Two points lost or one point gained? Irrespective of that question, a major talking point is how will Hammers cope without Mikey Antonio for the game against Manchester United? The Hammers striker picked up a 2nd yellow card in the closing minutes of what was a dreadful game. The 2nd yellow was harsh as there was no actual contact, however there was supposedly intent and therefore the 'conviction' stood! Antonio's 1st yellow was a bit amateurish, he could have been more professional in his tussle with the Saint's defender which earned both players a booking.
This was a poor West Ham performance, there is no other way of describing it, the team looked as if it comprised of a group of individuals who had all just returned from playing three International matches on the spin with only one day's recovery and one day's training, which it mostly did.
Hammers did give it a go, but players like Tomas Soucek didn't perform to their usual high standards, fortunately skipper Declan Rice was still alert enough to make a goal line clearance near the end of the match which would have given the home team the victory they deserved. Hammers started the 2nd half well enough and initially looked as if they would overpower Southampton, but as the game drew on it was the home team who were in the ascendancy, hitting the post as well as having the ball cleared off the line.
Prior to Antonio's dismissal, new signing Nikola Vlasic replaced a very 'off' Said Benrahma who was incredibly ineffectual. Much is expected of Vlasic and he looked pretty good while he was on the pitch, he is going to get thrown in at the deep end against a rampant Manchester United team featuring Ronaldo in all his pomp!
Schadenfreude Boy
However, there are agendas and there are serious agendas, for one particular player the need to prove a point goes a lot further than maybe for some others who want to do the same. The player who could well be described as someone with a 'serious' agenda is Nikola Vlasic, his previous time in the Barclays Premier League was miserable and he was 'bounced out' without really being given a fair crack of the whip.
David Moyes prophetically mentioned that he would be seeking goals from all areas, not just from Mikey Antonio, well it seems he is going to have a chance to test the water against the club that sacked him who now sit at the top of the League.
A bad day at the office whichever way you look at it, Antonio's red card was just the topping of a rancid pie! Hopefully the lack lustre performance was just down to jet travel and tiredness, unfortunately those same players who looked so devoid of energy are now going to have to jet off to Zagreb to play Thursday evening's Europa league fixture. They then return in order to face Manchester United on the Sunday and then again on the Wednesday in the Moose Cup before playing away to Leeds United on the Saturday.
The fixtures don't stop there, the following Thursday Hammers are at home to Rapid Vienna followed by another home game on the Sunday against Brentford, then the players are back on International duty again! When they return they will play three games in a week. Ed
Comments
that's what
happens when a team gets into Europe and the squad has to be rotated its called success sit back and try to enjoy the ride c.o.y.i.
If todays performance is
If todays performance is anything to go byy elthammer we are f#$%^d,only for motm Rice we would have been well beaten today ,this int break is a farce
Bad case of travel Sickness
One of the only players that did not travel was Bowen and he was my MoM but this was the worst game since the opening day against Newcastle funnily enough that was the start of last season. The way Antonio was holding his back it will be questionable whether he would be available to play against Manure anyway
Hamstrings
I thought he should have taken Antonio off after an hour, the rest of the squad are youngsters and should be able to cope with two games in a week. But big Mick’s hammies need nursing . My though was to give him 60 minutes yesterday same in Zagreb and another 60 next weekend that’s 180 minutes over three matches. But that’s moot now.
I still feel we need to get the subs on earlier in games.
I disagree that Southampton
I disagree that Southampton deserved to win in anyway. Yes they hit the post once and Rice made a great clearance off the line in the dying minutes. However, West Ham bossed around three quarters of the game though making very few in roads with producing the end result. They did not have that cutting edge finish. But remember that Southampton looked a much better team when they almost looked like pulling a win over Man Utd before the International break. They made Man Utd seem so pedestrian until ManU managed to get a lucky equalizer. This will be playing out throughout the season where the big teams will be dropping valuable points against teams that they underestimate. Look at how West Ham managed two get a point against Crystal Palace just before this Int. break. West Ham dominated most of the game though Palace grew in that match and like Southampton could have got the winner in the dying minutes. Yet Palace crushed top of the table Spurs. No doubt Spurs looked a Sunday league team in the manner in which they approached that game. We have to see which West Ham team shows up against United. Antonio will be eligible for the Europa Cup match on Thursday.
Until Broja came on for his
Until Broja came on for his 15min cameo I thought we were well in the ascendancy 2nd half and was just waiting for the ball to hit the back of the net! Although to be fair, old Les allowed him all the time/space in the world to do what he wanted. First half was as poor as a game I've seen. Neither team could string 2 passes together and seemed content to wait until HT before trying. Happy goalposts exist and that Declan is one of the world's finest players. Without either we'd have lost a winnable game. Mickey will be a loss vs Manure but with Ronaldo back there and our first foray into Europe I'm not expecting much from that game! Would prefer a win Thursday if I'm honest.
I think that Moyes strategy
I think that Moyes strategy will be completely revised for the game against Manure United and Ronaldo at the helm. There maybe three centre backs with Zouma thrown into the fray. He will probably used frustration tactics on Man U so that players like Bowen, Vlasic and maybe Fornals could hit them on the rare counter attack. A point will be pretty big one for the Hammers. No doubt the pundits will be forecasting a 0-3 or 1-4 win for Man Utd.