West Ham Till I Die
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David Hautzig's Match Report

Shrewsbury Town 0, West Ham 0. Chicken Feet Make The Best Stock.

There I was. Minding my own business. Making my son some breakfast when I decided to see if any FA Cup matches were on over here.

Well what do ya know. Us.

So I turn on the TV in the kitchen a few minutes before kickoff, swivel it my direction, and get the cream cheese and smoked salmon from the fridge. I had a lot to do at home this morning, including restocking one of the freezers with chicken stock. If you’ve never made soup or stock from chicken feet, I advise you to end that flavour drought as soon as possible.

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I was in no position to construct a report based on notes taken from game action, and as it turned out that was absolutely fine. Chicken feet was and still is the highlight of the day. Make no mistake about it. Shrewsbury Town are the side that can claim to have deserved a win today. Nolan had that golden chance to score after Cullen made the mistake on the cross, and they probably should have done better in the dying moments after Burke lost control near the centre circle. Twitter was in virtual flames after the match, tearing the players new orifices every which way it could. And we were poor. The stats speak for themselves:

Possession:
Shrewsbury Town 55%
West Ham 44%

Shots:
Shrewsbury Town 9
West Ham 4

Accurate Passes:
Shrewsbury Town 260 (64%)
West Ham 180 (54%)

Corners:
Shrewsbury Town 4
West Ham 2

But I’m going to go against the grain a bit. Isn’t somewhat fair to say that Shrewsbury Town did to us what we did, to a degree, to Man City? Chelsea? Even Spurs? They had only conceded five goals at home all season. And while no single player apart from Sadler The Bloodbath impressed me especially, and he more for his toughness than anything, Shrewsbury Town were the kind of lower division side I love watching in this competition when I can be neutral. Spirited. Resolute. Organized. Well coached and drilled. They played well defensively, and should have seen themselves through.

Our attacking play was, well, appalling. But there may be an inalienable truth we must accept. We are not a particularly good team going forward. We have a couple of good players on the ball, but the times this season and last we have tried to be more expansive going in one direction we have looked frail and exposed on the other end. So maybe it was best to keep the defensive end solid because, in the end, we have to.

Jacob Steinberg and others on Twitter said a replay was the last thing West Ham need. And while I’d rather not have another match in ten days time at The Track, it doesn’t have to be a chain around our necks. Youngsters will likely get another chance to show what they can offer, as will some first teamers that spend more time sitting than running. The larger pitch will probably benefit us, and we will likely win by a goal or two. A loss today would have stopped the momentum and increased positivity we have gained in the league. A draw does not.

A couple more random thoughts from what I saw.

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I had a season ticket to the New York Rangers ice hockey team for many years. It was not uncommon for a player to be cut while playing and only miss one shift while being stitched up on the bench. I’m willing to buy Cullen some skates if he’s interested. You could see in his eyes there was no way on Gods Green Earth he was going to let this opportunity end because of a piece of bone that can be replaced.

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Is it possible that Moyes, and even Bilic, were right in not starting Hernandez when so many screamed for his inclusion? And that’s not a slight on Chicharito. It’s just hard not to wonder if he was bought in the same way we buy stuff from the market when we forget to make out a well conceived list. You need onions and milk, you come home with cookies and a DVD. We all know what he needs to succeed. Didn’t Sullivan? Don’t answer that.

Anyway, today neither shocked nor annoyed me. We are West Ham. We are not a club that is beyond this kind of performance. We can be breathtaking against a top side, and lethargic against a pub team. You know it to be true. So simply get on with your day.

That’s what I need to do now anyway.

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