O Chico, Chico. Wherefore art thou Chico.
Deny thy face clutch and refuse thy red card.
Or, if thou will continue to cheat, be but sworn to cheat against Spurs.
And I’ll no longer hate you passionately.
You have to have your enemies in this game. It makes what would normally be a normal match into something more meaningful. And we haven’t had an enemy quite like Chico Flores in a long time. Make no mistake, either. We got in his head. What other footballer would go through the effort to make a screen shot of the EPL table and tweet it out to the supporters of another team? For us to have a go at him on social media was actually expected. Normal, even. But for him to take such notice and get into it with us was anything but normal. It showed how pathetic he really was. Which is likely one of the reasons he now plays for Qatari club Lekhwiya SC in the Qatar Stars League.
From a sheer footballing standpoint, the Andy Carroll v. Wilfried Bony debate was the story that led up to today’s game. Twenty twenty hindsight is all well and good, and through those glasses David Sullivan was right in wanting to sign Bony over Carroll. At least so far. For the record, I cast my vote for AC at the time. My reasoning was that strikers coming to England from the Eredevisie had not had a lot of success. Carroll knew the league, looked unplayable at times, and was perfectly suited to the style of play we all expected to continue under Sam. The debate is not over, and today’s game certainly narrowed the gap.
The starting eleven saw two noteworthy changes from the midweek win at West Brom, neither of which came as any surprise once we knew we had an almost fully fit squad to choose from. Alex Song and Enner Valencia returned while Morgan Amalfitano and Mauro Zarate helped themselves to a seat. Mark Noble’s series of little knocks added up to a day off, so Captain Kev got to keep his boots on and aim for his 100th goal in the Premier League. Like many of us I often cringe when I see his name, but Nolan acquitted himself nicely on Tuesday so no complaints were forthcoming from my living room. As well as Swansea have played this season, their away record hadn’t been stellar with only one win in six matches.
One thing was apparent from the first kick of the game. Alex Song is worth whatever amount of money we have to offer for him in the summer. His command of the ball and not only the space around him but the whole damned pitch borders on supernatural. It allowed both Cresswell and Jenkinson to push forward, and even seemed to put Nolan a bit more at ease. Still, no real chances were created despite dominating every aspect of the game.
In the 7th minute, Andy Carroll gave the first glimpse of what kind of day he was going to have. And he missed the header he went up for. But the attention he demands of the opposition when he launches himself allows players around him to take advantage of space. And that is what Valencia did, although he couldn’t control the ball and make something of it. Moments later Carroll played a ball into space for Jenkinson down the right, but his cross was blocked by Leon Britton.
In the 15th minute Carroll fed Jenkinson down the right….again….and Jenkinson found Nolan darting into the box as he so often does, but his effort on goal went wide. Not wanting to give up on scoring his 100th Premier League goal, Nolan came close again two minutes later when Downing put a free kick right in front of Nolan near the left post but his shot was saved by Fabianski.
In the 19th minute, Swansea took the lead with what the television announcers called the poster child for goals against the run of play. Montero and Sigurdsson worked a terrific one-two down the left side. It could have been contained had Kouyate not stopped moving, or Jenkinson had stayed with Montero on his run. Both men turned into spectators for no more than a second. But a second is all Wilfried Bony needed to tuck home Montero’s pass.
West Ham 0, Swansea 1.
Thankfully, West Ham stayed the course and kept the pressure on the visitors from Wales. To be fair, Swansea looked like they wanted to prove they not only could take a lead against the run of play, but they could dictate the run of play as well.
Game on.
The 25th minute saw more solid play from Carroll when he got on the end of a Cresswell cross and played the ball in for Valencia. However the Ecuadorian’s volley was blocked out for a corner by Ashley Williams. The ensuing corner was a great lesson for players of all ages and creeds in going for the ball. If any West Ham player had even tried to get on the end of Downing’s corner the game would have been level. Instead it rolled across the face of goal and out for a goal kick.
The danger in falling behind the way West Ham did is in trying to do too much too soon. Patience is a virtue, even when you’re down 1-0. Swansea started to assert themselves for the first time in the match when Montero found Sigurdsson on the left. A quick shot after cutting back into the center was punched away by Adrian. That was followed by a cross from Rangel, and then a dangerous clearance by Cresswell that Ki intercepted. Bony took a pass from Sigurdsson a minute later but shot wide. 2-0 felt like it was right around the corner.
West Ham seemed to retreat back into their route 1 ways for a bit, perhaps to buy some time to regroup and get their composure back. Downing found Cresswell running towards goal and put a cross right on him, but his header was easy for Fabianski to grab.
West Ham almost drew level in the 37th minute when an attempted clearance by Williams came off his partner and fell right to Nolan in what looked to be a classic Kevo The Poacher moment. His shot was blocked behind for a corner. A few corners led to scrambles in Swansea’s area, but no real chances. The equalizer felt so close, yet so far.
The vast majority of supporters railed against Sam’s tactics for much of the past two seasons. Rightfully so. This year, however, West Ham have something that we haven’t had that is crucial for that option to be useful. Players who can cross the ball. In Cresswell and Jenkinson to name just two, West Ham have that. In the 40th minute, Song fed Jenkinson for what felt like his 421st cross. With barely enough space between him and the defender, Jenkinson looped a ball into the box that landed on the most valuable head in English football. And Carroll showed why he is far from surplus to requirements when his header was placed perfectly into the top left hand corner of the net, continuing his pretty good record against Swansea at Upton Park. Among Swansea supporters it must have raised the fears of dropping more points from a winning position than any team in the Premier League.
