Please click HERE to rate the performances of the West Ham players against Chelsea. Only take part if you saw the game live or on TV.
Please click HERE to rate the performances of the West Ham players against Chelsea. Only take part if you saw the game live or on TV.
Complete crap,thats 7 goals in 2 games conceded.
Spector targeted as usual problems all afteroon,its so obvious its laughably.
Kovac a sleep for alex header,didn't see him underneath his quiff.
parker is the only player capable of playing football in that team.
Ilan was poo.
Green 7
spector 1
upson 6
gabbs 7
deprela 7
Behrami 6
parker 8
kovac 1
dyer 6
mido 4
ilan 0
thought 4 5 1 was suppose to stop them scoring Andy.
Funny Chris, give Spector a one and daprela a 7. Daprela was way out of position on third goal. Even with Spector on bench, this defense is still crap. No Trophy for England if Upson starts. The reality is, Parker would of been the only starter for Chelsea from this lot. Watched Spuds play on tv, Dafoe is millions better than cole. It is what it is with West Ham, constant struggles
Zola 0
ilan 0
Upson 1
Spector 0
Deprela 4
Green 2
Parker 7
Dyer 5
Gabbidon 4
Kovac 0
Others 3
Behrami 5
Mido 5
Green 2, what game were you watching??
Actually he played well but there was four goals
thats 2 good games for Deprela against 2 top teams,why why why has he never figured,terrible terrible managment,
Zola worse than roeder for me by a country mile.
Daprela did have a good game for a youngster, but crucially backed off for the last goal and one of the others, (their second?) so not the perfect player, but I agree I'm suprised he hasn't figured in more games
I'm not sure what to say really…The line up looked absurd but we came off at half time at 1-1 so who could complain about that? We just lost to a far better side in the second half. Chelsea are both physical and skilful who threw far too much at us to cope with. Any positives? At least none of the ex West Ham players scored and Gabbidon and Daprela showed that at least we have two more options at the back. Zola out? Probably, but not just based on todays performance.
We were always unlikely to get anything today. That said, I thought at times we gave them a good run for their money. Spector was completely found out at right back and there seemed to e no obvious tactical switch by Zola to try to help him out against Malouda, who murdered him all day. Thought Gabbs and Upson did ok-ish. Daprela was reasonably solid though backed off for their 2nd goal which was a key, key error and a big moment in the game.
Thought the midfield did pretty well, including Kovac for the record. Parker was, again, utterly immense.
Ilan should not have come out for the seconf half, he was atrocious. Other than that it was the sort of powder puff performance from our strikers that I've come to expect.
Thank the lord that Hull and Burnley are so woeful, that's all I can say. We'll survive i reckon, but not with much to spare.
Kovac was completely rubbish mate,didn't bother with alex's goal, never gets goal side unless hes aready there,the main reason along with spector and zola why we are so crap.
Agree pretty much with all you say Headmaster, I thought Zola moved Behrami over to help Specs who I didn't think did that badly with the support he had and the fact the Malouda was world class today. Parker as you say Immense hope Capello was paying attention. Green also had a good day I thought he was outstanding the scoreline, would have been far worse without him
well said headmaster. Spot on. The formation was perfect apart from the use of Ilan. He clearly wasnt working and needed to be replaced at half time. Spector should have been helped by zola too – brought off or helped out with collison in front. another bad game from zola today
trouble is, specs has been found out at left back and right back, dont know about found out, just out would be good. i only saw the second half, but we got into good positions and nobody had the guile to either play the killer ball or take it on themself. agree re midfield with the exception of Ilan who was woeful. mido and dyer ran out of legs. thought upson was pony, he did do ok'ish but that dont cut it for an aspiring world cup centre half. bit suprised at the negative comments about not playing cole after last weeks negativity re cole last week. that said, i think the zola experiment has failed as much as it pains me to say.
Pop – Spector, whilst not being the greatest player in the world can only be blamed if it is HIM choosing to play narrow. If they are the instructions given – and I assume they are as Faubert & Ilunga also plays narrow when defending, it is the fault of the management.
Enough of us have been pointing out this observation for weeks on here. If we can see it, why can't they?
Second – I agree with Chris regards Kovac's performance. Clueless at the corner for the first goal and too often chasing back BEHIND the Chelsea midfield.
like i said the team should of been…
green
behrami upson gabbs deprela
dyer collison parker stan
………………diamanti…………
………………cole…………….
Chris we would of still lost with this lot. Deprela got beat for two goals by himself. Upson is way overated, and is too slow to start for england.
zola is doing the best with what he has >>>>>>>>i keep hearing this ….time is now to cut ties with hime and bring in a more pragmatic manager and the day mark hughes is appointed the better yeah we played well but i dont want to hear from zola mouth again the usaul bull sh**t ………iam proud of my players………..we were strong in defence and in attack its wore thin to thin ………..iam giving him till the wolves game and if we dont take maximum points then he has to go …..scott parker held that team together today and how is it that we all saw deprela against arsenal and thought WOW he has hunger for the game AND THE SHIRT !!!!! . and zola sticks him away again …….the bolton game (away) when he snubbed frank noublke to bring on da costa upfront !!!!!!!! he does not know what he is doing
Mark Hughes??????????
Lee, Deprela got beat on two goals. The reality is the squad has many holes, thats why its stuck in its situation. My feeling is Gold/Sulivan will sell off its commodities this summer and become birmingham south
I forgot to mention for all you US hammers, I tried out the Foxsoccer.tv today, it cost me $5 for 24 hours, but the coverage was perfect, great picture and stream, better than my TV picture usually is. Give it a try for those games not on FSC. I think they took over from setanta.
I would mate, but already spend $150 to Directv. My wife threatens to pull the plug on the dish. Watched from a crappy feed today.
