Premiership
West Ham United 1-1 Aston Villa 

Sunday, 10th September 2006
by Gordon Thrower

I don’t like international breaks. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favour of the England side doing as well as possible and I’ll laugh along with the rest of the world as Scottish supporters convince themselves that Euro 08 is theirs for the taking on the strength of beating a few Danes grateful for the break from clinging desperately from a few windswept rocks in the North Sea. I even understand why international managers need to get their squads together prior to running up a cricket score against the inhabitants of a small bungalow surrounded by Italy. It’s just the disruption to my routine I can’t handle.



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Player Ratings

Roy Carroll
Looked a wee bit uncertain early on but made a number of fine saves to keep us in it.


Tyrone Mears
Uncomfortable at times his distribution certainly needs working on. Incredible work for the clearance though.


Paul Konchesky
Good in spells. Worrying in others. Good header for the goal though.


Anton Ferdinand
Another who recovered from a shaky start. Fortunately the lapses at corners weren?EUR(TM)t punished. We may not be as lucky another time.


Danny Gabbidon
Finished well but the start caused the premature birth of whole litters of kittens in E13. Corners were a particular worry.


Hayden Mullins
Normal game is win the ball lay it off. Today it was win the ball. Lose it. Passing none too great either.


Nigel Reo-Coker
All too often he failed to spot the early, and usually easier option, dwelling on the ball too much before running into a blind alley or losing the ball cheaply.


Lee Bowyer
Won the ball well but often seemed at a loss as to what to do with it. Often drawn in side when width might have been useful.


Yossi Benayoun
Lots of effort but again got drawn inside when width was needed.


Bobby Zamora
Not always pretty but you can?EUR(TM)t argue that he?EUR(TM)s effective. I thought his goal was a clever bit of instinctive poaching.


Marlon Harewood
To say that he needs a goal is like saying that I need a pint right now. He?EUR(TM)s not really performed this season and his position must be in danger with the arrival of new blood up front.



Substitutes

Carlos Tevez
(Replaced Harewood, 61) Some nice runs. Will be interesting when people learn to play it to his feet more often. Possibly needs to lose a few lbs though ?EUR" the Argentinian striped shirts are obviously more flattering than our home kit!


Matthew Etherington
(Replaced Bowyer, 72) His return was somewhat lost amongst all the shenanigans of the last few days. Added some much-needed width and we?EUR(TM)re going to need that in the coming weeks.


Carlton Cole
(Replaced Zamora, 83) Some good knock downs and brought some variety to the attack. Might be worth an earlier run out some time Bobby?EUR(TM)s form permitting.


Robert Green
Did not play.


Javier Mascherano
Did not play.



Match Facts

West Ham United: Roy Carroll, Tyrone Mears, Paul Konchesky, Anton Ferdinand, Danny Gabbidon, Hayden Mullins, Nigel Reo-Coker, Lee Bowyer, Yossi Benayoun, Bobby Zamora, Marlon Harewood.

Goals: Bobby Zamora 52                  .

Booked: Hayden Mullins 46 Bobby Zamora 58        .

Sent Off: None sent off.     .

Aston Villa: Sorensen; Ridgewell, Barry, Mellberg, Laursen; Davis, McCann, Agbonhalor, Petrov; Moore, Angel.

Subs not used: Gardner, Whittingham, Taylor, Berger.

Goals: Ridgewell (4).

Booked: Barry (26), McCann (55).

Sent off: None.

Referee: S.Bennett.

Attendance: 34,576.

Man of the Match: Roy Carroll.