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WHO Poll
Q: 2010/11 Chelsea (h)
| a/ The season starts here against the big money no marks. 3pts to the Irons. | |
| 14% |  |
| b/ The players should be up for this and hopefully we'll see the beginnings of a team forming. A point a piece. | |
| 23% | |
| c/ At least 3 more goals against a free scoring side on the top of their game. We'll walk away with nothing but red faces. | |
| 50% | |
| d/ Hurrah. Daddy's got a Porche. | |
| 3% | |
| e/ How many weeks running do I have to tell you, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE. | |
| 10% | |
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Vinny's Blackburn Report Vinny - Sat Jan 30 2010 West Ham United 0 Blackburn Rovers 0 West Ham and Blackburn played out a dismal goalless draw at Upton Park in yet another disappointing result and one which does little to ease any relegation worries. This game was arguably the worst spectacle I have witnessed this season although the reverse fixture at Ewood Park was not much better. It seems that playing Blackburn brings out the ultimate worst in our football. This should have been a game were we took all three points. It cannot be seen as anything other than a terrible result. The whole performance was disappointing with the tactics from the beginning looking all wrong. Most of the fans would have thought we would come out in the second half and look a lot brighter and maybe even create some chances but if there was anyone likely to score it was Blackburn who should have taken at least one of their golden chances. Our passing was generally poor, there was a lack of movement from the midfield, players such as Diamanti and Collison went missing for large periods of the games and others such as Noble and Behrami just huffed and puffed running themselves into the ground in the process. Going forward we offered nothing with Frank Nouble isolated and looking well out of his depth with the best player on the pitch Christopher Samba winning everything. The new owners must know that a couple of strikers are an absolute necessity to get in by next Saturday’s encounter with Burnley as we cannot continue to play the way we are playing. Gianfranco Zola made no changes to the side who only came away with a point at bottom club Portsmouth last Tuesday evening. This was a surprise given the amount of talk about players returning. Those players suggested to return to the fold were available but on the substitutes bench. Carlton Cole, Scott Parker and Herita Ilunga were all included in the eighteen man squad but obviously not deemed fit enough to start. It does beg the question that if they were fit enough to be on the bench then surely they were fit enough to start? I was always under the impression that you should start with your best team but maybe that is an old way of looking at things now. The formation we began with is bordering on upsetting me every time I see it. I’m frustrated before the ball has even been kicked. What gets to me is that Zola trains with the players all week and gets paid for it yet unlike me (and many others) we can see that one upfront does not work for us, has not worked for us, and will never work for West Ham. The game started as it meant to go on with a truly boring opening fifteen minutes. The first real moment of the game came when Julien Faubert whipped in a quite fantastic cross (which I would think is why we purchased him for all that money) for Blackburn defender Samba to get to the ball first and nearly divert it into his own net but it went just wide. The next chance came from a dead ball situation which saw Diamanti take a free kick from what looked a very difficult angle and former Spurs keeper Paul Robinson in somewhat unorthodox fashion punched the ball wide for a corner. We should have done a lot better as Collison burst into the area but lost possession and as the ball came out to Berhami who looked as though he may get a strike in on goal Collison got in his way and he ended up taking a wild swipe at the ball. With a few moments of the first half remaining Blackburn won a free kick and this was taken by Pederson who hit a curling effort at goal which crashed off the cross bar. It is difficult to recall such a poor first half although last season at home to West Brom was pretty bad. This though seemed to hit home a little more due to our current plight and the threat of relegation still looming large. With this being the first home game since the David Gold and David Sullivan takeover Upton Park should have been an atmospheric wonder for everyone to behold. Instead it was flat and tense just like the performance from the players and the 33,093 (with Blackburn bringing just the four fans) would have been left wondering when things are going to take a turn for the better. The hope would have been that at half time we would bring on a couple of new faces and really take the game to what must be said was a very poor Blackburn team. In fact watching Blackburn and seeing that tonight as I write this they are 10th in the Premiership does make me question just how shit this league is. It also makes me question how bad have we been this season if they can be that high in the league playing that type of football. Our untidy