In any walk of life there are managers. They come in all varieties with various styles and methodologies. Some have the benefit of experiencing the position of those that they manage, much like an ex-player who becomes a manager in football, while others have little or no experience ‘walking the walk’. In a very long career in sales, which began in the school yard buying and selling little electronic games with LCD screens, I’ve worked under managers who have been in sales themselves and managers who haven’t. I’ve also managed a couple of sales teams back in the days when I worked in retail. Looking back I can remember how it felt when a member of the team was not ‘putting it in’. I expected the same level of effort and dedication that I gave when I was in sales. I would supply the right level of motivation and encouragement but found it extremely difficult when a member of ‘my’ team dragged their feet.
So take a player like Zabba. What a dream he must be to manage.
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So take a player like Zabba. What a dream he must be to manage. It’s players like that who you choose as your right hand – your leaders on the pitch. Mark Noble can never be criticised for lack of effort. A true 100%er who leads by example.
Then take the superstars who you bring in. The ‘Di Canios’ and ‘Cantonas’ of this world. You’ll accept them not tracking back (although I would suggest that Paulo’s work rate was better than Eric’s) because they contribute so much with their skill, vision and flair.
Supposedly we signed a superstar this summer. A record club signing with talent to burn. Ok – we knew Marko Arnautovic tended not to work to help the team out when we hadn’t got the ball but we’ll put up with that because he creates so much – right? He’s certainly as moody and unpredictable in character as PDC or ‘King Eric’, I’ll grant him that, but we knew that before he signed.
Cheikhou Kouyate, by contrast in styles, has been one of my favourite players since he arrived at West Ham in 2014. Rarely had I ever seen a player go shoulder to shoulder with Yaya Toure and come away with the ball. Box to box he would rapidly turn defence in to attack. Useful at set pieces too – you could see he enjoyed Payet’s free kicks when they weren’t going straight in the back of the net. Since the summer he’s barely recognisable to the player of former seasons. There have been flashes of his combative play but not consistently. So I’m asking myself why this should be. As far as I know he’s not struggling with injury. Could it be the current atmosphere in the dressing room?
Another reason could be illustrated by history.
There is definitely something going wrong with the team’s motivation at present? What else could be happening other than a talented but work-shy player who isn’t contributing affecting the team’s motivation? Well another reason could be illustrated by history. When Mr Allardyce came in to the final season of his three year contract a very similar situation arose IMO. Contract talks were on hold and Mr Allardyce’s future at the club was in serious doubt. Result – a complete collapse in form after Christmas that saw us narrowly avoid relegation. I know it’s not 2018 yet but is the same effect of the 3 year deal policy, that the club’s board seem to prefer, kicking in earlier this time around? The same change in demeanor of the manager is happening to Slaven that happened to Mr Allardyce in his final season. When this happens to a manager the inevitable will ensue and players will be affected.
As for player led meetings I pay that little credence. Overly inflated media talk IMHO.
So putting myself in Slaven’s shoes how must it be, at present, managing a situation where you have a player who is creating very little whilst offering nothing to win the ball back from the opposition (apart from the odd, badly timed, ridiculous lunge that gets you sent off)? Slaven is a manager that is out there kicking every ball. You can visibly see his frustration when things break down on the pitch. It’s one of the things that endeared so many fans to him when he first arrived. The passion and frustration he showed was so similar to our own. He has a huge amount to contend with which is being added to by the fans beginning to turn as well. He needs to find the motivation to turn things around like, I suspect, he must have done at half time last night.
So I’m going to finish on a far more positive note. I can’t write without mentioning last night’s game. It was ‘real’ cup football for me. Took me back. Unlike some I don’t think we played that badly in the first half and were unlucky to go in 2-0 down. I think that the lads worked quite hard and, as a result, one or two niggling errors started to creep in to Spurs’ play in the latter part of the half. A miss-control here and a misplaced pass there seemed to sneak under the radar of many but I felt the signs were starting to show that our boys were getting to them. There were some good signs on view. Players were passing and moving and we had a few spells where we held the ball against one of the best, if not THE best, pressing team in the Premier League. It just seemed to completely break down when it got up to Carroll and Ayew. The big difference in the second half was that Carroll and Ayew were transformed. Andrew Ayew especially. The midfield seemed to gain belief and supported the strikers better, as they were sitting a little too deep in the first half, but Ayew was the catalyst. Man of the match performance in my book. Carroll was also effective. Lanzini grew in to it and created chances. Declan Rice showed great character after his, very unlucky, deflection for their second goal. Sam Byram did a great job. Cressers had a good game. Adrian had a blinder. Good performances all but I feel that an unsung hero of the evening was Edmilson Fernandes. Positive and intelligent he seemed to be the one putting us on the front foot when it came through him.
Positive and intelligent he seemed to be the one putting us on the front foot when it came through him.
What a joy to watch – brilliant stuff.
Adrian had a blinder
I love cup football. Nail biting, edge of your seat, 100mph, hanging on to your potatoes, do or die stuff. The league is the bread and butter but the cup is, so often, where it’s at for excitement. Absolutely love it.
COYI! WEST HAM 4 THE CUP!