Sunday, December 18, 2005
Mugged - by 30 million pounds worth of strikeforce!
I thought we played a good game today. We dominated, we never gave up yet we were dealt a lesson in how to finish and shown what happens if you go to sleep for a split second against the premiership's finest strikers. The result flatters Newcastle. They were beaten all over the field except when it came to Shearer and Owen. Owen surely would not have completed his hatrick but for the endeavour of Roy Carroll going up the other end in an all or bust attempt to salvage a point from the game.
But look at the 2 teams and I know who I'd rather be supporting right now. It's exciting times at West Ham at the moment. Rarely would you concede 4 goals yet thoroughly enjoy a performance full of heart and carachter. Yet Newcastle on the other hand would be in the depths of the league but for their 17M purchase of Michael Owen prior to the closure of the transfer window. They offered nothing in terms of flair, and consistently tried to pump balls to the prolific strike pairing of Shearer and Owen.
If some of our chances had gone in then it could have been a different game. The fact that they went 3-1 up totally against the run of play when we looked more like getting an equaliser, meant the 2 goal margin finally proved a gap to far to bridge. At 3-2 we looked far superior and tried all our efforts to produce but when Roy went up the other end to offer his skills up front we were caught on the break and Owen dealt the killer blow whilst securing his hatrick.
Positives to come out of this game:
Well lots really
I beleieve in this side. They have heart, the will to win and even though like today they will sometimes get caught out they will always entertain and will not let their heads drop. They are a testament to Pardew and the West Ham way of playing attractive decent football. So we lose this week - Bring on next week I say!!!
But look at the 2 teams and I know who I'd rather be supporting right now. It's exciting times at West Ham at the moment. Rarely would you concede 4 goals yet thoroughly enjoy a performance full of heart and carachter. Yet Newcastle on the other hand would be in the depths of the league but for their 17M purchase of Michael Owen prior to the closure of the transfer window. They offered nothing in terms of flair, and consistently tried to pump balls to the prolific strike pairing of Shearer and Owen.
If some of our chances had gone in then it could have been a different game. The fact that they went 3-1 up totally against the run of play when we looked more like getting an equaliser, meant the 2 goal margin finally proved a gap to far to bridge. At 3-2 we looked far superior and tried all our efforts to produce but when Roy went up the other end to offer his skills up front we were caught on the break and Owen dealt the killer blow whilst securing his hatrick.
Positives to come out of this game:
Well lots really
I beleieve in this side. They have heart, the will to win and even though like today they will sometimes get caught out they will always entertain and will not let their heads drop. They are a testament to Pardew and the West Ham way of playing attractive decent football. So we lose this week - Bring on next week I say!!!
Posted by Dave at 7:02 pm
whubris said...
West Ham were well worth 3 points. It's just that every time Newcastle attacked, Owen scored. Four attacks, four goals. The rest of the time they were under siege and they'll be stoked to come home with a 4-2 scoreline. West Ham played like a top 10 side, as they have done all season, so there are a lot of positives to come from this.
Michael Owen isn't worth 17 million pounds, he's worth 3 points!
My player ratings:
Carroll 6: Not much to do really, which sounds strange for a keeper who conceded four times. Poor error for the first goal (should have come off his line) but saved well later from Owen's header.
Konchesky 6: Defended OK, attacked fairly well but needs to use his teammates more. Crosses were good. Given a hard time by Solano.
Collins, Ferdinand 5: The defence let the side down. Struggled against the experience of Owen and Shearer. Mind you, both were a bit unlucky not to actually score! They will both have learnt a lot from this match and the partnership is only a new one.
Repka 4: Gave away the ball for the first goal, caught out of position more than once, and had very poor distribution and crossing. Added nothing to the side.
Etherington 7: Awesome at times, really ran at the defence and put some testing balls in. Faded as time went on but is looking better and better as the season goes on.
Mullins/Fletcher 8: Could have helped the defence a little more but otherwise a great battling performance, winning balls and keeping possession well. Mullins deserves special mention - he's looking very good. Fletcher got a couple of good shots in. I said 2 seasons ago that Fletcher could score some crackers from midfield and he nearly did in this match.
Benayoun 7: Unlucky to pick up a knock, looked lively and won some free kicks for the side in dangerous areas.
Harewood 7: Very involved, very dangerous. His ball into the box that led to the own goal was a beaut.
Zamora 7: Linked up with teammates very well. Looks more comfortable at this level now and will score more goals.
Bellion 6: Put one very good ball into the box, otherwise didn't make much impact.
Aliadiere 6: Don't remember him doing anything.
