Bolton Wanderers 3 West Ham Utd 0 (09/04/11)

[indiehammer]

Indie

The problem is that Grant doesn't seem to have learned from mistakes or at least until it's way too late.

Away at Stoke we made the mistake of playing Tomkins against Etherington. We did a similar thing this past week. Quite why we don't play O'Neill/Parker/Noble/Hitz every game I have no idea. They are our best midfield quartet. 4-3-3 has not worked on a consistent basis at all this year. Whenever we play Piq on the right (generally) he doesn't defend. Obinna is a defensive liability and is best utilised (with our team anyway) as a front man. (Unless we are playing some sub standard Fizzy Pop team).

We must have the best balanced team possible and with us having no wide men of consequence we have to play those 4 together. We have to play either Ba & Cole, or one of the two and Keane playing off one. Piq has not been the same player for weeks, maybe since Keane came to us/injury and/or suspension. He has been warm or cold in several games now and we cannot afford ANY passengers at all. Time to role up the sleeves and work our bollox off. If things look a bit bleak and we need an extra forward or to change one, then off the bench for me and no starters role.

Yeh i completely agree with that. I was in the pro-Avram camp for a long time and still am in a way but Saturday confused me. My previous comment was just to mention how he realised his mistake and changed it, he could have done nothing at all at half time and we could have gone on to lose by a higher margin. But he sucked in his pride and changed the mistakes. The second half was good, we controlled it and maybe should have got a goal. Although i agree it should never have come to that. Tomkins @ RB, Keane and Piq out wide...it was never going to work and we all knew that.

[nickkarkie]

Sorry...you're gonna have to narrow it down for me......are we talking the one that has gone off injured 5 or 6 times running when confronted by Davies, Carroll or Torres..... or are we talking about the one who wins a lot of headers but simply can't deal with movement.......or are we talking about the one who has all the anticipation and heading ability but who gets destroyed by pace if exposed.....

All 3 of them started Saturday. All 3 had their individual weaknesses brutally exposed.

we were talking about Upson. If I wanted to list the qualities, or lack there of, of the other defender then I would have done.

Tomkins, turns like a snail, ball watcher, very slow acceleration but decent pace over a distance, gets dragged out wide by forwards who pull short to the half way line, frequent hits long useless passes, ok in the air but not dominant, prone to errors.

Da Costa, terrible reader of the game,easily turned, good in the air when the ball is right there for him to head but any movement from the striker and he is left for dead (a la Hernandez just 30 secs into the 2nd half against Man U), good shot on him, plays to many hollywood balls.

I can go through the whole squad if you like, all their strengths and weaknesses are obvious which makes it all the more amazing how badly avrams sets us up to play.

[chalks]

Unfortunately, we simply will not go to the Reebok and win. One or two results will also go against us, and all of a sudden, the Villa game will pretty much define the season, and the expectation and need for 3 points will be overwhelming.

In a nutshell, we are f***ed, and it doesnt matter how often you want to dress it up with your old sh*t.

Oh dear. You see, while I was living in the real world,PP was doing what he's been doing for a few months now and having sly little digs in posts whilst also dressing up our woeful season as being actually rather quite good.

The huge amount of anger i feel is mainly directed at the owners, for being stupidly rich and able to have sorted this mess out way back in October. They failed to act when it was glaringly obvious the manager would take us down, and now, we are within pretty much 3 games of relegation.

Hang your heads in shame S&G. And the next ****ing time a pessimist like me screams at you to act, do it for ****'s sake.

I'd also go as far as to say, the only possible chance of staying up is a last throw of the dice and to get rid of the 'manager' now and give the job to a crowd favourite to get the stadium rocking for those last 3 home games. Brooking was given 3 games, with 6 he may just have done it........

[the pink palermo]

Oh dear. You see, while I was living in the real world,PP was doing what he's been doing for a few months now and having sly little digs in posts whilst also dressing up our woeful season as being actually rather quite good.

....

You got some evidence of me having digs at you Chalks ?

Sly or otherwise ?

[New Jersey]

I don't know about any sly digs, I think your posts in support of Grant have come from the heart. However, what gets my goat is the posts, not just from you Pinky, that talk as if this season has been wonderful. Yes, we had the unbelievable win in the Carling Cup with super Johnny Spector scoring twice. We also had a determined performance and win over Spurs and Liverpool and comfortable 3-0 win over Stoke. But that's been it. Those fleeting wins have been dotted amongst several gut-less, passionate-less performances, such as we saw on Saturday at Bolton. Chalks, myself and others have blamed Grant, while Pinky and others have made excuse after excuse for Grant. I know I want to be proved wrong, and I'm sure Chalks would rather admit he's wrong than see us go down. But, it's the utter stubborn support of Grant, and then the crazy, way-off predictions of a top ten finish that get me. I understand Grant had it tough, but he was brought in to do a job, and it's fairly clear that he hasn't done it. We have been in the bottom three for 98% of the season, how can that be called a good season?

If we do survive, I don't care about continuity, or the West Ham tradition of keeping a manager for a long time, I want Grant gone. The owners made a mistake, maybe Grant was the cheap option, but it won't be cheap if we get relegated. I don't think they will sack Grant with six games to go, but after the season, whatever division we are in, Grant should go, and let's find the right person to take us forward. I understand that the new man might want to bring in his own players and staff, and it might take time, but it's got to be better than keeping Grant for the length of his contract. I'm still hopeful that we can escape, wins against Villa, Blackburn and Sunderland and a draw at Wigan should do it. But as I'm typing that out, I'm thinking that we've won 7 games all season, so is it really possible? And don't say that Mark Hughes has only won 8 games, Fulham are six points better off than us, as are West Brom and other teams that we hoped might go down.

