Unlucky Avram
It is definitely a day to feel sorry for Avram Grant. This morning all the rumours were saying that this was likely to be Grant's last game. If this was his last game the God's conspired to ensure that he didn't leave with a bang.
An ankle injury to Parker forced Grant to play a central midfield of Noble and Kovac. Once the game started an early injury to Noble meant that West Ham had to play most of the game with a midfield of Kovac, Hines, Sears and Boa Morte with Cole up front on his own and Spector playing in some sort of hole behind Cole.
Despite the potential of Hines and Sears that is a midfield and strike force that I think would struggle in the Championship, let alone against a team contesting the Premier League title.
Before the game Grant probably thought that for the first time this season he at least had some strength at left back. However Wayne Bridge had a nightmare of a first half and in the second half things went from bad to worse, with Bridge giving away a penalty before picking up an injury and being substituted.
After the game Grant waved to the crowd and threw his scarf into the West Stand which certainly looked like the actions of a man who thought that this was his last game.
If Grant is replaced I think he will be remembered fondly for the dignity he has shown under pressure, if not for the performance of his team on the pitch. His reign at West Ham, from the pre-season injury to Hitzlsperger to the injuries that forced him to put out a very weak side today, has been plagued with bad luck.
posted by Keir Clarke @ 9:50 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
He has had his share of bad luck no doubt,but regardless,he still has not made the best use of the resources at his disposal. His player selection and tactics have been questionable all the way through,luck aside. Under Grant we don't do the basics properly,which is not down to luck. We don't close down the opposition high enough up the pitch and we give the ball away too cheaply- that i snot down to luck
The bottom line is that our first 11 is just about good enough to stay in the prem, but our squad players are going to struggle in the Championship. It doesn't really matter who is the manager with the 25 players currently on our payroll, we are not good enough. I have never been a fan of Grant but the way that our owners once again seem to be doing their dirty work via the newspapers reflects very poorly on our club.
If push comes to shove id still give grant time. Definately unlucky as a manager and working with a squad that as the above poster said, first 11 is strong but once we get to squad players they arent up to premiership calibre.. The fact Parker wasnt playing and then noble subbed off, i feared at least 5-0.Could have happened too..
Young players coming through can do fuck all when the squad players ahead of them are no better.. Barrera, Boa Morte, Spectator, Kovac, Faubert (just realised the list is endless) all need to get off the ship.. Manager change wouldnt be the worst, esepcially if theres time for them to sign a few stable players and get rid of deadwood.. Thank you Avram if its your last game incharge, its a shocker to go out on, but id still give you a bit more time...
The points about the lack of depth in the squad are fair ,although part of that is down to injuries. Midfield in partucular is a problem in depth owing to injuries. If Hitz,Behrami and Collison were not injured ,along with Noble's shorter term injuries,would we be in this position? I don't think so. But that is why not signing Sidwell was a mistake. Getting a left back and a striker may be higher priorities,but we still needed cover for Parker/Noble.
In terms of Championship level players,why is it that WBA,Blackpool,Wolves,Wigan and Birmingham are all coping better ,given that they have many Championship level players? One reason is that they are more motivated than our players and have better team spirit- that is partly down to the manager. Look at Wolves beating Chelsea,Liverpool and Man City this season- they are fighters to the death because they have been inspired by their manager. And they do the essentials well,even if they don't have world class players. Whereas as we leave every team too much time on the ball, and we fail to mark properly on set pieces
I did not agree with the appointment of Grant but to be fare to him a Manager can only manage what he has got and the truth is the squad we have apart from a couple of exceptions is just not good enough.
If Grant goes who ever comes in is going to have a hell of a job keeping us up, if we go down we will lose what good players we have.
To me it is blatently obvious that we need a striker and quickly, all the talk of who we were after and apart from Bridge Nothing!!
Simply you can sum up the way we play No Passion! No commitment! No F@@king idea!!
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