christian Dailly, Richard Garcia and the impressive Glen Johnson a taste of the FA Cup. Those removed left the field to a chorus of boos from some Hammers fans; symptomatic of our troubled times, that.
Some may point to the fact that West Ham had no less than six first team players missing for one reason or another. But in truth they would have probably made little difference on an afternoon when the margin between the top and bottom of the Premiership division was painfully exposed.
And so it was Manchester - not West Ham - United who progress to the fifth round of the competition. The Hammers have to somehow pick themselves up from this in time for Wednesday's visit of Blackburn. But one suspects it will take a lot more than three days to come to terms with a defeat as embarrassing as this.
Player ratings
David James (5) A difficult one really. You cannot attribute blame for any goal to James yet his overall display wasn't exactly reassuring. His distribution of the ball was - as it has been consistently this season - shocking. Every now and again it would be nice to see the ball played to feet, but James - whether under instruction or from pure frustration - refuses to refrain from aiming a long ball at a diminutive Jermain Defoe every time. Has also been much criticised for enjoying a joke with Phil Neville upon leaving the field - and that's something that is difficult to argue with. Surely professional pride would make you at least a little unhappy after conceding six goals? A major insult to the club and it's travelling fans.
Steve Lomas (4) Let's get one thing straight. Steve Lomas is not a right back. Harry knew it after toying with the idea a few years ago, and Glenn Roeder can have little excuse for continuing to play him there despite having a perfectly able replacement in Glen Johnson sitting on the bench. Lomas is lost at full-back and whatever Seb Schemmel's current problems he cannot be a worse option. If Steve is not to play in his natural position then he must be on the bench. End of.
Scott Minto (5) Poor Minto, another much criticised by some 'supporters' of late had an absolutely shocking first half. Drafted into the side as 39-year-old Nigel Winterburn was being 'rested' he struggled to match the pace of the game from the off. Some of his passing was absolutely atrocious - on at least three occasions he simply booted the ball into touch when trying to find a team mate. Fortunately he got back into it a little more during the last half hour - but the damage was well and truly done by then.
Gary Breen (4) Having not had the benefit of watching the game on TV yet it's hard to be ultra-critical of any individual, as you tend not to watch any particular player in depth during a match. But it remains clear - as it has done for several years - that Gary Breen is not a Premiership quality defender. Once again the fans booing hasn't exactly boosted his confidence, and as a result we have another player who is shot. He - along with his manager, one would assume - will be off in the summer when his 12 month contract expires.
Ian Pearce (5) Having mysteriously sat out Wednesday night's capitulation at the Valley big Pearce was drafted in for fall-guy Christian Dailly today. Whether it's because he was playing in a defence that changes personnel on a weekly basis was reason for his performance today is up for argument, but he was clearly way out of sorts. Not unlike Tomas Repka has been this season, playing alongside a midfielder, a first division standard defender and an aging left back.
Lee Bowyer (6) Lee appears to have failed to settle in yet. This, his fourth game was probably his most productive in terms of energy expended - but the end result was yet again sadly lacking. Having said that playing in front of our back four must be soul-destroying, yet despite the disarray at the back he at least gave his all until the final whistle. Had we eleven players of the ilk of Bowyer and Cole we might just not be where we are right now.
Trevor Sinclair (4) From the sublime to the ridiculous. Sinclair is playing with one eye on the future, and the inevitable move away from Upton Park should we be relegated at the end of this season. His work rate and effort are nothing short of a disgrace, as they have been for much of this season. Despite this he is being booed by his own fans for the third occasion inside two seasons, which will inevitably inflame any unrest. QPR fans will claim they've seen it all before, of course.
Edouard Cisse (6) Now this won't be a view popular with many, but pound for pound I felt that Ed was one of our better players on the day. The overriding opinion of many sat around me was clearly different (yep, he was also booed), so I guess I must have been watching a different game! His style may appear lazy, not unlike another of his compatriots in our squad but his passing was fairly decent throughout.
Michael Carrick (4) Another player who seriously underachieved. Michael has been one of our few plusses this season (despite what the papers say) but yesterday he wasn't at the races at all. His vision was poor - one situation I recall came in the first half when he dallied despite having several options available, thus losing the ball in the process. That incident summed up his game well.
Joe Cole (9) Oh for eleven players with Joe's enthusiasm and dedication to the cause. Right up until the final whistle he gave his all, embarrassing his lacklustre teammates by comparison. In the 90th minute he was banging his hands on the floor in frustration, despite us being 6-0 down. Since Glenn Roeder gave him the captaincy he has been a different player, and whatever your feelings on other matters Roeder should be congratulated for that smart move. He would have scored a ten had he not missed the late one on one with Barthez which should have earned him a justified goal. Magnificent.
Jermain Defoe (6) Defoe was always going to have his work cut out playing as a lone striker. He was never going to win any of James' goal kicks being as he was pitched against the much taller Rio Ferdinand. Despite this he battled throughout without ever really creating anything worthy of note. He's one we can rely upon in our upcoming struggle, make no mistake about that.
Subs
Richard Garcia, Glen Johnson and Christian Dailly (-) Thrown into the lions den as a triple substitution with nine minutes left on the clock. Johnson looked assured, Garcia made a couple of runs and Dailly - well, we didn't concede a goal after he came on, and it's been a long time since he can say that.
Referee
Steve Bennett (7) Probably the sort of game referee's look forward to. Not many contentious decisions to make, yet he missed the clear foul on Lee Bowyer which should have resulted in a Hammers penalty. Fair throughout, probably best illustrated by his (justified) early booking of Juan Veron which many referees at Old Trafford would have shied away from.
KUMB Stats
West Ham United: James, Lomas, Breen (Dailly 80), Pearce, Minto, Bowyer, Cisse (Garcia 80), Carrick, Sinclair (Johnson 80), Defoe, Cole.
Subs not used: Van Der Gouw, Hutchison.
Manchester United: Barthez, G.Neville, Ferdinand, O'Shea, P.Neville, Beckham (Solskjaer 63), Veron (Butt 51), Keane, Giggs, Scholes (Forlan 45), van Nistelrooy.
Subs not used: Carroll, Brown.
Goals: Giggs (8, 29), Van Nistelrooy (49, 58), P.Neville (50), Solskjaer (69).
Booked: Defoe, Minto, Veron.
Attendance: 67,181.
Referee: Steve Bennett.
KUMB Man of the Match: Joe Cole.
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Substitutes
Match Facts
West Ham United: , , , , , , , , , , .Goals: None.
Booked: None.
Sent off: None.
: .
Subs not used: .
Goals: .
Booked: .
Sent off: None.
Referee: .
Attendance: 0.
Man of the Match: .