Two great Premier League results sandwiched an embarrassing performance in the League Cup last week. Within six days West Ham went from heroes to zeroes back to heroes again. After a very satisfying two-nil win over Manchester United several changes were brought in for the visit to Oxford United on Tuesday night. Reminiscent of the F.A. Cup loss to Nottingham Forest in 2014, when Mr Allardyce threw too many youth team players in at the same time, with many believing that he was trying to make a point about the products of the Academy of that time, our lads went down four-nil to the Division one side.
Clearly there are some key differences between the two matches. Many more experienced players were fielded by comparison to the ‘thrown to the wolves’ game of January ’14. There is also nowhere near the same level of anger at MP compared to Mr Allardyce, although this might be down to the amount of respect that Manuel Pellegrini has shown us fans compared to ‘Big Sam’.
I kept schtum over my feelings about Tuesday’s loss. This was partly because I was attending a trade show and didn’t get to see the game at all. I only managed to sporadically track the live text reporting from the West Ham app, and the BBC site, that seemed to be suggesting that Nathan Holland was giving the Oxford defence a torrid time in the early stages. My disappointment at going out of the competition at that stage was, and is, sizeable. In my opinion European qualification via a cup the club have never won would be tremendous, as those who read my posts on the subject will know, and it’s an opportunity lost. I don’t necessarily subscribe, however, to the idea that the strongest side possible should have been put out. The early rounds of the League Cup offer a great opportunity to play less experienced player which is invaluable. I’m convinced there’s a happy medium somewhere between the strongest eleven and a team of kids and fringe players. All boiled down, like a praise sandwich, I’m not feeling so bad about West Ham’s exit from the Carabao due to the sweetening effect of the results either side of it.
Going in to the Bournemouth game I felt apprehensive but not to the level of recent seasons. The Dorset club are, undoubtedly, a bogey team for us. Callum Wilson seems to revel in playing against our defence and hardly ever fails to score. This time, however, I didn’t feel quite as nervous as I usually do for some reason. Perhaps it’s the fact that we are becoming a team more confident in possession. Perhaps it’s the improvements in defence that we’ve seen grow over the last couple of months. Whatever it was I was so pleased to see Yarma and Cressers on the scoresheet again. Weird as it may sound I think this result was more satisfying than the Manchester United one. A game that you wouldn’t have said would have been unfair for us to come away with all three points. It was an entertaining affair in terms of the football on offer which, probably, went some way to the satisfaction I felt at the final whistle.
So a six day rollercoaster came to an end and we were sitting in third position. When I looked at the league table I got a feeling that I’ve not had in a very long time. Third in the table with a number of games on the board. That and the confident swagger that the team is starting to display gave me a tiny soupcon of that feeling I had in, dare I say it, ’85-’86. Hope burns eternal!
On the downside our ‘Super Fab’ has picked up a thigh strain that looks to keep him out for a couple of months. The replacement, Roberto, is splitting opinion. Whether you like him or not it seems churlish, and counter-productive, to criticise him. He’s playing his way in and the last thing he needs is fans getting on his case. Sadly some seem to revel in criticism rather than get behind, or call it support, our lads. Let’s get behind him and let him know we’re all his. That way he definitely stands a much better chance of gaining the confidence he’s going to need.
Another highlight of this weekend was the tremendous turnout for the Ladies match against Tottenham. Absolutely brilliant. Sadly the result was disappointing however it warmed the cockles of my heart to see so many turn out to see our girls who had a hatful of chances to score but it turned out to be one of those days. I’m sure the West Ham Women will start to win more games soon – let’s hope the first of those wins comes next time out away to Brighton.
Elsewhere the U23s remained top of Premier League 2 Division 2 courtesy of braces from Anthony Scully and Nathan Holland in a four-two win over a spirited Sunderland team. Scully is banging them in for fun at the moment. The front three of Joe Powell, Scully and Holland look like they’ve got a great understanding – combining to play some tremendous football at times. Dan Kemp also looked impressive going forward. Dimitri Halajko seems to be doing a great job and is building a competitive team. Highlights can be viewed, on the official site, at the following link https://tinyurl.com/yxlxy3by .
This season I’m finding that I can’t wait until the next game. Exciting times fellow Hammers.
Come On You Rip Roarin’ Irons!