This was one awesome performance from our boys at Stoke, never an easy place to go and get a result. It certainly made this German sausage muncher smile which is no easy feat as I was trying to keep my imported English man flu under wraps, literally covering under a warm blanket, sipping one mug of herbal tea after another.
But I was curious to see what West Ham team exactly was gonna show up, the one that got us four points out of games against three of the top sides in the league or the lackluster one that self imploded against Everton.
It was a joy to see us getting Stoke frustrated, both their team and the home crowd. Once again we kept our solidity at the back, not giving them much in terms of clear cut goalscoring opportunities. They hit the post once and Shawcross headed over the crossbar from close range. That was pretty much it.
Every single player put in a shift, out of 10 I wouldn’t want to score any of our players below 8, although Adrian in fairness didn’t have much to do at all, so on the back of Stoke’s overall harmlessness he maybe only gets a 7.
The penalty for us has been discussed at length, for me it wasn’t a blatant dive, but a harsh penalty to concede. If that had been the other way round I’d have been fuming.
But it’s one of those you see given time and time again and I won’t complain that this time it was us who benefitted from it. Sure I’d prefer if our players didn’t go down easily.
In that respect Lanzini was probably milking it a bit. Then again the defender gave the referee a decision to make which is just what he did.
How many times have our defenders been in the same boat, barely making contact with the opposition player in the box, yet being penalised with a penalty kick (and sometimes a red card as well) ?
It is rare for West Ham these days to have a number of players who could have been crowned as man of the match, but for me there were several candidates this time, the obvious one being Arnautovic. Now, don’t get me wrong, having spoken to him in preseason and having read stories about him from his Bremen days he doesn’t strike me as a pleasant character. I still think he is somewhat of a p****, but he is our p**** now and it surely is better to have him on your team than the other side.
It’s easy to see he didn’t leave Stoke on friendly terms the way the crowd greeted him and also the fact that no Stoke player approached him during warming up to shake his hand nad have a bit of banter. Not a lot of love lost between them methinks. So they were dishing it out to him big time, winding him up at every opportunity as Arnautovic seemed to feed from that more and more, getting one chance after another – in truth he could have scored three or four.
The way he celebrated his goal extensively and did the crossed hammers in front of the Stoke fans is not the kind of clever behaviour more polite, professional or level-headed players would have displayed. But Arnautovic is who he is and he was giving it back to them in buckets. And I loved it! Long may his good form continue now!
My second MotM candidate has to be Masuaku. Where has this guy been all the time ? (On the bench most often, I know, but that’s not where he should be on current form)
To see him charging down the wing, ball close to his feet, doing his little flicks and tricks and delivering decent crosses galore is a beauty to behold.
He’s apparently got his own song now as well – and deservedly so. He has been one of the main reasons for our recent revival.
You also cannot ignore Lanzini who was quiet in recent games but really lit up this one. He was at the heart of the penalty that set us on the road to victory. His mesmerising flick to Arnautovic set up the second goal which knocked the stuffing out of the Potters. And he also was involved in most of our numerous counterattacking moves.
Which also very much applies to…..please welcome to the stage, young Master Rice!
When he had to take over from the injured Noble I wasn’t sure if this was the right kind of game for Rice. Critical phase of the game. Hostile home crowd. Physical opposition.
This could have gone badly wrong. But what do I know ? I’m just an undersized German, wrapped in a blanket, mending a running nose…:-))
Rice was magnificent. He slotted into Noble’s position as if he had been playing there for two full seasons already. He was calm and composed way beyond his 18 years.
Maybe it’s the flu, but I didn’t see him set a foot wrong all game. Saying that, Collins also slotted back into the team seamlessly and added some welcome old head experience to our backline.
The other two subs probably didn’t play long enough to deserve MotM plaudits, but I felt both did their jobs remarkably well and surely helped us bringing three points back to East London. Hernandez was a nuisance straight away and tried to set up goals for his teammates in a very unselfish manner. Which ultimately helped Diafra Sakho who could and should have scored three really, but the one he actually DID score was a nice move all around.
It was great to see the team rallying round to celebrate with him. For many he is already halfway out the door, being lined up for a move in January. Be that as it may, as a player I’d hate to lose him as it won’t be easy to replace his quality with the kind of money we are likely to get for him, should he be sold to France.
So, we continue on the road to recovery with some more winnable games coming up, including to the cup game against Arsenal. If we put the same kind of effort in and perform as a unit we should come away with more points and wins from the remaining December fixtures. I’m certainly a lot more confident than two weeks ago!
Talking briefly about some rumours that two highly touted youth players could be heading out in the near future, namely Reece Oxford and Domingos Quina.
Oxford has just begun to start some games for Borussia Mönchengladbach and they have a history of bringing out the best in young players.
I have heard stories that after his brief appearances for our first team Oxford might have become a bit too big for his boots already and it is far more his attitude than his ability that will decide his future at West Ham.
Maybe a permanent transfer to Mönchengladbach can be a win-win situation for all concerned, provided of course the price is right.
The same applies to Domingos Quina, a highly rated midfielder from Portugal. His agent, like many of his profession, seems to be a bit of a wheeler and dealer, so him apparently asking for a massive payrise for his client could just be posturing and bravado. It depends on whether we trust the player enough to make it as a Premier League player in the near future.
I like nothing more than seeing a player coming up through the ranks and establishing himself in the first team. I reckon Rice will be one of them.
As for all the other hopefuls most of them remain as just that: Hopefuls who never make it above League One or Championship level.
As a fan you always hope they can succeed but the fact is they rarely do.
The thing with Oxford and Quina is that there seems to be interest from other clubs which means West Ham will have a decision to make. Cash in with a modest fee now, in the hope they eventually won’t make it or keep the faith and reap the rewards a few years down the line, either by having them as established first team players at West Ham or being able to sell them for a much higher fee, watching a bidding war from several big clubs. It’s a gamble either way, but I hope the Academy will continue to be an integral part of our beloved club.
Having had some good results recently the proof will still be in the pudding this January, with the upcoming transfer window. If we don’t support Moyes with bringing in some decent signings it will tell us once again what the board are about. You can’t just sit back and do nothing because we have finally managed to collect some points.
Strengthening the team should ALWAYS be one of your priorities running the club, no matter if you are fighting relegation, sitting comfortably in midtable or challenging for the Europa league places.
But that is a concern for January. Right now I’m finally enjoying watching our games again – and thank God it’s no longer from behind the sofa in shock and horror!
Right, need to make another cuppa…COYI!!!