We got exactly what we deserved from this game. A victory. To bounce back after two less than inspiring performances was incredibly important, and we started this game with ambition, intent and commitment.
This was one of the most physical encounters I can remember at Upton Park, but we gave as good as we got. The referee, Mike Dean, was the worst we have seen at West Ham this season. He was totally inconsistent, failing to punish terrible fouls at all and then dishing out yellow cards when they weren’t warranted. I lost count of the times I saw him with his arm around a Man City player.
The great thing about this performance was that, again, as in January’s games, there was no weak link. There was a consistency of performance right across the team. The lowest mark I gave any player was a 7. One of the main differences to the last two games is that we managed to play with some width. Collison and Ilunga were superb down the left in the first half, and Savio really made a difference when he came on. The goal resulted from his shot from the left hand edge of the area.
The BBC gave their Man of the Match to Rob Green and it is easy to see why. He made two point blank saves which would have been certain goals – both from the otherwise anonymous Robinho. It was Green’s best performance of the year so far.
Defensively, we were awesome today. Lucas Neill had Robinho in his pocket and put in a very aggressive performance. He was just as good going forward and I’d say this was his best game of the season. James Tomkins had a fantastic game. His constant stream of clearing headers were Collins-esque.
In midfield Scott Parker was imperious again, and his early yellow card for bringing down Micah Richards seem to spur him and the rest of the team on. Kovacs was industrious and player far further forward than I was expecting. He’s not the quickest, but he was at the centre of everything. Collison, though, was for me the man of the match in the first half. He was all over the pitch and just as effective in defense as attack. Has he actually ever had a bad game for us? Maybe being left out at Middlesborough gave him an added incentive to do well. He faded a bit in the second half, but that should not obscure how well he took his goal. It was not an easy chance. I think that was his third goal of the season, which is not a bad return at all.
Up front David Di Michele had a good match. He combined well with Cole and had a couple of good chances. He also tackled back and buzzed all over the pitch in the first half. He tired towards the middle of the second half and was then replaced by Spector who, although he was only on for fifteen minutes, did superbly well in shoring up the midfield. Savio, who came on for Behrami, showed that he is going to be some player. The way he controlled a very difficult clearance and then ran half the length of the pitch with the ball was brilliant. The way he took his shot from the left forced Given into an instinctive save, which left Collison with the task of lobbing the ball home. I can’t wait to see Savio start. It can’t be long before that happens.
But I want to reserve huge praise for Carlton Cole. He was immense today. He didn’t have many clearcut chances, but the way he played others in and held the ball up contributed hugely to this performance. If anyone scored him at less than an 8 they can’t have been watching the same game as me.
So that puts us in 7th place. If Man U win today and a top 4 side wins the FA Cup,. 7th place guarantees a European spot. On this evidence, we can do it. We’ve now got matches against Wigan on Wednesday and then West Brom the following Monday. Six points would put some pressure on Everton, who at the moment are 8 point ahead of us. We can but dream!
Green 8
Ilunga 8
Tomkins 8
Neill 8
Upson 7
Parker 9
Kovacs 7
Behrami 7
Savio 7
Collison 8
Cole 8
Di Michele 7
Spector 7
Click HERE to give your own player ratings.
Oh, and regarding Terry Dixon, can we please, ffs, make sure his registration’s all in order? One club got shafted big time a couple of years ago because a player who’d wuit the game came back and didn’t mention his previous registration, so please let’s not fall into that trap.
Ok,so a few mindless idiots are slating Carlton Cole.
I for one have grown to like him as he does give his all for the team and he is a good target man who can hold off defenders and lay off balls to colleagues etc;he perhaps doesn’t score as many goals as some,but having said that his record is just as good as Emile Heskey who also manages to play for England and has played for some decent teams.Even if Cole is not scoring he certainly worries defences enough to give others in our team some chances.
So,I say lay off Cole and give him your support and I’m sure you will see he will flourish with confidence,which has improved under the guidance of Zola.
good evening gents,(and E1),glad to see that there are still a few likeminded proud hammers out there who believe we should be in europe in any form(uefa,europa or even the inter two bob)lets not get ahead of ourselves and talk about champions league just yet!i long lost nights in foreign places sampling local delicacies and then watching my team..win or lose?on the subject of mr.cole he deserved the stick he was getting but has turned it around so rightly should be getting the support he deserves!!!thegeneralmuz. ps E1 DONT MAKE IT PERSONAL
generalmuz– Ruffled someones feathers?? lol, cant believe some of the mupppets on here dont want european football, they probably dont know what upton park looks like !!!
hammeredcalv think your mate e1 may not like my opinions but i guess some people on here dont have a clue?some of the european talk baffles me beyond belief?you were there in palermo..wot a nite..well we survived!!start saving your pennies because with a bit of luck and a strong finish we could get that european tour..oh please! ps. good luck with your daughter E1.
GENERALMUZ – im already saving for my body armour and tank !!!! lol