I've got cable and thought direct tv would be better. I was thinking of changing but now may stick with this online thing for the must see matches
You have to wonder what Zola and Clarke see on the field. They appear totally rigid in a structure and unable to adapt as play develops.
It was obvious that nobody was covering/playing at right half and that Spector was left to cover a marauding left half in 30 yards of space. Add to that that Upson (how on earth is he England materiallet alone be captain of West Ham) and Gabbidon could not figure out who or where to mark and after 10 minutes a message should have come from the sidelines. As all to often silence.
I thought that Ilan was possibly the worst player/performance I have seen since Marco Boogers and still he played80 odd minutes.
Either Zola is ignoring Clarke or Clarke is not what I thought he was.
I have zero confidence that West Ham avoid the drop and looking at Newcastle this year maybe that is what is needed.
This is a crappy situation brought on by in part by an extremely likeable, great player but useless manager.
Times up . The genies out of the bottle. HELP.
As I was saying the other day, Parker never looks for the goal, and that's a serious flaw in his game!
Seriously though, he was the best player on the pitch in the 1st half. But I guess Chelsea just sussed all our play was coming through Parker, so they put a man-marker (Ballack) on him 2nd half? Parker instantly had two men on him, kicking his heels, every time he received the ball.
That freed up Behrani and Kovac but they offer very little going forward (one of them should have been taken off for Diamanti once we were 2-1 down, in my opinion – what's the point of waiting until the last 8 mins, when you're 3-1 down, before bringing him on?)
Chelsea just looked stronger and fitter than us all over the pitch in 2nd half.
The TV coverage mentioned that Parker outplayed both Ballack and Mikel today. Too bad we didnt get that effort for the other 9 field players
Spot on Mr Clack. Ilan's prolonged involvement is a mystery. Diamanti is flawed and I do understand those who find him frustrating but, you have to say, he is one of a very few players who look as though they might create something for us. In 8 minutes, and losing 3-1, even his enthusiasm must have been a ted dampened.
Spot on, clack, I was calling for Stanislas & Cole at HT for Ilan & Mido and then Diamanti for Kovac after an hour.
If Zola can't spot the obvious from the bench, I suggests he sits in the stands.
That's a good suggestion, Devo. Managers would see far more from higher up and I'm surprised more don't do it. The view from the touchline is very restricted.
does anyine really believe we will not go down,ok hull and burnley are poor ,but lets face it so are we.i had banked on our home form to keep us up but after the bolton game im not so sure,as for zola i have supported him throughout but i believe his time is coming to an end.if so many of the players should take a good look at themselves.upson has been awful for a while now,cole is great when he fancies it ,behrami is a good up and downer but nowhere near as good as many people think.parker is our best player and should be captain but again a good up and downer.he doesnt score enough goals for me..spector tries but is not good enough for the premiership.faubert has improved this season.tomkins,stanislaus.and collinson have to be given more time,noble has gone backwards.mido.iilan,mccarthy ,not a decent player between all three of them.i hope we survive but im not too optimistic
whats the point of 4 5 1????
4 5 1 will never work if the players the lone striker is bringing in the game are kovac behrami ilan all of which are clueless on the ball.
dyer on the right and diamanti would have offered so much more.
Zola worse manager ever i'm depressed.
agree with above, parker holds it all together the only prem player we've got
and scott I wouldn't blame you if you won't out ,I couldn't play with that shyte either!!!
want out sorry.
if the manager does not know what players and formations to play then how does that feel to the players and yeah today was a good performance because chelski are a good side but you have to wonder what he is thinking when they hit the training ground the week before a game . wolves has to be 3 points .
im sorry but kovac was only taken on because we couldnt buy anyone else so for some reason we rely on a player that west ham didnt want!!! mental but i believe that the midfield is not working out.there is no point having parker steaming around when the others are standing watching !!! the oldes one in the book is the late arival in to the box from a cross or corner….and yet again we fall for it !!! i think the zola in/out is now not a question of is he good enough,we just need a fresh injection and a new route as i believe he hasnt got the nouse to get us out of this situation.act now and dont take survival for granted as those rubbish teams below us are more than capable of squeezing a result out unlike us !!!
we just dont seem to have the guts to fight this one out and relegation is gona be a real reality.gutted but some big time charlies need to go.rant over.bring on the arse and another beating.glass aint half empty,its dribbling ,.
Anyone watching the Arse game? How did Boateng get a second yellow for that challenge and not a straight red! I can't believe Brown shook his hand as he walked off the pitch. Arsenal should go on and win this now and do us a favour. Relying on other results though is never a good sign is it?…
This game was never going to decide our fate. It is absolutely compulsory that we beat Wolves and Stoke at home in order to stand a chance of survival. I have to say that I have hated nearly every moment of this season. We seem to be beaten every week, and we continue to show a lack of commitment and desire. Personally I cannot wait until the end of the season, and there are about 10 players who I can't wait to see the back of. (Spector, Kovac, Faubert, Da Costa, Gabbidon, Upson, Noble, Diamanti….) We clearly need a new manager. Zola still seems unwilling to accept our perilous situation, and seems clueless as to why we are in this mess. Personally I place much of the blame at Zola's door because he is probably one of the worst tactical managers I've ever seen, whilst his signings have been atrotious. We've only won 6 times this season, and its been absolutely no fun watching this losing football every week, then having to listen to Zola say we're playing brilliantly.
why did cole start on the bench? missed the reason for that one?
It was Zola's way of telling to pull his finger out. He was totally lazy against Bolton and needed to know he has to fight for his place.
ilan Was Sh*t mido assist a very good ball to him i can’t imagine how a Brazilian player can miss it if he starts with mido and cole with parker and diamnti on the left with dyer on right it was better but i think mido was good enough today and if cole had share mido the attacking force of west ham i think mido and cole can score but again ilan sh!t sh!t sh!t
I don't too bad for the loss today. We were never really expecting us to get anything from today were we? A draw would have been a huge result for us, so far has our performances this season sunk.