football continued in the second half as we made no changes to our shape or personnel. I would conclude that Zola must have thought we doing well? It is that sort of thing which worries me about Zola because surely he must be able to see that we had nothing in the first period to hurt Blackburn with and hoping for some ‘magic’ from the erratic Diamanti is not really a game plan. Only twelve minutes of the second half had gone when Zola finally woke up and realise something needed to change and he took off Kovac (who prior to his removal had given the ball away at least twice to the increase the gathering frustration of the home support) and replaced him with Carlton Cole. This incredibly saw us go to 4-4-2. Yes, you read correct folks. Trouble was in midfield Diamanti, Collison and Behrami offered us so little. Only Noble looked a little adventurous going forward as he put in his second consecutive impressive display. Blackburn were a bit like a stupid dog that you keep going to hit but never do and eventually they worked this out and started to bite back and they could sense that maybe they could nick all three points. Martin Olsson cut inside and hit a curling effort at goal but Robert Green was on hand to make a brilliant save to tip wide for a corner. From the resulting corner Blackburn so very nearly took the lead with both teams scrapping for the ball in the area. Givet managed to turn and hit the ball at goal for it to deflect and just as it was about to go over the line Carlton Cole managed to clear it of the line. Blackburn’s best chance of the game then came soon after as a long and hopeful ball saw James Tomkins get himself into a complete mess and let Jason Roberts in on goal but the shot was easily saved by Green. It should have been a goal and although Green was equal to it, I have to point out it was a terrible and weak finish. At the other end it was very quiet although Diamanti saw his low drive at goal saved easily by Robinson. Zola made his second change of the day with the ineffective Behrami coming off for Scott Parker. Parker showed some great determination and skill to get round the back of the Blackburn defence only for his ball across goal to evade everyone. I say evade everyone but no one was actually there. This send frustration levels through the roof of Upton Park as everyone sensed that we could be here till midnight and still not score. Frank Nouble was the third player to be taken off with Freddie Sears replacing him with just over ten minutes to go. The game continued to fizzle out with only a free kick from Diamanti which was well saved by Robinson causing the away side any real problems. Boo’s rang out at the final whistle more in frustration than anything else. This was a game we had all identified as a ‘must win’ and once again we have failed to do so. Just four wins in twenty three games is an appalling record. Player Reviews Robert Green I keep pointing out his kicking simply because his kicking is fucking awful. It never seems to go where it is intended. As for his overall performance, he made two or three really top saves as he continues to show what a good shot stopper he is. Jonathan Spector This bloke always gives it his all and this was apparent once again. He does lack the ability at times and playing as a left back is quite clearly difficult for him. He did have one run in the first half where he went from his own half into the opposition area. I thought he was going to score the goal of the season and we would know these years as the “Spector Years”. Sadly this wasn’t to be. Matthew Upson The positive from this game is that we have kept another clean sheet. Upson played very well again today and I can’t help but be impressed on how commanding he was in the air. He was rarely caught in possession and his distribution was decent. James Tomkins Found it a little more difficult but on the whole I thought he put in a very good showing. Yes, he did make a near fatal mistake which Roberts let him off the hook for but he is continuing to learn and he is cementing his position as a starter once again. Julian Faubert Believe it or not but in the first half I saw him make two excellent passes. Don’t laugh or turn your nose up at that. It is true. I was there. I saw it happen. Actually I thought Faubert had a pretty good game today given that he was given no help at all from Diamanti. He was strong and worked hard throughout. Jack Collison I am not familiar with magic but I would love to know where Jack Collison disappeared to in the second half because I can’t recall him doing anything. My issue with him is just this because far to many times he just drifts out of games. He struggles to make an impact on the left wing and although there were moments in the first half where I thought he was beginning to get a hold on the game this just disintegrated and I am left wondering what happened to his second half performance. Radoslav Kovac Never got to grips with the game and his passing seemed to be at an all time low. I was surprised he even got to come out for the second half. Mark Noble With Parker not starting Noble is given that holding midfielders role and I have to say I am impressed at what I see. He was our only player who really looked capable of making