Olivier Award For Worst Ref But He Sparked The Fire!

There is bad referring and bad refereeing but Michael Oliver really has put himself up for one of the worst referees that have 'adjudicated' at the London Stadium with his astonishing inept and possible bias against West Ham as he oversaw a catalogue of officials errors that included the allowing of a goal, however well took, that was clearly the result of a foul by a Baggies player, and the denial of a clear cut Feghouli goal that was mysteriously ruled off side, the situation aided and abetted by some spectacular dramatics by the well proven 'professionals' at the heart of the visitors defence. Ironically Michael Oliver might have single handedly have helped to bring a proper atmosphere to the London Stadium, despite the frustration of conceding a late equaliser no one can question the commitment of the team or their manager as Slaven Billic and his assistant were both eventually sent to the stands due to their anger at how decisions had consistently gone against their team throughout the match. The noise and feeling within the Stadium were reminiscent of the old Boleyn ground, and were definitely the best of the 'daylight' games this season.
Sometimes it takes a bit of injustice to galvanise the players and the crowd, well there was injustice in abundment and the players through goal scorers Feghouli and Lanzini helped bring about some form of order, unfortunately victory was denied in the closing seconds which left a feeling of two points lost rather than one point gained. Truth is Andy Carroll would have had a field day given the amount of crosses that went in to the box, but quite rightly the club opted to NOT put him into a situation where he could sustain yet another long term injury, in the Big Man's absence non one really stepped up to the plate, despite antonio giving it a go, and unfortunately Slaven Billic elected to bring on Calleri when on reflection Fletcher would have been a better option. Calleri was woeful and contributed less than nothing in an otherwise compulsive team performance, especially bearing in mind that West Ham did not have any recognised striker to call on. Carroll and Sakho injured whilst record signing Andre Ayew has only just returned from AFCON duties.
If passion and commitment was what the crowd wanted, that is what they got in spades, they may not have seen a win but they certainly saw a victory, team spirit and the crowd as one, priceless! -Ed

Comments

We are getting there. Luck

We are getting there. Luck wasnt on our side today. Plus some typical west ham poor defending but we have to expect that. Coyi..

Just seen the MOTD coverage.

Just seen the MOTD coverage. Nothing "mysterious" about the disallowed goal I'm afraid as Antonio clearly interfered with an opponent by actually manhandling the 'keeper, so even if you make the case for it not being offside there actually was a foul committed on the 'keeper.
As for the "commitment" of the management, they'll probably be banned from the touchline for their behaviour, Bilic will at the very least for his behaviour, and that could possibly have a detrimental effect on team matters.
Commitment or petulance?

I didn't even think the first

I didn't even think the first goal was a foul. It was looked for by feghouli and weak. Probably given on the continent but this is England, where the game is still a contact sport. Plus I saw snodgrass and feghouli dive. Ref was no where near as bad as people make out. I liked the way he kept the game flowing. Bilic was just frustrated. Poor defending for both goals for me. Kouyate showing once again he isn't a full back, and once again both the only right back and out and out striker deemed unable to play. How many windows is it now that we haven't corrected that?

Spot on. Ive seen the

Spot on. Ive seen the feghouli type foul given though. Agree bilic frustrated and overreacted. Maybe time for Adrian to have a run in goal as randolph decision making been poor of late. Piss poor defending by kouyate for their first goal. Carroll wold have made a difference yesterday as he defends as well as he attacks.

Just seen close up of antonio

Just seen close up of antonio chance that was cleared off the line. He was pulled down by foster. Foster then held him down around the neck.Should have been a penalty.everyone thought fonte was appealng that the ball had crossed the lne but he was actually appealng for a penalty

Let me chime in. First the

Let me chime in. First the tackle on Feghouli clearly showed that contact was made on Feghouli's ankle prior to the ball. The commentators agreed that they have seen those fouls given as the direction of the ball after the tackle was like a deflection of his leg.

Feghouli's goal should have stood. Antonio was moving back from an offside position and was level with the keeper. The keeper who injured his own player was shaken and at the wrong end of the goal that Feghouli tapped in. He had absolutely no chance of getting there. Do you remember last season in the FA cup versus Man U at Man U, when Schweinstiger barrelled into Randolph and was in an offside position as well, but the goal stood. Where is the consistency here? Not to mention the goal scored earlier last month at the Olympic stadium by Ibrahimovic who along with two other Man U players were all offside, but that goal stood.

Yes, the throw in decision was okay. However, what the replay later in the studio revealed that the late equalising goal should have been disallowed. Clearly, Collins was pushed to the ground by one of the three Albion players. A clear foul that the FA are trying to address for the corner kicks. The referee should have spotted it.

great post Nev

Totally agree, a really great performance in terms of passion and commitment. I was at the game and in real time I thought it was a foul on Feghouli for their first goal and it was inevitable they were going to score. On Motd it looked like a soft foul and question the pass of the pass from Noble. I thought Foster was also outstanding, a couple of saves in the first half were truly top draw.
Our big weakness is when Carroll is missing, Antonio up front doesn't work but bringing on Calleri is a waste of time, he has no confidence and will NEVER be a goal scorer, I say stick with Fletcher, he will come good! Winston was again brilliant, hes having a great season. And as for Lanzini, this guy is destine to take the mantle of Payet! I was however a little conserved with Snodgrass, he was well off the pace in the second half and on two occasions was treading water chasing back. The last goal, again in real time it didnt look like Antonio touched the ball but TV proved he did so it was a throw just not 30 yards further up the pitch! We have ourselves to blame, we were a mess for the corner and defended poorly. But in summary, good quality football, good spirit and a reasonable result in the battle for seventh or to be... The Best of the Rest :o)

Nothing wrong with the pass

Nothing wrong with the pass from Noble. Was the only option bar a punt up field, and was trying a give and go which was fine until Feghouli was fouled.