It's all about our home games really. We all know that. We might be able to sneak a win at Fulham but I can't see where else we will get a point. However I do think we will stay up this season, by default, because the other teams around us are even worse.
I have supported Zola all season but I am feeling less able to. He doesn't have the excuse of off-field problems any more. He can concentrate on results.
The biggest concern is that he doesn't seem to be able to affect change during the game. The Manchester United game where Valencia tore us apart all game but did not make a sub until the 70th minute.
Today, we were well in the game, 1-1 but constantly under threat from Malouda isolating Spector. This must have happened 10 times today even before we went 2-1 down. Spector didn't get close all game but he also had no back-up all game.
And why leave a completely inneffective Ilan on for so long? His tactical decisions are becoming more and more baffling. I'm afraid I don't have the capacity to defend him any more.
I just want us to stay up, get this dreadful season over with, and ship out all the dead wood. Right now, if Zola stays or goes I really couldn't care less.
How does GZ justify playing spectre when he has played so poorly in the previous two games. The opposing team realise quite quickly that he is inept and channel most of their attacking play down his flank. To top it off he puts ilan in front of him, who cant defend or do much of anything really, quite simply the worst performance from a west ham player for a long time and how did he last 80 odd minutes? It would surely have been better to play tomkins or behrami at right back. Also why bring diamanti on in the 83rd minute when the game is already over, hes got to come on when we have a realistic chance of getting something out of the game. Zola has surely got to go if he does not get 3points against wolves, he has shown time and again he cannot get the tactical side of the game right
On a more positive note I thought parker was outstanding today. Best player on the park. I cannot understand how he does not get into the england team and green gave a very good performance today aswell and it was nice to see dyer start a game and not get injured
I know how you feel Andy, and you are right about the result – did we honestly think we could get something from this game? Chelsea are on fire at the moment and a draw would have been an amazing result. As for Zola, his decisions to put players on and alter tactics so very late in the game are no different from any other manager we have had. That's the difference between a top drawer manager and a manager.
yeah i was expecting a win,thats what your suppose to do wavid when you play football,didn't you know?
Chris, do we know each other? No, so park your sarcasm somewhere else it is not appreciated. There are winnable games in this league for us and games that we do not expect to win. Chelsea have class in every department and we were outclassed. I have said before that every game is a must win, but in honesty, there are teams that I do not expect us to win – it would have been an amazing point if we had held on, but looking at the stats at half time that was never going to happen.
Wavid, 55 minutes gone yesterday, the Chelsea crowd starting booing and hissing.. they knew they were playing crap… and they had one possible place they could go to win the game… down our right side… like they had all game… which they did..then they scored… game over… 4-1.
Any West Ham suppoerter thinking we didn't have a chance of getting something yesterday is sadly mistaken. Or maybe its just a sad reflection on our/your expectations in this pathetic season we're having…
Either way, its all down to one man..
Andy, I think we missed an opportunity yesterday. Chelsea had their 3rd choice goalie playing, missing their 2 full backs, one of their centre halfs, with the other centre halfs head stuck in the gutter. Essien, whose always their driving force, also missing. Anelka playing crap up front.
All in all, if we were setup right, and had a modicum of confidence, we had a decent chance to get a point, at least… But we didn't, and we didn't cos we had a bizarre team and changes (or lack of) were even worse…
55 minutes gone, Chelsea were playing poor, crowd were on their back, we had a foothold in the game. Then they scored and we made them look like Brazil… which, at the moment, they are not.
Very frustrating…
agreed. Everything was going our way yesterday. We were in the game- the only area that chelsea were having success in was the right hand side- right back position mainly. Zola just did not react. I know that if we shored that side up by either replacing spector with behrami and putting collison on left and dyer on the right – he just didnt react.
We are playing like the worst team in the premiership now…well us and burnley. Hull can count themselves unfortunate to not get a draw out of the arsenal game – and that was for 45 win 10 men. We would have lost by 3 goals in that position
I'm fed up with hearing all this positive rhetoric game after game. "we will improve, we've worked hard in training, you will see a better team, We have confidence" blah blah. But then the game starts and straight away we are on the back foot.
We are in trouble now
I didn't see the game but looking at the stats at half time Chelsea had possession, shots on goal and corners and we had got nothing except Parkers goal. The best teams win even when they play badly, but once they got the second goal we had not chance. I thought before the game we had a chance to get a point at least with their third choice keeper and figured Diamanti should have started – and I would have told the players – get free kicks around the area and let the guy score.
…and thank the Lord for Nicholas Bendtner. Hull had battled for the whole of the second half and looked like they were going to hang on. That will knock their belief they can stay up.
Absolutely outclassed today, men versus boys.
Having got level, Zola failed to react to the dismal performance of Ilan, not taking him off until the 85th minute, when he should have been hauled off at half time.
Mido was out on his feet by half time and we didn't see Cole until past the hour.
Spector had no help from Ilan or Kovac and it was left to Behrami to give him some cover. Nevertheless, he once again played narrow (which has to be under instructions) and I lost count of how many unchallenged crosses Malouda put in.
Thought Dyer put in a decent shift, but as Warren Barton says, he was known as jigsaw at Newcastle, because he goes to pieces in the box.
Gabbidon did Ok but their midfield ran rings round us in the 2nd half.
Scott Parker as we all know is our best player and did all he could to make a game of it.
green is also back in form. Good saves, handling and no chance with the goals.
All in all, pretty depressing stuff, with no cutting edge.
Arsenal will be a rout and then we have to start picking points up.
