Joe Cole Excels Once Again at Upton Park!
Losing to Spurs in the final minutes of Monday evening's match was tough on a batting West Ham side, who also gave probably the best passing display of the season. So much for the stubborn myth that Sam Allardyce's teams only play one way and, indeed, the various media sources/outlets that constantly perpetuate it. We all knew that Spurs would be a major challenge and that we needed both the 'rub of the green' and a 110% performance to win. However, we came very close to it and I was hugely encouraged by the quality of much of our play. It bodes well for the rest of the season, because if we play like that consistently, for the remainder of the season, we will win fooball matches. Certainly enough to comfortably secure our PL status this season and then re-group and strengthen th squad further in the summer. I thought Joe Cole was outstanding once again. He seems to reserve his best performances for our home games. His vision and passing in the final third was excellent and he exhibited a growing fitness that was self-evident. He made a number of decisive passes in the final third, most notably that intelligent slide rule pass that played Taylor through on goal. Its a pity that Taylor could not convert, because going 3-1 up would have probably secured the win. Similarly, Cole's turn and shot to put us 2-1 up, was extremely well executed. In fact he scuffed his shot, but that probably helped to beat the Spurs keeper. Those who wrote Cole off as 'finished' have been proven absolutely wrong. And the rest of us are very grateful for it. Coming home to West Ham really was the right move for Joe Cole, it's just a pity he did not join us rather than Liverpool a couple of seasons ago. Still better late than never. Matt Jarvis was also excellent down the left flank and was a constant problem for the Spurs defence. If Jarvis is to reach his best form, he needs to play regularly and be given the latitude to express himself. He is a good player and can be a real asset once he finds his best form. Much has made of the wisdom of the substitutions in the second half. It appears that Demel was injured and that is the reason that he was substituted. But I must admit that putting Pogatetz up against Lennon did seem ill advised. Surely, Danny Potts would have been better equipped to cope with his pace and trickery on the ball, dispite his relative inexperience. But I am not ure if he was even included on the bench on Monday? Also, I agree that substituting Diame was a major factor in the tide turning against us. Diame is a massive presence in midield and he constantly makes powerful forward runs that Parker and co had to cover. When he was substituted, that created the space and the opportunity fo them to push forward more readily. I am not sure if there was a specific fitness reason why such a key player was withdrawn? Of the three substitutions, only Taylor for Nolan seemed a good move. But be honest, and given a choice, which of those two players would you have preferred Cole to play in to a 1-on-1 with the Spurs keeper? For me, its Nolan everytime! Of the Spurs goals, the first was an absolute 'gift' from our perspective. How did Demel make that mistake? When it fell to Bale you just knew that we would be punished for it. The second was a messy and unfortunate affair. Spurs certainly were lucky in the way that the ball fell for them, because on another day it would have fell kindly for the West Ham defenders and we would have cleared it. As for the third goal, you really cannot legislate for a strike of that quality. Of course, O'Neill gave him a bit too much space, but what is done is done. It was just hugely disappointing that it occurred so late in the match. As I predicted, there was no cricket score and West Ham actually gave a very good account of themselves. If you do not believe me, check out Gary Neville's post-match assessment on Sky. The truth is that some fans were so convinced of a trouncing that they completely lost sight of the threat that our team could, in turn, pose to Spurs. The match proved that West Ham have more than enough ability to give Spurs a tough game, pushing them all the way. And that is a positive at this stage of our progression as a club, because at the end of the day, West Ham are a promoted team, in their first season back in th PL. We can build upon this season, and the current squad, and progressively bring in the extra quality that we need to challenge the top 6-8 of the PL. The team need to build on the many positive aspects of that performance and get a good result at Stoke City. Stoke are a very physical, tough side, who are not above practising the 'dark arts' of the game. We need to meet their physical challenge, watch out for under hand stuff and get the ball down and play like we did against Spurs. I am sure that a effective combination of physical strength, effective passing & movement and posing a constant threat at set peices can deliver the points for us on Saturday. Say, a 1-2 victory. My concluding comment on the Spurs match, is to praise the club and its fans for the 20th Anniversary commemoration of Bobby Moore's death and the celebration of his life. It was very emotional and illustrated what a great player and human being Bobby Moore was. Those that saw him play are blessed, those that knew him and counted him as a friend or team mate much more so. And also very well done to the Hammers support for heeding the mesages from the club and eradicating any disciminatory chants towards the Spurs fans. The club is genuinely committed to promoting equality, inclusion and community cohesion and non-discrimination has become a key objective of the club. That is a very good development and one that supporters should embrace and actively support. It has been reported that Kevin Nolan could potentially be sidelined for the next six weeks with a broken toe. So, who fills in for the absent skipper? In my opinion, we either go 4-4-2 and a 2nd striker partners Andy Carroll or we stay 4-3-3 and either Joe Cole or Jack Collison goes into the advanced central midfield position, with the other one playing on the right flank. Probably Cole in the centre, with Collison on the right flank. This could be an opportunity to give Collison a run in the team and play Joe cole in a central or free role. Both player are skillful and undoubtedly have goals in them. Similarly, another report has appeared out of nowhere stating hat West Ham may launch a summer move for Nadir Belhadj. The former Portsmouth left-back/winger is currently with Qatari outfit Al Sadd having left Fratton Park after 2010 and their FA Cup victory. I am not sure if this is an actual possibility or just an agent placed story,designed to generate interest? But it is one to watch.