West Ham 1, Swansea 1.
Sam made one change at halftime, bringing Diafra Sakho back into the fold after his case of Idiot Physiomonia. Valencia took a seat. At first I was surprised. Valencia hadn’t looked himself, but I didn’t think he looked worthy of the hook. Maybe I shouldn’t have been considering his recent injury. Credit to Liam Spencer of Iron Views who tweeted during halftime that he thought that was the change that needed to be made, and it was.
The second half started much like the first. West Ham controlling the ball, using the full backs to apply pressure, and crossing the ball into dangerous areas. That pressure led to the first card of the game when Wayne Routledge took out Winston Reid who was chasing down the same ball Routledge wanted. Free kick into the area, but nothing of note.
In the 52nd minute Sakho looked like a guy who had been starving for days and was presented a steak dinner with all the necessary sides. He got the ball on the edge of Swansea’s area. Then he lost it. Then he went down on one knee only to bounce back up with the ball. He looked like it he thought it was his divine right to have the ball and do what he wanted. That energy and desire has gotten him to the heights he is on, and it continued until the final whistle.
Young people make mistakes. Lots of mistakes. And while it is cliché to say that those that learn from them will eventually succeed, it’s also true. In the 58th minute Cresswell made the kind of mistake a kid makes in his first year in the big time. He made a fantastic run, fighting off defenders in the process, to have a nice patch of clear green in front of him close to goal. However, the excitable kid inside him was louder than the seasoned pro he is quickly becoming and he crossed before anybody could get there to receive it. That kind of composure will come, and when it does god help the opposing center backs.
History, at least the history of the day, almost repeated itself in the 60th minute when Swansea broke on the counter. Montero passed to Bony who was about 25 yards from goal. He could have waited a second for Routledge to finish his run into the box, but instead fired a shot that banged off the top of the crossbar. If anything, it showed how careful West Ham has to be. Swansea’s counters, even if they have been few and far between, have been scary for the home supporters to watch.
In the 66th minute, those fears turned into an eruption of joy when a Stuart Downing cross found Andy Carroll yet again. His soft header should have been cleared by someone, anyone, covering the far post for Swansea. Not to mention that Ashley Williams completely lost Carroll. Yet the goal showed how physically and emotionally draining it can be to cover a player like Carroll when he is both on his game and getting the support he needs.
West Ham 2, Swansea 1.
Two minutes later, Gary Monk needed a drink to go along with a new goalkeeper. Yet another ball to Carroll at midfield that was flicked into space. That space was inhabited by Sakho, who pushed the ball between the Swansea defenders and towards an onrushing Fabianski. The keeper came miles out of his area and crashed into Sakho, who still was able to get to the ball and dribble a soft shot off the post. Replays showed Chris Foy going to his pocket immediately, and Fabianski’s day was done.
The 74th minute saw Swansea replace Montero with their own version of Man Mountain, Bafetimbi Gomis. Along with Bony, and down to ten men, it looked like Swansea were going to turn to their opposing manager for guidance in finding a second goal. And at times they didn’t look like a team down a man. A testament to their quality, I must say.
Pure goal scorers are a different breed. They are like thoroughbred horses with blinders on. All they see, all they are really interested in is the goal. Sam alluded to that trait a few weeks ago when talking about Sakho. In the 78th minute, that trait almost gave West Ham a 3-1 lead. It should have, because if Sakho had taken the blinders off he would have seen Carroll all alone in front of goal with nothing but net in front of him. Instead, he shot. It went off the post, and if things had ended differently Sakho might have had a huge fine in Kangaroo Court.
Swansea made the home crowd very uneasy for a spell in the final ten minutes. They won numerous corners, were gifted an opportunity in front of goal after a horrendous clearance by Carroll, and saw a golden opportunity from Bartley sail over the bar. Under Zola, Grant, maybe even Curbs that havoc in front of our goal would have ended up with a 2-2 scoreline. But times have changed, and West Ham weathered the storm.
There will be no better example of direct football in my lifetime than the goal that sealed the game for West Ham. Goal kick from Adrian to Andy Carroll. Carroll flicked the ball onto the feet of a rushing Diafra Sakho, who split the defenders with ease and fired an absolute cannonball past Tremmel. He then lifted his jersey to show a t-shirt that said R.I.P Happy. @kaz7289 answered my calls for help on Twitter and said he thought it was Sakho’s mother. My best mate Jon thought it was his desire to show that t-shirt that made him choose to shoot when he should have passed to Carroll. I thought it showed his nature as a striker. Shoot first, ask questions later. Whatever the reason, it showed that when he plays goals are in his boots. And a Sakho-Carroll partnership is now another powerful weapon Sam has in his holster. His fist pumping celebration was in some ways the best moment of the day.
West Ham 3, Swansea 1.
The last minutes of the game were pure joy for the home side and the supporters. Downing, Cresswell, and Sakho didn’t turn their engines down one bit. There was a ball cleared off the line in the 89th minute, although I didn’t write down any details about it. I was too busy pacing the room in jubilation.
Today’s game was a chance for one of these two clubs to grab onto a ledge of the rock we are both trying to climb with our second hand and pull ourselves up. Set up camp, do some work, and then keep climbing. Today that team was West Ham United. None of us know how far we can climb, or how long we can even stay close to where we are. But the whole scenario presented by Sullivan, Gold and Brady a few years ago is starting to look more like a plan they knew would work than a hope they all shared. They may not have billions, but they have quite a bit of something else that starts with the letter B.
Brains.
I am getting used to this.