No more excuses for Zola. Lovely man, but useless as a coach.
Devo…fair assessment, but Green to blame for fourth goal. Spilled a shot to serve up goal for Drogba.
I missed that, Lofty, I'd had enough by then. Before that, he'd made a couple of world class saves and I lost count of how many shots they had from outside the box.
Devo I agree with most of your take. Spector playing narrow seems to be the way zola like to use him in order to shrink the center of the defense. Im not sure if thats to make up of lack of speed in the middle or what. But their seems to be quite a few crosses come our way by playing this type of defense. Not sure what to do with this lot. Too many holes in it like swiss cheese. Not sure what a new manager would bring in this late stage of the season. Im thinking that the owner will gut the team this summer and sell anything that will drop down the debt
Does anyone see why Zola should stay ?Ilan,Mido and Mccarthy all shite?the rest of the team anyone worth keeping?The 2 Dave,s really need to act unless they get rid of the 2 clowns who are supposed to manage it is trouble?The dead wood at our club is a whole forest and it needs chopping out.
Get in anyone who can manage cos the present 2 will never,Zola go back and enjoy life cos you are making our lives miserable!
I'm wondering if Zola in some weird twisted way was showing the 2 D's what they brought in to the club in Mido and Ilan… I doubt they were Zolas choice, so maybe he was trying to show how bad they are…
I doubt he was, but maybe…
I have no doubt that the Daves were totally responsible for bringing in Mido and Ilan through their contact with Barry Silkman. Ilan, in particular, has shown absolutely nothing since joining. OK, he scored at Burnley but other than that he doesn't seem to have a clue.
I agree Roy, the owners probably had more too do with the signings thatn Zola, since Gold said he was involved in player decisions.
Say what you will but i am sick of all this negativity, remember we were playing Chelsea AWAY and we all said that we didn't expect us to get anything from this game and we didn't but we scored an outstanding goal, yes it was Parker and the guy does deserve praise but this is a team effort, Ilan is taking far too much stick for my liking, okay he had a very poor game but how many times has he played this season and has he played in England before, answers not much and never so give the guy a break will ya. We will not go down, yes it is a little worry but Burnley and Hull are awful, simple as that.
Points made i agree with, Zola must go at the end of the season, not now as that will be highly damaging to the team morale at such a late stage in the season and we cannot afford that. Once the seaon is finished then we must get rid of him, tactically he is getting it all wrong. Signings can't be big as we cannot aford to spend loads of money as we will be back into further debt so we have to run a tight ship.
How can you be positive?Our team is abysmal!Curbishley had them winning and playing a style of football that was suited to the team,Zola great player useless tactician,does not know how much he is paid sums it up.
Zola,s setpiece masterstroke pass back to Green wack it anywhere up the pitch and prey fatty Mido runs 5 yards if not repeat,rubbish!
The writing was on the wall pre-season in China so unfit were our side they can still only play for 70 minutes maximum and therefore we have no fighting spirit with the exception of Parker!
These things all take time but can we please stop so much negativity, we are fans and yes we must critisize but we must also encourage the team to do better next time.
just for the record…..Deprela was half decent, he made one real error, sorry cant count the last 10 mins the game was gone.Spector on the other hand was caught out of position all game,I can't believe how narrow he plays,I would really like to find out if hes being instructed to tuck all game.
you have to feel sorry for the guy, chelsea just targeted him all afternoon,stats read 70% of their play came down our right.Zola should remove him ASAP because we are being sussed out week in week out,infact its becoming embarrassing.
Replace him with whom Chris?
brokking for now
brooking sorry
We'll go down for sure.
given that i only saw last 10 of the first half and all of the second, didnt look a 4-1 to me, not saying we deserved a point but 4-1 was harsh. the biggest negatives for me were ilan and spector, totally out of thier league. pepperami and parker played for the shirt, as did green and kovac. upson went through the motions as per. deprela showed his inexperience at times and gabbidon and dyer just aint what they used to be. mido huffed and puffed but he is not at the standard of fitness required at this level. the subs had little impact and to be fair only cole should be anywhere near a regular starter. diamante will always give you something unexpected, but that type of player is a luxury we cant afford with the state of the team at present. hate to say this but although we will almost certainly survive by default this year, god help us next season.
You're right, Pop, they could have had 8!
Arsenal away have your house on a home win!Zola your team actually deserves to be in the position they are in,one away win all season and truthfully another mistake by Duxberry in saying you were so good,at what,losing!You are embarrassing our fans every week but still take your wages that you dont deserve,go back to Chelsea with your sidekick and sell hot dogs,just do the honourable deed and resign instead of milking us for money you surely would not dare if you were sacked.
A new manager would played Diamante he is our only match winner from set pieces as for the rest every week we see they are non-triers representing our colours please go and find lower league sides or come here to the A-League where you would struggle, what a bunch of losers who play without pride,Shameful!The worst bunch to ever play for us!
I would have thought that apart from smacking a shot from outside the area – Parker, our best chance of a goal would have been from set pieces. A third choice keeper and Diamanti free kick – easy stuff really.
Its that kind of east stuff Wavid thats served Brum, Stoke, Fulham etc etc so well all year. No rocket science in anything they do. No world beater players. No stars.
Just simple, straight forward logic. Nothing reinvented. Nothing weird.
Easy stuff really…
Do you think Zola did a McCarthy with the team selection?