anything happen (I do not count Diamanti’s blind passes as ‘creative’) and my faith in Mark Noble is being brought back. Valon Berhami He works hard, but then he always has worked hard. What he was able to do last season is make things happen but I saw little of that today. He ran himself into the ground, often kept the ball for too long and was correctly taken off given his ineffectiveness. Last season he played on the right and was great, this season he is playing in the middle and is not. You make your own conclusions. Alessandro Diamanti He is just not a right winger. He was very poor in my opinion despite a couple of shots from free kicks. You cannot keep a player on just because you think he may score one of his free kicks (which I may add since being at the club he has score no free kicks). Not involved in the game other than giving away silly free kicks. Frank Nouble Way out of his depth in this one. Fair enough, Samba is a fierce opponent (how I would love to have him at West Ham) but Nouble looked quite lost. What Nouble seems to want to do is get the ball at his feet, turn and run with pace and power. Unfortunately with our slow passing game this is never going to happen. Subs Used Carlton Cole (on for Kovac 57 mins) Not sure why he wasn’t just brought on at half time (or why he didn’t even start). His biggest impact was actually at the other end when he cleared Givet’s goal bound shot off the line. Expecting him to start against Burnley. Scott Parker (on for Behrami 70 mins) Great to see our player of the season back from injury. Got a good run out, nearly made a goal and will be a big plus for the next game. Freddie Sears (on for Nouble 78 mins) Saw a bit of the ball and was doing his best to try and make things happen but little came off for him. Subs Not Used: Stech, Da Costa, Stanislas, Ilunga Bookings: None Man Of The Match: Mark Noble Attendance: 33,093 Overall No doubt about it, this was a poor performance and a terrible result. We should have been winning this game and the players out on that pitch I felt were good enough to break down Blackburn. We say we need creativity but last season Collison, Noble and Berhami were all part of the midfield four which did so well. Up front we have problems but I would think Diamanti is better than Di Michele. So although we need new personnel do take a moment to think about how we have largely the same players yet have not been able to play the same football or grind out the same sort of results as last season. Surely this is something the management team have failed to get out of the players. I just do not think that we are getting the very best from players we currently have. We know there is more - we saw it last season. Next Game - Burnley (a) I am still trying to work out how I will get there given the trains are costing millions. This is a game against a side who are down the wrong end of the table just as we are. To come away with a loss is unacceptable. To come away with a draw is unacceptable. Only a win will do. You will have noticed that drawing games do little to take us away from danger. By next week we should have one new striker in Benni McCarthy who will hopefully help bolster our weak and tepid strike force. But if the midfield do not learn how to create then could have Fernando Torres up front and it will make no difference. Zola's View "I was expecting us to create a little more quality but we were not able to do that," "The difficulties of the game, like the tension, caught us a little bit and we couldn't express the quality that we needed to break them down. We knew they would come here to defend with a lot of players and so they did. "When they come here to do that you need extra quality. You have to be good at taking your player on and putting your right ball in the box. I don't think we played a good game, but considering the circumstances and looking at the other results we step up the table which is a good thing for us. "Everyone knows it was an important game that we had to win. Sometimes when you are too nervous you can't express yourself at the best and that was the case today." "In the last six games we have only one defeat so is getting better but slower than last year. Why I don't know, as the difficulties this year are even bigger than last year. I'm not finding excuses but we could have done better and we will do better." "The crowd were worried as well, everybody was frightened. I was expecting us to lift them a bit more but it wasn't the case. It will be there the next time. "I knew Scott and Carlton were not 100 per cent fit and it wouldn't be wise to do play them from the start. I thought it would be better to have them coming in late in the game where they could change the game. "Benni McCarthy looks like it is done which should be a good thing for us," "I don't know the terms but it looks like the deal is done. "He will be a threat in the last third. He is a type of player that will score goals. He will be a big help for us." |
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Other articles by Vinny ... > Vinny's Manchester United Report > Vinny's Oxford United Report > Vinny's Bolton Report > Vinny's Aston Villa Report > Fixtures 2010/11 More... |
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