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Slipperduke

The Camden Cad
Joined
Aug 24, 2004
Messages
4,333
Location
North London
....90 minutes to watch it, 90 minutes to write it. I'll never get that time back. Never.


West Ham 0-0 West Bromwich Albion

So West Bromwich Albion are just a pretty team are they? Tell that to Rob Green, the West Ham goalkeeper who felt the full wrath of the struggler's newly found nasty side on Monday night. Tony Mowbray's men have made a name for themselves with flowing, but sadly ineffectual football, but they've got a different reputation now.

As a second-half Baggies corner was swirled across the six yard box, Jonas Olsson took Green out with a forearm smash to the face that certainly didn't look accidental, despite his protestations immediately after contact. If he wasn't trying to smash Green's cheekbone in, what was he trying to do? No-one jumps with just one elbow poised and pointing, they'd be overbalanced.

''Luckily it was on a sturdy part of my face," said a shaken Green afterwards, "rather than an eye socket or my nose. That could have done me some proper damage but I'll live to fight another day.''

West Ham had already been done some proper damage by Sheffield United earlier on Monday morning when an out-of-court settlement was reached that will see them paying unspecified compensation to the Blades. Varying estimates have appeared in the British press putting the total amount at anywhere between GBP10m and GBP25m, which indicates if nothing else, that no-one actually knows and they're all making their best guesses.

The payment should finally be an end to the interminable 'Carlos Tevez' affair, though it is interesting that West Ham's chief executive Scott Duxbury, the one remaining figure at the club who was instrumental in the costly deal to sign the Argentine striker, will remain in his position. Having presided over only a brief period in the Hammers' history, Duxbury has seen the club crash into catastrophic debt, mainly due to ludicrous contracts to under-achieving or injury-prone players. Now, with tens of millions of pounds leaving the stricken club for something that could so easily have been avoided, West Ham's future is again in the balance. I wonder if there's anything that Duxbury would ever consider resigning over?

There could be some Hammers' fans resigning their season tickets after this performance, though by the looks of it, several of them have already. Just over 30,000 came out to watch this game, the lowest attendance of the season at Upton Park, and they won't have been impressed by an disjointed, incoherent display. Youngster Freddy Sears, making his first start of the campaign, was a bustling presence up front, but expensive teenager Savio looked desperately raw and the midfield was unbalanced and weak. An injury to Matthew Upson will cause concerns, but Gianfranco Zola will be more worried by the lack of chances. West Bromwich Albion's defence is notoriously weak, but the Hammers couldn't create one chance of note.

This would have been a good point for the Baggies earlier on in the season, but they are in such poor form that only a victory could have given them hope of survival. A relatively simple run-in awaits, but with just 23 points on the board, they must already be doomed. West Ham's bruised and dazed goalkeeper, for one, will certainly hope that that's the case.


CLUELESS - Some West Ham fans are the nicest, most genuine people you'll ever meet. Others are just compelling evidence that evolution isn't as widespread as Darwin may have thought. The Hammers' supporters who threw the ball at Chris Brunt's face and then howled abuse at him when he complained are the latter. An impotently raging generation of wannabe hooligans, falling short in everything that they do.

LOSER - Anyone unfortunate enough to watch this game was a real loser and I include myself in that number. There were times when Upton Park was so quiet that you could almost hear people in the opposite stand unwrapping toffees. West Bromwich Albion only hit the crossbar when they hit the goalkeeper first and West Ham didn't even manage that. After the excitement of Saturday at Old Trafford, this was a crushing return to normality.

SPEEDY - In Savio's defence, he is very quick indeed. Gianfranco Zola has been cautious with the youngster and this, his first start, was vindication of the Italian's policy, I'm afraid. Savio may well have a something to contribute in the future, but he isn't ready yet. There's enough there to suggest that he might be better in a year or so though and, if anyone's going to bring him through, it will be Zola.

PUNTER'S RANT - This was as clear a home banker as you'll ever find, but the Hammers just never looked like scoring. Is it really possible for a team to miss Carlton Cole? Apparently so. They couldn't hold the ball up in the final third at all. Defeated punters don't even have the compensation of watching a decent game while they lose, that's the tragedy.

MAN OF THE MATCH - Ha ha! Ha ha ha! You're kidding? No? Oh. Alright, I'll give it to Freddy Sears. The youngster never stopped chasing the ball and, with a bit of luck, could have broken the deadlock. I'm not giving him anything more than a 7 out of 10, but on a night like this, that's enough to win.

MATCH STATS

Crowd - 30,842
Yellow Cards - Savio (West Ham), Olsson (WBA)
Red Cards - None
West Ham -
Rob Green (rating: 7), Lucas Neill 6, James Tomkins 6, Matthew Upson 6 (Jonathan Spector 6, 29th), Herita Ilunga 7, Mark Noble 6 (Luis Boa Morte 6, 82nd) Radoslav Kovac 6, Scott Parker 7, Savio 6 (Junior Stanislaus 6, 68th), David Di Michele 6, Freddy Sears 7,
West Bromwich Albion -
Scott Carson 6, Jonas Olsson 6, Shelton Martis 6, Paul Robinson 7, Gianni Zuiverloon 7, Graeme Dorrens 6, Robert Koren 6, Jonathan Greening 6, Chris Brunt 6 (Jay Simpson 6, 80th), James Morrison 7 (Felipe Teixeira 6, 88th), Marc-Antoine Fortune 6 (Luke Moore 6, 80th)
 
Very difficult to tell, I'm afraid. It really was a dead game by the time he came on, he didn't really make much of an impact. He must have something about him though, if Zola's throwing him on already.

I must admit that I am suprised that he has made the first team already. I find it encouraging that Tilly managed to persuade a Premiership club to loan us out a player like that - bodes well, (I hope!).
 
I must admit that I am suprised that he has made the first team already. I find it encouraging that Tilly managed to persuade a Premiership club to loan us out a player like that - bodes well, (I hope!).

It really does, doesn't it? We seem to have very good links with Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and West Ham. Which can't hurt in the long run.
 
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