Just saw the game on football first… the real shame for me today was that Chelsea were a poor team and we could have gotten something from the game… Commentary just before the Chelsea second goal summed it up… "crowd getting restless, West Ham doing OK, Chelsea not got too many ideas"… then bang, goal goes in, heads drop (again), crowd back on side, game over…
How Zola thought Mido and Ilan would be the right folk to start todays game is beyond me… they aren't worthy of playing in our reserves…
I think its fair to say he'll be gone in the summer, Clarke with him… and probably half the squad… cos they really are crap… lets just hope Hull and Burnley continue to be even crappier, cos if they start winning (and remember, there's always a twist in the relegation plight in the last 4-5 games) we're doomed…
On the posotive side, I don't think Dyer is injured tonight… and Parker had yet another great game in front of Capello…
Watched the Stoke-Villa game afterward on foxsoccer.tv. Yes that channel is excellent value. Watched Collins, who to me, was clear man-of-the-match. A huge difference between him and Upson (other than Collins gives a shit) is that Collins constantly swivels his head and then marks a man! Upson is like a schoolboy ball-watching at all times. All he has to do is swivel his head and find the nearest striker. Against Drogba, didn't do it. Last week, same thing. Week before, same thing. For England, falls down and concedes. Why is he on the England side??
Parker ran the show and outclassed Lumpalard.To the 2 Dave,s you pay for what you get example Ilan cost F… All, he is worth F… All, a ghost impersonating a Brazilian football player we got the worst one ever! Mido has not made the grade anywhere here he is representing us,hopeless!Daprela great debut put in a strong effort at 18 you have a long future.Kieron Dyer you should retire!Valon put himself about but what is his role?Diamante should have started he can win games.Green should have stopped 2 of the goals,if he is Englands number 1 we need devine intervention to win the World Cup.
Must be wrapping 50 grand a week fat guts Mccartney up for the Wolves game where he is timed with a detonater to explode into life and be our saviour,or out injured for the rest of the Season!
Paul Ince quoted in his news of the world column describing Dagenham as a Khazi,man you are a snob and an ill educated failure of society,I am glad Lou Macari never gave you a pay rise you are a detested person and Dagenham never needed you,you think you are something special,Joke!
SACK ZOLA DAVID BEFORE ITS TO LATE,THE WOLVES GAME IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER,WE ARE IN A TOTAL MESS,THERE IS NO FOOTBALL BEING PLAYED WHAT SO EVER,APART FROM PARKER SORRY.
It must be getting serious now. Chris is posting in capitals!
I think Arsenal are going to take us apart. We ought to be able to scrape enough points at home, but the impact of the serial defeats can't be great for morale (the team's, let alone mine!). Am genuinely worried now.
Logic for me has started to kick in,what as fans do we expect from Zola?Not allowed to spend any money,played against Chelsea who have 20 million plus players in every position,we knew we could not win they have been lucky to find a sugar daddy to buy them a pedigree we inherited a dopey Icelandic billionaire who almost contrived to bury our great club.We can take on anyone below 6th place and match them and beat them results have proof of that.Unfortunately the 2 Dave,s have to come up with a plan to improve everything at the speed of light so with a player Upson who cost 6 mill against Chelski we have a sporting chance at best,look how Citeh have benefitted from the oil money,any oil under Upton Park,start drilling boys you will find jellied eels at best!,time will tell and I am gonna give up hunting Zola as the fall guy with no money do we think we are Barcelona?
Logic has kicked in Aussie?? Sounds more like the Tequilla has…
We had a chance of getting a point yesterday if we had the right team with the right attitude… Chelsea did not play well…
You don't need to be a genuis to see Specs was in trouble. You don't need to be a genius to see Ilan was tripe.
And how many times this year have we said similar… like your Tequilla mate, too much, too often…
Mate, the talent is just not their to compete against the top teams. You cant make chicken soup from chicken shite
Aussie, I have some sympathy with your view and refuse to hunt down Zola although he has to take responsibility at times when his own team selection and tactics fail us. But, we have to be realistic in terms of the squad we have and the lack of investment we have suffered over many years. With money and resources Zola will be an excellent manager. Changing him now would be counter productive especially as the squad believe in him. I think that the real test would be if he stays, what he does with the team over the summer. Plenty of dead wood to remove but also specific areas of the squad to improve on – defense in particular.
Wavid we just have to hang in there and hope we can survive.What is Scott Parker worth he absolutely toyed with the world class Chelsea midfield and ends up on the losing side,bravo Scotty you are a True Champion you did us proud!
Couldn't disagree more.When will Zola be an excellent manager?
When he takes ove Barca or man u,blimey even me and you could do that job.Sack him now before the Wolves game.
I think that the big problem of what is done in the summer will be down to a lack of funds. The two Davids are just not going to throw money around and the best we can hope for is another batch of signings like those in the January transfer window. i.e. cheap or free, over the hill or never been up the hill, overweight or over rated. And they will not be Zola's signings(or whoever the manager might be then) but come on the recommendation of Barry Silkman.
Of course we can't change Zola now. The disruption would be worse for the team, but really in the summer I think it's fair to say that if a better manager is available we should consider it.
All through the season I have defended Zola but the off-field problems are gone now. \\
Zola just does not seem to be able to see the obvious. At 0-0 Spector was getting murdered and not getting close enough. He had no back up from Ilan. The same at 1-1. We were in the game but were continually getting roasted at right back. Zola again did nothing. Malouda must have been unchallenged 20 times in this game. A pub Manager would have dealt with that. Instead He left Ilan on and did not sub Spector.
On the positive side. Daprela did quite well again. I think we should start with him and hopefully Faubert will be back at right back for Arsenal.
Also, another positive. After we get battered by Arsenal, at least we will have played Man utd, Arsenal and Chelsea away. The easier games will be coming.
Saying that, home to Bolton was supposed to be one of those. A poor Sunderland team who haven't won for months managed to beat them 4-0 a week after we lost to them.
I am really doubting Zola now. We most definitely have better players than the likes of Hull, Portsmouth, Bolton,Burnley but do we have a better manager? Coyle, Grant, Brown???