Overall the side looks good, and looks like they have a lot more potential. You get the feeling that there is a 5-0 mauling of somebody coming.. Let's hope it's Chelsea on Jan 2nd!
norven munky said...
what a bizarre game. For much of the game it was up there with anything we have played all season.
- Matty is back full of confidence and fitness and doing to prem defenders what he was doing to champ defenders for much of last season.
- Yossi had one of his best performances for us until he was strangely substituted..
- Mullins was like a rock in the middle and would be my MOTM if not for Matty
- When Marlon is on song like he was here, he just causes all manner of trouble for defenders..big, strong and agile...just like Mike Small but with ability :)
- Carroll (not Carole) is not inspring any confidence in me let alone the back 4. Shaka should be between the sticks...I'm sorry but I don't rate Niles at all..forget about the stupidity that led to the 4th where Royboy thought he was staying out to the final whistle and not just the corner!?!..he's pants and will cost us points soon...
- [token nice comments about Bobby or Dave will sulk->] Bobby was ok too. Actually he was very good and will only get better with a 1st team run.
So how did we lose? Newcastle were sh1te and scored 4. As Dave said they have 30 million quids worth of strikers and they punished us from just a few opportunities.
I'd just like to give a wrap to AP & the fitness staff...how sharp and fit are we looking...there is some good reading in the last few hammers news about some of the back room staff..i might paraphrase some for the blog over the break...
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whubris said...West Ham were well worth 3 points. It's just that every time Newcastle attacked, Owen scored. Four attacks, four goals. The rest of the time they were under siege and they'll be stoked to come home with a 4-2 scoreline. West Ham played like a top 10 side, as they have done all season, so there are a lot of positives to come from this.
Michael Owen isn't worth 17 million pounds, he's worth 3 points!
My player ratings:
Carroll 6: Not much to do really, which sounds strange for a keeper who conceded four times. Poor error for the first goal (should have come off his line) but saved well later from Owen's header.
Konchesky 6: Defended OK, attacked fairly well but needs to use his teammates more. Crosses were good. Given a hard time by Solano.
Collins, Ferdinand 5: The defence let the side down. Struggled against the experience of Owen and Shearer. Mind you, both were a bit unlucky not to actually score! They will both have learnt a lot from this match and the partnership is only a new one.
Repka 4: Gave away the ball for the first goal, caught out of position more than once, and had very poor distribution and crossing. Added nothing to the side.
Etherington 7: Awesome at times, really ran at the defence and put some testing balls in. Faded as time went on but is looking better and better as the season goes on.
Mullins/Fletcher 8: Could have helped the defence a little more but otherwise a great battling performance, winning balls and keeping possession well. Mullins deserves special mention - he's looking very good. Fletcher got a couple of good shots in. I said 2 seasons ago that Fletcher could score some crackers from midfield and he nearly did in this match.
Benayoun 7: Unlucky to pick up a knock, looked lively and won some free kicks for the side in dangerous areas.
Harewood 7: Very involved, very dangerous. His ball into the box that led to the own goal was a beaut.
Zamora 7: Linked up with teammates very well. Looks more comfortable at this level now and will score more goals.
Bellion 6: Put one very good ball into the box, otherwise didn't make much impact.
Aliadiere 6: Don't remember him doing anything.
Overall the side looks good, and looks like they have a lot more potential. You get the feeling that there is a 5-0 mauling of somebody coming.. Let's hope it's Chelsea on Jan 2nd!
norven munky said...what a bizarre game. For much of the game it was up there with anything we have played all season.
- Matty is back full of confidence and fitness and doing to prem defenders what he was doing to champ defenders for much of last season.
- Yossi had one of his best performances for us until he was strangely substituted..
- Mullins was like a rock in the middle and would be my MOTM if not for Matty
- When Marlon is on song like he was here, he just causes all manner of trouble for defenders..big, strong and agile...just like Mike Small but with ability :)
- Carroll (not Carole) is not inspring any confidence in me let alone the back 4. Shaka should be between the sticks...I'm sorry but I don't rate Niles at all..forget about the stupidity that led to the 4th where Royboy thought he was staying out to the final whistle and not just the corner!?!..he's pants and will cost us points soon...
- [token nice comments about Bobby or Dave will sulk->] Bobby was ok too. Actually he was very good and will only get better with a 1st team run.
So how did we lose? Newcastle were sh1te and scored 4. As Dave said they have 30 million quids worth of strikers and they punished us from just a few opportunities.
I'd just like to give a wrap to AP & the fitness staff...how sharp and fit are we looking...there is some good reading in the last few hammers news about some of the back room staff..i might paraphrase some for the blog over the break...
