There are matches that simply haunt me for weeks, sometimes months. The 4-3 loss to Spurs at home during the Great Escape year tortured me, and if we had gone down that year I might have needed medication to survive. Last Sunday was almost as bad. All week I’ve replayed those last few moments in my mind, envisioning a different outcome. Alex Song ignoring Harry Kane. Adrian holding onto the penalty kick. In my mind I could see those things happening. And then reality takes over again. I was hoping West Ham would be able to shed the demons of White Hart Lane against the men from Selhurst Park. Instead they added insult to injury with one of the, if not the worst performance of the season.
Since I’m not a real journalist I don’t have to even pretend to be objective. So here’s the deal. I cannot stand Alan Pardew. I took immense pleasure when Charlton went down under him. Equally so when Southampton floundered with him in charge. I heard a story from a mate at a pub in Manhattan a few months after he was sacked by Eggy, and then heard the same one from supporters while in Toronto to watch us play the MLS All Stars. When Pards was summoned by the board, instead of trying to plead his case he sat down and simply asked how much compensation he was getting. I have no idea if the story is true, but it seemed consistent with other things we had heard about him. I bought it then, and I’ve bought it since then. But with the way he has galvanized Palace into the team we saw today, I’m going to shed that idea and admit he is a talented manager on many levels.
The first real chance of the game came in the 12th minute when Cresswell intercepted a poor pass by Puncheon. The Palace defense rightfully expected him to look for a pass or a cross into the box. Instead he unleashed a good shot that curled over the bar. Two minutes later, after some interplay between Sakho and Valencia and a foul on Noble, the skipper on the day launched a free kick that beat Speroni only to ricochet off the cross bar.
West Ham’s fine form at the start of the season was due largely to the kind of passing on the floor that supporters had wanted to see more of. Today, however, it looked like the very notion of technical ability was completely lost on them. Sloppy passing and awful first touches by the very players we expect to be able to do those things is what has replaced it. In the 25th minute a Valencia giveaway led to a Palace counter. Puncheon burst into the West Ham half and sent a through ball in for Glen Murray, but Reid was able to nudge the Palace striker just enough for him to send his shot wide.
The most memorable and important moment of the game was the 38th minute when both sets of supporters rose to their feet to offer a minutes applause in the memory of Dylan Tombides. It was a touching moment made all the more memorable by the involvement of the opposition. While it’s cliché to say, it made the game seem trivial.
Aaron Cresswell has been one of the brightest spots for West Ham this season, so much so that rumors of interest from Manchester City have sprung up in recent weeks. But as we’ve seen a few times this season when me messes up, he messes up big time. In the 41st minute, after Palace earned themselves a corner, the free kick into the box came to Glen Murray. His header seemed to be floating right at Adrian, but Cresswell completely missed his attempt to clear it and sent the ball spinning past our keeper and into the net.
West Ham 0, Crystal Palace 1.
During the halftime break, there was talk on Twitter of how Sam would give them a swift kick in the arse and that would give us hope of a better second half. That optimism disappeared five minutes after the break when Zaha sprinted down the right and won what would be the first of two quick corners. The first was headed towards goal by Scott Dann but cleared out by Reid. The second corner was a replay of the first, only this time Dann’s header went into the back of the net.
West Ham 0, Crystal Palace 2.
The decline in form for Alex Song has been shocking, not only due to it actually occurring but for how quickly it has happened. It’s as if one moment we had this on field general pulling all the right strings, and the next we have someone that has forgotten what to do. In the 56th minute, Song did what any child playing on a Sunday knows not to do. He stopped playing. He just stopped playing. That allowed Ward to run past him and pick up the loose ball before Noble was forced to foul him. Jedinak then came inches away from a third Palace goal when his resulting free kick went just wide of a diving Adrian. Minutes later, Song was replaced by Nene. The man most of us said we should sign this summer regardless of the cost, replaced by a free agent striker that Sam reportedly didn’t want.
That just about personified our day.
Before the game today, the inclusion of Glen Murray in the Palace starting eleven at the expense of Dwight Gayle raised many an eyebrow. The television commentators talked about it, and West Ham supporters on Twitter thought we had been handed a gift. In the 63rd minute, Murray slammed the book shut on that argument when he earned a free kick after creating contact with Kouyate outside the West Ham penalty area. It might have been soft, but anyone complaining about the referee today should reconsider. Puncheon curled the free kick into the box, where Murray was able to meet it with a diving header that beat Adrian.
West Ham 0, Crystal Palace 3.
At that point I threw down my pen and stopped taking notes. Yes, Nene hit the outside of the post. And Murray saw a second yellow and Palace had to play the final 21 minutes with ten men. When Valencia scored in the 76th minute, I admit I thought maybe. Just maybe. And perhaps if Jenkinson had chipped the ball over Speroni in the 82nd minute we could have had an exciting final 8 minutes plus stoppage time. Instead, we left the game wondering what on earth happened to the team that should have beaten both Manchester United and Tottenham.
Final Score: West Ham 1, Crystal Palace 3.
Before I sat down to write this, my best mate Jon called me. He threw these thoughts at me. The last two games have seen us blow a 2-0 lead and today give up three goals from set pieces. Two things that are decidedly not Sam things to happen. Could he know he’s gone? Has the board actually told him that, and if so could he be shutting down a bit? And if that’s a possibility, could the players know that as well and thus their concentration has dipped? And if all of that is a possibility, could some fault lie with the board for leaking stuff to the media about it? In truth, more of the blame today lies with the players. They were, almost to a man, awful.
Wednesday could be ugly.