In 11 games Brian laws has won only once – Can we guess who he got his win against? I would only put Laws below Zola right now……but even his Burnley side beat us in February.
Spot on Andy… I think we've all (well most of us anyway) given Zola the benefit throughout the year, but there were always extenuating circumstances for the allowances…
Now, there are none. He's just making daft decision after daft decision. And then not making any when everyone else can see things need to change.
Chat show on Sky this morning talked about Mourinhos true quality being able to react to whats going on in a particular game… make changes when they need to be made… chnage players and systems when required…have the vision to see whats happening and react accordingly…
For this, in Zola we definitely don't trust… and I'd put my mortgage on the 2D's not trusting it either, so safe bet he'll be gone summer time…
Trouble is Andy, I strongly believe Zola will take us down & then want? Another untried manager as no-one of any stature will come to us & the farce starts all over again.
Charlie Nicholas was covering the game on Soccer Saturday. He is an excellent pundit. This is what he said after the game. It's just good to get an outsider view as being west ham fans it can be quite emotive.
"I certainly did think Zola got it wrong today."
"Chelsea didn't play brilliantly again today," he said. "I would pick out Malouda as the main man. From the word go he got a nice bit of space as Jonathan Spector stood off him a little bit too often.
"To be to Spector he didn't get too much support.
"So it was 1-1 at half-time and I felt so long as West Ham go and squeeze Malouda and stop those crosses [they'd be ok].
"But they didn't take care of it. Malouda set up Didier Drogba for the second, he scored the third himself and then he went off and Drogba finished it off by pouncing on a spill from Green.
"West Ham looked a bit all over the place defensively at times; they gave it away cheaply today. They've really only got themselves to blame. Chelsea didn't have to play great to win comfortably."
I can't disagree with that summary at all.
We really missed an opportunity yesterday. Failure to react and make tactical changes during the match stopped us getting at least a point. Should NEVER have been a 4-1 game. I have tried to be patient with GZ but I have very little left. Not entirely sure who the replacement should be, but I am become resigned to the fact there will have to be one Andy!
ilan…centre forward….played right midfield
dyer …attacking midfielder…played left midfield
spector…duno…played ?
mido is never a loan striker
kovac headless chicken
im pretty sure if i were green/upson/brihani/cole and so on that next season i wouldnt want to be at west ham.
if we survive this season i hope we have drastic changes as im getting fed up with excuse after excuse.we dont want to win the dam league we just want a season or 5 with top half no worries safety.am i talking curbs here or what? maybe just maybe we can get a manager with the passion to get this clube we love up to where it shoyuld be.im sorry to say but zola and clarke just arnt cutting it for me and we need a bit of lets say pdc or billic to lift the club.zola seems to be getting down and miserable and this must be transmitting to the players.
the sooner we all realise that the chumpionship is a real possability the better.this team is not good enough to fight and stay up.happy mothers day !!! mind you at least we get to play sheff utd !!!!! every cloud n all that !!
What we need is a tried and tested manager no one new to the game and not another young manager with big ideas,someone like Hodgson would be good.
There aren't many like Hodgson, Chris, and he wouldn't come to us anyway. Attracting a decent manager is going to be a difficult job.
Roeder went down with 42 points I reckon we are going down with 31 unless zola is sacked,i dont see sacking Zola now will be counter productive, I see the flip side to that.
Biggest worry for me now is the last game of the season… home to Man City… playing their hearts out for the final Champions League spot…
So. we'll be on the brink and playing to stay up.. they'll be playing for 4th place…. if that scenario pans out, we're history…
Thank God for Goal Difference… maybe what will save us in the end..
So many times players signed in January fail to make the desired impact. The only time I remember this working well was when Harry Redknapp signed Lee Chapman, Mike Marsh and Bugsy Burrowes, mid-season, who made a big contribution in helping us avoid relegation.
Despite this I still think that the likes of Ilan and McCarthy need more game-time before we pass judgement on whether they're able to be successful at West Ham.
So far as Zola and Clarke are concerned I hope they stay with us to learn, grow and build a side that can mix it with the best. If they do go that will be four managers in almost as many years. Personally I don't want us to be another also ran club that "Sack the Boss" every time at the first sign of trouble. With the club management and our backing Gianfranco will continue to gain management experience, tactical awareness and know-how. I'd sooner we were like Aston Villa or Everton than Middlesborough, QPR, Leeds or Newcastle. Stick to the plan and it'll come good. Impatience, rashness and constant speedboat turns will get us nowhere.
I agree. But I don't think our fans are over-reactive. I see that is why John Lyall lasted as long as he did. We have always understood that as long as we play good football and there is an element of organization about us.
I just don't see where the improvement is. We are steadily going backwards. I would love for Zola and Clarke to sort it out so we don't need to look for a new manager but please explain why he did nothing all game to counter the threat of Malouda, and did nothing all game (until the 70th minute but game was over) to counter the threat of Valencia.
What yesterday's game and also Manchester Uniteds games showed were that we were fairly comfortable in all areas apart from two glaring blatant areas – and Zola reacts by making a change to the striker. I fear he just does not know how to change a game for the better
As well as my reply below I'll add that there's only a slim chance we'll go down – not the other way round that the odds are skinny we'll survive.
couldn't disagree more Gav, sorry mate zolas usless one of the worse I've seen.
Sack the manager first sign of trouble,i think its gone a bit further than that.
i can't believe your sticking up for a manager with a win ratio as bad as this,sorry you make no sense.
Fair play fellas. Opinions seem to be changing on here and the majority are now calling for a new regime to be brought in. I just feel that he will come good – whether it's with us or with someone else. If he goes I think it'll come back to haunt us.
Insofar as my opinion is concerned it's irrelevant. I think Gold and Sullivan want him out and, I guess, that's all that counts now.
