10 lessons from Upton Park

[Jim in the West]

Robinson plays well with Cox in the team, without him and he struggles.

Maybe, but play him on the right. Jake doesn't have a left foot.

 

[BIRCHYBOY27]

As it was right in front of me I believe he saw the ball late and was unlucky, there may even have been a slight deflection off a defender

I thought henderson played ok he could not be a fault for the goals, just lack of concentration in the defence at times cost us goals.

 

[Dr Bandler]

We've all seen the replay a few times now. It was a good hit from 10 yards. He did see it late, and it did take a deflection. He did pretty well to get near it, and it would have been a wonder-save if he'd pulled it off.

Yes - the sort of save Kuipers can make!

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Yes - the sort of save Kuipers can make!

We can all go ound in circles on this forever, and it achieves nothing.

Personally I doubt FDM would have got down to it.

 

[folkestonesgull]

frutos played well in the first half on saturday - West Ham fans felt he was our biggest threat.

I think all the criticism from saturday is unacceptable. we were away to a premiership team who, despite recent poor results did reach the final last year. The quality of Tevez, Benayoun, Cole, Boa Morte etc shone through in the second half, though Bobby Z seemed to be in slow motion.

Throughout the game Hammond and El abd played well, though we were pushed so deep in the second half there was little opportunity for the strikers to link up with the midfield

One West Ham fan was celebrating the victory over a Championship club. When I told him we were League 1 he was very surprised. I think that in itself is high praise for the quality of our performance for much of the game...

 

[Publius Ovidius]

I think if I were Henderson, I would call it a day down here.

It is blatently obvious that people do not rate him, and now he is being blamed for goals he had absolutely nil chance in stopping.
Some bloke stood behind me on saturday when i started the Irelands No 1 chant said " what are you shouting for him for, he cost us out status in the Championship last year"

Talking to a former manager of the club, he does not rate either of the keepers and thinks that is the 1 position we should try to rectify in the transfer window.

 

[Yorkie]

Yes - the sort of save Kuipers can make!

Maybe three years ago but a car crash and ripped shoulder muscle have taken it's toll on him. He's slower than he used to be.

 

[Da Man Clay]

Yes - the sort of save Kuipers can make!

No he wouldn't. Quite simply Kuipers is too top heavy and a lot slower than he used to be.

 

[mona]

Maybe three years ago but a car crash and ripped shoulder muscle have taken it's toll on him. He's slower than he used to be.

Exactly.

 

[folkestonesgull]

I was behind the goal for all 3 west ham goals. nothing Henderson could do for any of them.

The first was a very tidy finish from 10 yards, through a body of players. The second was shocking defending and looked offside at the time - eveyone thought it had been disallowed. The third really meant nothing by then anyway and again was down to the defending.

Its very easy to blame 1 man, rather than the entire team whose collective job it is to defend.

 

[The Oldman]

We have to stop giving the ball away from throw ins, free kicks and corners. My guess is that at least 50% of the time the opposition ends up with the ball.

Whether its Henderson at fault or not our goals against tells a sad story. The defence has to improve if we are not going to get sucked into a relegation fight. At the moment I fear that is what we face.

 

[Yorkie]

One of my biggest concerns is throw ins. We don't look interested. It is one of the occasions when you can't be offside so use the space and get into a position to receive the ball for goodness sake.

 

[Dr Bandler]

QUOTE]Originally posted by Dave the Gaffer
I think if I were Henderson, I would call it a day down here.

It is blatently obvious that people do not rate him, and now he is being blamed for goals he had absolutely nil chance in stopping.
Some bloke stood behind me on saturday when i started the Irelands No 1 chant said " what are you shouting for him for, he cost us out status in the Championship last year"

Talking to a former manager of the club, he does not rate either of the keepers and thinks that is the 1 position we should try to rectify in the transfer window. [/QUOTE]

I think that is a fair point. Henderson is certainly not up there with the best goalies we have ever had. Poor command of area, wayward distribution and all the other well-documented problems. If Kuipers really cannot get back to his best then maybe we do need someone new. A good goalie (like Kuipers a few years ago) can save points and matches.

By the way, does anyone else object to paying Kerry Mayo money as a professional footballer?

 

[London Irish]

As it was right in front of me I believe he saw the ball late and was unlucky, there may even have been a slight deflection off a defender

Quite right, looking at the replay, it would have been a miracle save, there was a deflection. The man whose opinion counts, Dean Wilkins, has blamed one of our midfielders for allowing Noble a free shot.

 

[London Irish]

Yes - the sort of save Kuipers can make!

Sadly, I think Southend in the cup says differently when he didn't get near two shots, albeit well struck, that were quite close to him. The one above-average save he has made this season, at Bristol, didn't involve him moving his feet.

 

[London Irish]

I think all the criticism from saturday is unacceptable.

Agreed - it was a positive day for us, yes, it spotlighted some obvious weaknesses in the team but far fewer than I had feared going into the game.

 

[bristolseagull]

I disagree with 1 and 2.

Robinson plays well with Cox in the team, without him and he struggles.

I think Rents can play as a wing back, as he has a really useful cross.

-----------------Robinson-------Revell-----------------

--------Cox-----------Hammond------Fraser/El-Abd

Rents----------------------------------------------O'Carroll
-------------Lynch---Butters---Hinshelwood-------------

think i'd have a 'keeper too.

 

[Silent Bob]

Hopefully Wilkins will have learned the following...actually, I hope he knew most of this before Saturday:

1. Frutos is a waste of space.....harsh but true
2. Robinson on the left does not work
3. The front two run around a lot, but need to move MORE INTELLIGENTLY (hint: watch Henrik Larsson)
4. Without Cox our midfield is devoid of creativity
5. We need a couple of signings to avoid a nasty dose of relegation gips (particularly an experienced leader in central midfield)
6. You don't win anything with kids....especially kids who are still doing a lot of learning
7. The Arsenal loanee looks useful - could do a job
8. At throw-ins we need to at least LOOK LIKE we want the ball
9. Henderson IS a good keeper
10. Rents cannot play in midfield

1. This season, yes.
2. Because he's a striker.
3. Unfortuinately none of our strikers will ever be Henrik Larsson. Thought Robinson's movement was ok.
4. True (although it improved when Hart came on).
5. True.
6. True.
7. True.
8. True
9. On his day.
10. Why not? He did ok, passed the ball well, and he is an excellent crosser. If we had better options he probably wouldn't but he's not bad there.

 

[Yoda]

Personally, I think the going is getting tough now, and Frutos is not the type of player we need to grind out results against opposition we need to beat.

But when the going got tough last season, out of our wingers, it was Carole who faded and Frutos that got better. Perhaps he will rise to it again. Maybe keep Frutie on the left and bring Cox back in on the right (he is right footed after all)?

 

[Stinky Kat]

Frutos did ok - he ran at them in the 1st half.

Agree Jakey is wasted on the left wing, but Wilkins could have changed that and chose not to.

I did not understand why Hammond sat deeper than el Abb, I would have thought that El Abb would be better in front of the back4.
Kerry had a abad one but Tevez was class so I forgive him this time.

I thought they all did ok but whne we went 1 down we lacked the adenture to get back in it other than one Hart cross which revell almost got too.

Dean was too negative at 1.0