It's any three from five, Wigan, Wolves, Blackpool, Blackburn and us, maybe Birmingham. The season, as Chalks said, comes down to the Villa game. We have to win to keep our season alive. Some might say it's been exciting, I'd rather we didn't have the pressure on us this Saturday.

[bubbles1966]

I can go through the whole squad if you like, all their strengths and weaknesses are obvious which makes it all the more amazing how badly avrams sets us up to play.

Save it for your interview for Mancini's job.

[bubbles1966]

Did anyone expect Coyle to play Elmander where he did ?

It seems that he's been playing there for weeks TPP - since Sturridge's arrival.

I get the impression our game plan was based on the Bolton we played in August. Makes you wonder if anyone at our place had watched Bolton recently.

[the pink palermo]

I think your posts in support of Grant have come from the heart. However, what gets my goat is the posts, not just from you Pinky, that talk as if this season has been wonderful. We have been in the bottom three for 98% of the season, how can that be called a good season?

If we do survive, I don't care about continuity, or the West Ham tradition of keeping a manager for a long time, I want Grant gone. The owners made a mistake, maybe Grant was the cheap option, but it won't be cheap if we get relegated. I don't think they will sack Grant with six games to go, but after the season, whatever division we are in, Grant should go, and let's find the right person to take us forward.

NJ

My support of Grant if far from the heart - it's just pragmatic .The cost of change is huge : coaching staff, players signed on long term deals then presented to a new Manager to "make" better - it becomes a mess .Stability is about low cost, and we need to keep working through the list of players signed on bad deals that were brought in during the Icelandic era .

Having said that I do take your point about it not being low cost if we get relegated , but again I've pointed out numerous times the underinvestment in the squad for 4 of the last 5 transfer windows : add the whole lot together and the net investment is less than £5m .That will not keep you competitive in the PL .

As for Grants future , well I think they may make a change before the end of the season .The performance against Bolton in the first half was awful , and with rumours of jobs back at Chelsea surfacing everytime Ancelotti loses a game it may be best for all concerned if he goes sooner rather than later .

Either way , after a public spat with Brady in January , we all know he won't be here next season - either that or she won't .Sullivan has done well to keep his opinions to himself for the majority of the season, but the appointment of Lomas on a mere 3 month deal indicates regime change is once again imminent .

In terms of how I view the season , I've never said it has been wonderful , I've said it's not been bad .The cup competitons matter to me and we've done better than usual in them .

Semi final of the LC, quarter final of the FA cup , 4 points off of Spurs , and a perfromance to warm the heart from one of the best professionals at the club in Johnny Specs on a freezing cold night at the Boleyn .

Not all bad , oh , and I'll mention it again , only 7 points off of 9th place in the most evenly competitive PL I can remember .

Perspective is important at times .

[bubbles1966]

...season...wonderful....

That's a bit of a misrepresentation.

Most comments have been "not that bad", "some promise", "some improvement", "good moments", "more entertaining" and "better than last year".

For some people it all seems wrapped up in the league position. Nothing else seems to matter.

For others, it isn't. That's why there are differing views.

I haven't heard any/many complaints about a lack of entertainment/boring games from those who actually attend - which has been a common theme probably since Pardew.

Even on here, where there are plenty of miserable sods, there's hardly been a gripe all year about whether the games have been a decent spectacle or not.

[the pink palermo]

It seems that he's been playing there for weeks TPP - since Sturridge's arrival.

I get the impression our game plan was based on the Bolton we played in August. Makes you wonder if anyone at our place had watched Bolton recently.

You sure Bubbles ?

Take your word for it though , and if thats the case it makes Saturdays line up at the start utterly bizarre .Mind you , as good as Sturridge was on Saturday , he isn't playing like that every week .I thought he was sensational .

[nickkarkie]

I can go through the whole squad if you like, all their strengths and weaknesses are obvious which makes it all the more amazing how badly avrams sets us up to play.

Save it for your interview for Mancini's job.

I'm certain I would do a better job that mancini

[bubbles1966]

You sure Bubbles ?

Take your word for it though , and if thats the case it makes Saturdays line up at the start utterly bizarre .Mind you , as good as Sturridge was on Saturday , he isn't playing like that every week .I thought he was sensational .

I must admit, I had a sneaky look at where they were playing Elmander on Google about 15 minutes before KO because it looked like 4-3-3 to me on paper.

Your point about Sturridge is right.

As bad as we were, they scored 3 very good goals on Saturday.

If one of ours had scored that first one, no one would have been looking at the other team and saying what a poor job of defending they'd done.

[the pink palermo]

If one of ours had scored that first one, no one would have been looking at the other team and saying what a poor job of defending they'd done.

This .

The experts on goals on Sunday were waffling on a bit about defenders " maybe getting a bit closer" before they too caved in and just put it down as a great goal .

[SammyLeeWasOffside]

I'm certain I would do a better job that mancini

His English is better though

[nickkarkie]

I could communicate with Tevez, Silva and Zabaleta though, Mancini can't

[SammyLeeWasOffside]

Well have a word with Tevez about coming back here.

[nickkarkie]

Well have a word with Tevez about coming back here.

I'll try but I think he is going to go to a Spanish-speaking country before retiring at a youngish age.