Here is a post I never thought I would write but its time for Zola to go. It was obvious at half time that we needed to make changes and nothing was done. Ilan was beyond useless, if there is a worse Brazilian footballer I havent seen him. I know Zola didnt buy him but he did choose to play him.
There is no way Diamanti should have been on the bench and to bring him on with 7minutes to go was an insult to our best player. I have always been a big supporter of GFZ but he looked lost yesterday and totally out of his depth. Coming home after a fantastic Ireland win and having to force myself to watch that game was a serious mood killer. There were positive yesterday in the performances of Parker and Daprela.
Parker was simply immense, I have run out of superlatives to describe this guy. For 60mins he kept us in that game virtually on his own and when Chelski started to turn the screw he was the only one standing in their way. Everything that is good about WestHam is summed up in him. I dont think there has been a WestHam player that I have admired more than him since PDC. I could sepnd the next hour posting about what an incredible player he is but to be fair everyone knows.
Daprela looks like another gem from Nani, no nonsense, tough tackling and very very brave and only 19 which is amazing. Nothing seems to phase the guy and he is no respector of reputation. The gulf in class between him and spector couldnt have been any clearer without the use of a powerpoint presentation. Spector has no place anywhere near a premiership team.
Dyer got 60mins and looked a bit rusty but still worked very hard. He may have a part to play in our relegation fight.
Upson was a disgrace again and Zola should have the balls to drop him. Its an insult that Tomka paid the price for Upsons cowardice against Bolton. DaCosta needs to be put in to the starting team once his suspension is over, he is our most physical defender and isnt going to get bullied or pushed around like that numpty Upson.
Zola picked a team yesterday to do a job but it was unclear what that job was and whatever it was they failed utterly to do it.
My one and only concern about sacking Zola is I cant see Gollivan getting in the right manager for the job, I can ony see them going for the cheapest option available. I am genuinely sorry for calling for Zolas head and its no reflection on the good work he has done but this is WestHam and no one is more important than the club. Even now I want to delete this post and give Zola more time but I think we are out of time. We are likely to get nothing from arsenal and after that there is no room for mistakes in our remaining games. I just can bring myself to trust Zola to pick the right team or play the right way to get the wins we need to stay up.
I left Stamford Bridge yesterday with the same emotions about Zola.
I have never advocated removing a manager mid-season (except Macari) but GFZ's lack of action, namely the half time removal of Ilan and Mido, left me with one thought…the guy really doesn;t see the bleedin obvious.
I respected his decision to give CC a wake up call by dropping him, but by half time it was clear to everyone we needed to change things, and fast.
I disagree with you Celtic, that he picked a team to do a job. I think it was more to do with muscle-flexing and sending out a message to the slackers who stunk the place out against Bolton.
Cole deserved to be dropped, along with Tompkins, but Diamanti? Never.
As for dumping Zola…for the first time I believe he has to go at the end of the season.
Talking in those terms makes me feel like the man who shot Bambi, but I think Zola's race is run.
It was a brave experiment, but the sad truth is, he hasn;t enough in his locker.
Being the best overseas Premier League player of all time clearly does not translate into management.
Lofty the thing is, if I thought he would keep us up I would be happy for him to stay for next season and see what he can do with a bit of money to spend and no off the field hassles to content with.
It just I am for the first time seriously worried about relegation. The only arguement for us stayin up is that there are 3 worse teams than us but right now its becoming harder and harder to believe that.
The biggest argument I can come up with for keeping Zola is that given Sullivans track record he will go for the cheapest option available to replace him.
If Zola wanted to give players a kick up the arse then thats fine but he could do that and put out a better team. Jonathon Spector has absolutely no place in a premier league team, not now, not ever. Behrami should have been moved to right back with Dyer ahead of him and Diamanti pushed up front behind Mido with Stan on the left. That pace out wide could have caused Chelski problems.
Whatever team he picked yesterday its his failure to change things at half time that worries me most.
Spector had a torrid time, but Chelsea's tactics in that area were clear from the 5th minute, yet Zola and Clarke did very little to combat it. Behrami moved over to that area but neither he nor Spector got with 10 yards of Moulouda who must have thought it was Christmas.
When a guy is running you ragged, you cannot give him acres and acres of space. If Zola couldn't spot it, what the hell was Clarke doing? We needed to get a man tracking Malouda wherever he went…not standing 10 and 20 yards away admiring his handiwork.
Basic, basic stuff which ells me more than anything that Zola doesn't really have the right tools.
Arriverderci time, me thinks.
I agree Celts with the sentiment about not wanting to have to get rid of Zola. I think we all want him to succeed, but these tactical blunders keep stacking up and ultimately costing us.
The only part of your post I'd disagree with and not sure you meant to put it, was that Diamante was our best player.
Parker is for sure our best player, by a mile, but as I know you like him too, I would prefer to think you meant that Diamante was perhaps our most creative player??
Just a thought. I'm certainly not trying to put words into your mouth!
Let's just hope whoever is in charge gets us at least 17th place come the end of the season
we played a subdued chelsea team yesterday who were well below their best. We really could have got something out of the game had positive changes been made. Zola only ever reacts after we have gone a couple of goals down.
So frustrating.
The question is, do we want to go down just to keep Zola? We have a chance (slim) of staying up but I believe only if Zola goes now. He cant be left in charge for the Wolves game. If we lose that we're finished. If you believe Gollivan we've had it as a club if relegated so tough decisions have to be made. Relegation & the club in total meltdown is slightly more serious than 'first sign of trouble'. That was pre-season & Zola's still here.
I'd be interested to see who Zola's lost on this Forum, maybe Iain could run a poll to see.
well said Ian,intelligent.
I think you're exaggerating our chances of relegation Ian. We'll stay up if Zola stays in charge. Pull a quick turn in management now and it's likely it'll go wrong.
