How do you know he messed up if you only got the highlights? Not sure he had many other good attacking options, we don't know who else who didnt play was fit enough, and 2 who did play clearly weren't ready yet.
Morning All and thanks for the report Col. Here's the thing that bothers me. As Col explains it, it is all so clear regarding the errors in the way the team was set up. So, given the cumulative football experience of the coaches and players, how on earth were they not able to work that out too. I can only assume that there were factors we are unaware of (for example, a petulant Taraabt declines to play??) or, alternatively, a weird conspiracy theory that the owners are ok with us going down for some reason. Too bizarre to consider seriously but it just does not make sense.
If Charlie had scored the penalty and Dunne's goal had stood as it should have then everyone would have said what a good job Ramsey did. Taarabt starting, are you having a laugh. The last time Taarabt played was against Palace and we were crap. The reason Yun came on was that West Ham switched to a diamond when Cole came on and that opened up the left wing as a line of attack.
Interesting, I don't remember Taraabt warming up in the second half at all..... Agree, team selection was baffling. However, Redknapp done the damage long before Ramsey took over. Not playing Yun, playing Fer left wing, Vargas right wing and not picking Matty Phillips at all. It could be a long time before we are back in the Premier League.
I think he did warm up at HT to be fair. I think we all fear it will be some fair few seasons before we're back. Maybe we'll finally do it properly.
I was watching Adel in the warm up shooting practice before the match and thought he looked more enthusiastic and motivated than I've seen him in over a year, so I doubt he would have refused to come off the bench.
Its not with hindsight I speak. I wrote after the Chelsea game that it was the perfect lineup and tactics to force a stalemate with a very good team but that we'd have to play a different line up for the W Ham game. Andy & Kerry said the same on the MD thread yesterday when the team was announced & I'm sure, along with COL, that there were many in the Ground who said likewise. You're a strange one Ozzie. You're always looking for us to play flair players when we shouldn't but the day we needed to play them, you say they shouldn't have been played!
I think Ramsey got his tactics back to front yesterday. The starting Xl v Chelsea turned out to be almost spot on, but yesterday we needed to get a lead. With three defensive midfielders who tend to be naturally defensively minded we lacked prowess getting forward. ( Anyone else notice how often W Ham broke and had the ball in and around our box in a matter of seconds? ) We needed to score and then revert to what we started with in order to try and hang on for a 1-0. I'm still bemused that we didn't use our third sub to try and change the game. The relentless hoofs to the edge of their box was an aerial folly that was clearly futile and played into the hands of the Hammers giants in defence. The game was screaming out louder than a banshee on a hot tin roof for someone to get the ball down and try and play it in and around Ginger Collins, Alexandra Burke and the Nolan sister. We made it all too easy for them.
Only because he couldn'd fill half the team with half fit players!!! I'd have liked Ramsey to have played with a 4 2 3 1 with Adel, Fer, and Phiilips playing in the 3 behind OBZ (or Austin), Barton and Sandro (or Henry) the 2, and Traore at LB, also McCarthy in goal, but I don't know and doubt if Adel, Krancjar or Traore were fit enough to play 20 minutes, let alone a full game. Dunne, who played the full game was clearly blowing at the end and was all over the place 1st half, and Fer were both clearly a way off match fitness, so he could hardly play Adel and Krancjar as well if they weren't fully fit, or bring them on as Subs when he had brought Fer on. if all these players weren't fit as I suspect, I think Ramsey set us up about the best he could of done. Even with that team we still were slightly better than a top half Club, and should have had the 3 points from Dunne's goal that and if we had had a decent penalty taker.
When did that ever stop you calling for their inclusion! A week never goes by without you mentioning our two lardy asses in your lineups! You, Sir, must have received a whack on the head this weekend
The "whack" was watching Dunne and Fers' exhausted performances, and knowing it would have been double vision if Adel and Krancjar had come on too!
I felt that Dunne was solid and Phillips played well. Brian Glanville of the Sunday Times (a neutral?) gave Dunne a 6 and Phillips a 7, compared to a well-deserved 4 for Austin. Other than that, I agree with the rest of what Col says. I was surprised by the selection of Henry on the left against West Ham and, as well as he played, even more surprised that he was still on the pitch at the end. A back line of four centre backs, plus three defensive midfielders was not what we needed against a West Ham side who are on the slide and probably thinking more about where to go for their Summer holidays. Yun and/or Isla would have given us more of an attacking threat. I was flabbergasted when our first substitution merely swapped our left backs when the game was screaming out for an EARLY introduction of at least Fer (for Zamora)and Taarabt (for Henry). When are we going to earn that hoofing the ball up to Zamora may have worked in one or two games several weeks ago but it has not worked since? Playing Bobby makes us lazy and predictable. We got our penalty from probably the one piece of play where we strung together several short, sharp passes on the ground. I believe we do have some players capable of playing football, rather than head tennis. After the slipping and sliding that affected our game (but not West Ham's) in the first half, I was amazed that some genius decided to water the pitch again at half time. Why do this? To make our short, sharp passes quicker? What short, sharp passes? Despite lots of effort, we were bankrupt of ideas and, if we can't beat a declining West Ham side at Loftus Road, we deserve to go down. And what a terrible penalty. And don't get me started on Dunne's disallowed goal. There, I feel better now.
Of course he could have brought on either Taarabt or Kranjcar for the last 20 mins. It was a no brainer and for Ramsey to leave them both on the bench and not to utilise our third sub was ineptitude of the highest order. I just can't fathom it!!
Pretty much a perfect analysis from Col. I think the entire team and the management shot their bolt with regard to passion and belief with the Chelsea game and there was nothing left to put away a pitiful West Ham side. How do people manage to watch Allardyce sides week in week out? Obviously Ramsey should have rolled the dice with AT.
You're talking nonsense. We had to try to win and so bringing on a third sub, no matter how un-match fit was a must.
