Ladies and gentlemen, we looked good, very good, traditional West Ham good. The passing was crisp and precise, the players' work rate was very high, and aside from a silly penalty give away I cannot say that anyone put a foot wrong.
Behrami and Faubert stepped up their game by about 1000% from last week, and so too did Parker and Noble who dominated the midfield and spread the ball extremely well when going forward. Even Neil left his zimma on the sidelines and got stuck in with some good challenges.
4-1 may have been a bit flattering in the end, but it was certainly a well deserved victory for the irons who have now had their best start to a season since 1999 - I'm sure we'll all break out the Prince CDs to celebrate.
Ch-ch-ch-changes
The one thing that was apparent was the complete change in the way that we went about the game; we didn't look afraid going forward (or to get forward for that matter), and we oozed confidence. Behrami and Faubert looked excellent on the right, taking on their man and getting in some really useful crosses. Etherington looked good on the opposite flank as well, and in fact looked better once he had the support of Linda coming off of the bench. Noble and Parker, as aforementioned, marshaled the midfield with Noble playing behind Parker, and Parker getting forward with some good runs - I also should note that I don't remember him giving the ball away once either. Ashton and Cole also looked good, both holding the ball up well, and really giving the Blackburn defence a troublesome day. The back four were solid, and England's number six put in an excellent display that hopefully caught Cappello's eye.
On a side note it just doesn't seem the same when Judas is in the dugout and not on the pitch. His reception wasn't that bad at all, although the one time he did touch the ball should probably be in the Guinness book of records for the fastest time 35000 people spontaneously boo for a precise half a second...on and off like a light switch!
Player Ratings
Greeny - Excellent, not a single foot wrong. Saved yet another penalty, made a couple of other decent saves that looked flashy too, and really had little chance on the goal which you would have expected any PL striker to put away from that distance. Dear God pick him for England, he could really help in the shoot outs! 9
Behrami - Very positive performance, looked a little pacier this week, not afraid to get forward and can take players on, also set up Bellars' goal. Made one mistake where he tried to let the ball roll out of play instead of just clearing his lines. I also don't think that he tackles, instead he gets fouled attempting to tackle. No complaints though and seems to be on the same wavelength as Faubert, good performance: 7.5
Upson - Solid performance from The Rock, got stuck in, once Santa Cruz came off I really don't think he was tested at all: 7
Davenport - Was he a striker today? One goal, one near miss, looked comfortable at the back, may want to leave a little space between him and the striker though as it was he that was turned for their goal, apart from that though I thought he did well; gets his head on everything which I suppose is no feat for someone who is 7'19" but if he continues to play watch for him to be the target on corners: 7.5
Neil - Decent display from skippy the skipper, some good tackling and his distribution out of defence was good opting to pass rather than play long, his lack of pace is exposed though. Still didn't look quite natural on the left, and was definitely outshone by McCartney once he came on. No complaints again though: 7
Defence overall: seemed tidy, seemed on the same page, and when you get goalscorers from the back you can't say much wrong. Green again played excellent, he saved the penalty, turned away a shot with his feet, and his distribution to the wings was good too for counter attacks. I think I have a man crush on him, what a legend.
Faubert - Very good display, miles better than last week. he seemed to have more purpose going forward, and linked up with Behrami very well: 7.5
Noble - Truly redeemed himself this week, he was gritty and determined, grabbed himself a goal, kept out of the silly challenges, and did himself proud: 8
Parker - This is the Scott Parker that we need if we are to continue pushing forward. Like Noble he was gritty and determined, got stuck in, closed down quicker than last week, and probably deserved a goal for his performance: 8.5
Ethers - Did well on the left, put some nice balls into the box and caused a lot of hassle. I would like to see him cut inside some more as I feel sometimes he's a bit predictable. Does combine with McCartney well though, and the two of them can both produce crosses: 7
Midfield Overall: Solid, productive, adventurous, gritty.
Ashton - Decent performance from Deano, not his best, but he had a couple of nice touches and rarely lost the ball when it was at his feet. The thing with dean is that he can be dire for the whole game but then produce a moment of genius and turn the game on its head - like when he hit the post for example, came out of nowhere. Subbed off in the end, but not because he was playing badly: 7
Cole - My man of the match to be honest, he looked like a right bastard to defend, always causing trouble, and considering his marker was that big bastard Samba, that's saying something. He got a goal for himself which will hopefully raise his spirits, and he's showing the same fight that he had last season which many of us warmed to. Looked strong, and was hard done by not to have gotten a penalty when Warnock thought he was playing rugby and clearly held Cole, Cole though still managed to get a very good shot off! His hold up play opened up space for our oncoming midfielders, classy performance: 9
Forwards Overall: Productive, Ashton and Cole gave Blackburn's back four a lot of trouble. Bellamy too looked dangerous when he came on, and we may have problems picking next week's top two.
Subs
Linda - I was so happy to see Linda back, he's proving himself to be a very useful left-back. He's got good pace and gets up and down that flank very well, and isn't afraid to cut inside either. Looked like he always looks, dependable, and should take that spot away from Neil: 7
Mullins - Took Noble's spot, came out and did what he was told to do. Some good tackles, and wasn't afraid to push up either: 7
Bellamy - Yo gotta love him, I truly think that he is more serious at West Ham than he has been at any other club, he seems to have left his antics behind him. Excellent goal, had the wit to make a run, took the ball down well, and the finish was comparable to Ashton's versus Wigan, and you feel that with his pace and finishing we always have a chance. Beer went flying all over me when the ball hit the net - we need to keep him fit: 7.5
So, an excellent display and an excellent result, our prayers have been answered, and I'm glad for Curbs to get a convincing win under his belt. The atmosphere today was excellent too, and you just wonder that if we could recreate that every week then maybe the team will get forward and play the kind of football that we want. Roll on West Brom.
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5 comments:
Agree with most of your assessment of a very entertaining game. Scoreline flattered us, but then again how many games down the years have we dominated only to let them slip away? So we're due a bit of luck, I reckon. I was particularly impressed with Davenport, not just because of his goal - he also looked very good on Wednesday. However, Curbs has to face up to the fact that Neill is a liability and simply not worth a place in the side - what is very obvious when you see the game live, and perhaps doesn't come across clearly on screen is just how much work his teammates have to do to cover his arse. Now Linda is fit he needs to start at LB, and you wouldn't want to drop either Behrami or Faubert on the right - Neill at CB? Nein danke!
I'd like to see Neil dropped as well, but how do you drop the skipper? I'm sure there'd be so many questions raised by the press again too!
That's the sort of tough decision managers have to make; Neill could be made club captain a la Dailly, but the sad fact is he not really cutting it. Shame we sold Anton and not Lucas, in my view.
I'm in complete agreement, Neil is way past his prime and should have been shown the door, especially if the board is so intent on cutting the wage bill.
Upson would be a good shout for captain, or even Green - some people don't like keepers as captain, but if anyone is a leader on the field, for me it's him.
Well, with Linda on his way, it looks like Neill is going to be our regular LB - unleast until Spector retruns!! I'm depressed...
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