I believe we'll stay up with GF and SC in charge then they'll both make way for a new manager in the Summer. I'd rather they stayed but the Two Davids will release them from their contracts in the closed season.
Gav, best you wake up & smell the roses mate. How many games have Burnley won since Laws took over. How many games & when was the last time Bolton won/scored away from home. Good job the're not down at the bottom of the table fighting for there lives … opps my mistake. We aren't just poor, we have no fight & the teams around us have!
Over the last two games I'd agree with you Ian. The performances against Birmingham, Hull and Manchester United were workmanlike. People have very short memories of what they were saying only three games ago.
Your right there Gav, memories are short, but football,s a funny game. According to McLeish was happy with Birmingham' performance up to the goal & Hull could have scored an equaliser just before half time but for a great save from Green. In fact if you see the chance again they should have scored. If we had gone in 1 all at half time I'm not sure we would have won, but lots of if, buts & maybe's. The issue here isn't the last 3 games, its the season as a whole. The perfomance againts Bolton was inexcusable & as for yesterday, we were never getting anything out of that game but it still doesnt detract from team selection, lack of tatics & substitute use/not used/time etc. Ican't see it changing, Zola's after match interviews are the same every week & we're running out of games.
Fair enough. I just think that he's learning on the job. I'll be sticking to my guns and backing Gianfranco to get it right – with us or elsewhere.
I think that we have to keep Zola for the remainder of the season for two reasons:
1. Who would we get to come in quickly and for just a few games? The answer to this is somone who is out of work and not wanted by other clubs.
2. The players obviously think a lot of Zola and if he was removed now it could make morale even worse. That would almost certainly mean relegation.
If there is going to be a change – and I believe the Davids will make a change – it has to be at the end of the season.
& I think that's exactly what will happen Roy. He'll be off at the end of the season.
Celtic's comment about his replacement being the cheapest option on offer may come true. I wonder if Mr Gold and Mr Sullivan have anyone in mind already.
If the perforamces againts Burnley & Bolton are from players who think alot of Zola then god help us.
As I said before, I've always defended him but he non-reactive ways are preventing us from getting anything from games.
If a tactical decision needs to be made within the first 10 minutes, then make it! We need Zola to be far more decisive. This was his worst game so far as Chelsea were actually quite stagnant. We made them look like Brazil.
I'm sitting on the fence now. I can't support a man who is making so many tactical errors, but I want it to work out all the same. I will say this. We won't get anything from the Arsenal game, but If we don't win at home to a shambolic Wolves team, then quite frankly we must act.
If we aren't beating the likes of Bolton and Wolves at home then a change must be made. If there was improvement in performance, or organization but we are looking more disorganized now that at any stage under his tenure.
Leaving Ilan and Spector all game(pretty much) to get murdered, when we were holding our own everywhere else was disastrous.
Also, a positive sub up front at 1-1 with Cole coming on for Mido would have really worried Chelsea.
I'm not advocating Pardew but I will say this for him. He always set up an attacking team, and always went for the throat. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't but we were always in the game. But if you go there to not get beat you will get beat. What is better? Winning 2 out 5 games or drawing all five????
Zola's like that Guiness advert. "He waits, that's what he does"
I like Pardew, and I agree that he got his team playing the right way. He packed a team with pace so we always played at a quick tempo. We need to do that now, we need to up the tempo, at times we can knock the ball around beautifully but far too often we look lead footed and cumbersome.
I want PDC to take over, he was every bit as intelligent a player as Zola but he has a ruthless streak in him and we are desperately lacking that.
I refuse to condemn Zola or ignore his good work developing players and I will admit that last season he had us playing well and winning games. I know that a lot of the problems are not of his making, he has had massive off field upheaval, virtually no money to spend and the signings made in January were not what we needed and made his job harder. When you need a keeper, a creative midfielder and a fullback and you get 3 crap strikers instead it is like having a hand tied behind your back but the fact is that we are in very real danger of going down and we just can not allow that to happen.
Let us all be clear about one thing – we have better players than half the Premiership. What we don't have is a clear direction, or a TEAM.
I like Zola and would keep him on in a coaching capacity with a more experienced Manager taking over team selection/tactics. Perhaps then, Zola could learn at first hand.
I don't see what Steve Clarke has brought to the table. Our defensive record is atrocious and if he has any influence on what is going on during the games, his judgement is fatally flawed.
In Diamanti, we have one of the cleverest players in the Premiership – look at his pass in the last minute to Kovac – sublime, yet Zola should have been introducing him & Cole whilst the game was 1-1. To bring him on with 5 minutes to go was a disgrace and as somebody else commented, an insult.
I actually thought Gabbidon & Upson did a pretty good job yesterday. In fact, Gabbidon has looked solid every time he has got on the pitch this season and it's not easy coming back from long lay offs.
You won't convince me this is a poor football team. The fault lies in the why they are being motivated and asked to play:
Green
Faubert
Gabbidon
Upson
Daprela
Stanislas/Dyer
Collison
Parker
Behrami
Diamanti
Cole
devo i agree keep zola for the training pitch,as for match day,,,er no way.
agree i thought gabbs looked solid.
I don't think that Zola's pride would allow him to stay if another manager was brought in over his head.
I agree with the Steve Clarke comment. I thought that he would be an ideal foil for Zola but I really can't see what sort of positive influence he is having.
better players than half the premiership. Cole was dropped for a player that couldnt get in a championship boro team, pompey are down but they have probabley got a better side than us, we are down if we dont beat wolves make no bones about it, this team is shit.
makes me laugh everyone was slagging off curbs (i thought he was solid and really could of took us forward) everyone saying we wanna see good football, well i do but i love my football club and would put results first any day
Sorry franco but only westham will do. Di canio for boss