Norwich 0-0 West Ham
Norwich's start to the season had seen them claiming just 2 points from their first 3 matches and going into their match with West Ham they'd have fancied themselves to have a decent chance at claiming all 3 points. Likewise West Ham, who had claimed 6 points from their first 3 games will have also seen this as a winnable game.
Early on it seemed as if the fans were in for a treat with both teams looking really threatening. The best early chance fell to West Ham after some excellent work by Ricardo Vaz Te and later in the half the West Ham penalty area became a pinball table. Sadly however the key talking point of the first half was a hugely controversial decision by Chris Foy who rules that a foul by James Collins was committed just outside the penalty area.
Despite the first half being thoroughly watchable the game failed to continue in the same vein in the second half and sort of petered out after the 60 minute mark with both teams looking increasingly happy to have a point. Despite this Norwich did have a few good chances late after youngster Harry Kane came on to the pitch but sadly he failed to really find his shooting boots and hit several very tame efforts.
Whilst the second half was disappointing the worst part about it was the fact that neither of West Ham's wide men could find a good ball with Vaz Te repeatedly messing up and either miss hitting crosses or just shooting mindlessly. A real disappointing display by the Portuguese attacker.
With 3 draws from their first 4 games Norwich are becoming difficult to defeat but they really seem to lack any type of attacking threat. Harry Kane looked like the most promising threat for the home team but his shots had no power or sting on them and they otherwise looked terrible up front. Defensively Norwich are tough, much more so than they showed on the opening day of the season, but they need to add goals sooner rather than later.
West Ham showed plenty of promise through parts of the game but with no Andy Carroll they lacked a focal point of their attacks.
Showing posts with label Sam Allardyce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sam Allardyce. Show all posts
Saturday, 15 September 2012
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Premier League Week 4-Preview and prediction (Norwich v West Ham)
With the recent international games the Premier League has been on a bit of a hiatus though returns this weekend as Norwich host West Ham in the early kick off. Whilst it's not a headline game it will likely be seen as a huge 6 pointer with both teams expected to be battling relegation and one that is almost certainly worth some interest from football fans.
Whilst expectation at Norwich was low, following the loss of manager Paul Lambert (who went to Villa) it's fair to say that the Canaries haven't actually done that badly. Whilst they were slaughtered on the opening day (losing 5-0 at Fulham) they have held their own with both QPR and most recently Tottenham (drawing both of those games 1-1) as they have earned both their first home and away points of the season.
Despite having conceded 7 goals so far this season Norwich's big problem seems to be up front where they lack a true goal scorer, instead having an attack built up of various threats as opposed to an out and out threat. The likes of Grant Holt will bag goals but will struggle to find the target on a regular basis however Robert Snodgrass (who looked sensational in his last match for the club) will create chances for the attacking line.
With Chris Hughton looking to hit the ground running following the internationals Norwich could pose a threat here, but only if they can get in the goals against a West Ham team that look unwilling to give many away (with only Swansea having scored against West Ham this season). This is the problem, Norwich can't score and West Ham don't really concede, in Norwich win it'll only be by a single goal.
Last year Norwich were very average at home, but they were an average team. Their Premier League position of 12th overall was a solid mid-table finish and their home form was reflective of that with 27 home points from their 19 home games (surprisingly the same as Liverpool).
Last time out (a fortnight ago!) West Ham looked excellent in defeating Fulham 3-0 with the Fulham defensive lining looking completely unable to cope with the West Ham attack. Sadly however the forefront of that attack was Andy Carroll who will be absent (due to injury) from this game leaving the West Ham attack looking like a bit of a rag-tag collection. Whilst Kevin Nolan will get goals he's not a pure goal scorer, Ricardo Vaz Te has goals in him but seems to lack Premier League class and Carlton Cole is a joke even amongst West Ham fans. The loss of Carroll (after just 1 game) is genuinely huge.
At the back West Ham have been solid conceding just 3 goals so far this season (in 3 Premier League games) though notably all 3 goals came in their only previous away fixture. This is a stark contract to their form last season where defensively they were rock solid away from home (conceding just 22 away goals in 23 games) and slightly less secure at home (29 goals conceded). If we were to look at last season's numbers however we'd have to favour West Ham here on the back of 13 away wins however was that in the championship, not in the Premier League.
Whilst there is Premier League quality running through the West Ham squad there are questions about the depth of the squad and the absence of Carroll really does bring that issue up. Players like Nolan, Matt Jarvis and Yossi Benayoun can all grab goals and show sparks of something extra but the squad looks like it's only ever going to be 2 injuries away from a crisis.
Kick-Off: 12:45
Prediction: 1-1
Expected Line Ups:
Norwich-Ruddy, Bassong, Garrido, R.Martin, Barnett, Johnson, Howson, Snodgrass, Holt, Morrison (4-4-2)
West Ham-
Jääskeläinen, Demel, Reid, Collins, Tomkins, Diamé, Benayoun, Nolan, Vaz Te, Taylor, Cole (4-3-3)
Notes:Norwich have the same amount of points (2) as they had after the same amount of games (3) last season.
West Ham have only lost 2 of their last 24 competitive fixtures (one of those being their 3-0 loss to Swansea)
Players to watch out for-
Norwich:
Robert Snodgrass-Talented Scot Robert Snodgrass looked very out of sorts on the opening day of the season though has looked like the key to everything Norwich have done in their most recent Premier League matches. He looks like he's going to be the driving force going forward for the Canaries and whilst he may not be an out and out goalscorer himself he will create chances for others as well as bagging a fair few himself. He really is the key to the attack.
John Ruddy-Goalkeeper John Rudd started the season with a nightmare at Fulham however he has been very good since then. Whilst he hasn't kept a clean sheet this season he's a very under-rated keeper and is doing a fine job behind a weak defense. He may not have a lot to do here, but he will need to keep his concentration.
West Ham:
Kevin Nolan-The West Ham Captain is their key player and most of what they do goes through him. Nolan is the driving force behind West Ham so the Norwich defense and Midfield will look to keep Nolan from exerting his force on the game. Whilst he's the West Ham Midfield general he's also a threat in front of goal and has already bagged himself some goals this season and will be high on confidence going into this match.
Matt Jarvis-The former Wolves Winger Matt Jarvis has that level of of class that sees him not only able to open up the defense but also create a shed load of chances. Whilst Andy Carroll will be missing Jarvis will be able to look up and find either Carlton Cole or Kevin Nolan in the penalty area giving him some solid targets to aim for in attack.
Whilst expectation at Norwich was low, following the loss of manager Paul Lambert (who went to Villa) it's fair to say that the Canaries haven't actually done that badly. Whilst they were slaughtered on the opening day (losing 5-0 at Fulham) they have held their own with both QPR and most recently Tottenham (drawing both of those games 1-1) as they have earned both their first home and away points of the season.
Despite having conceded 7 goals so far this season Norwich's big problem seems to be up front where they lack a true goal scorer, instead having an attack built up of various threats as opposed to an out and out threat. The likes of Grant Holt will bag goals but will struggle to find the target on a regular basis however Robert Snodgrass (who looked sensational in his last match for the club) will create chances for the attacking line.
With Chris Hughton looking to hit the ground running following the internationals Norwich could pose a threat here, but only if they can get in the goals against a West Ham team that look unwilling to give many away (with only Swansea having scored against West Ham this season). This is the problem, Norwich can't score and West Ham don't really concede, in Norwich win it'll only be by a single goal.
Last year Norwich were very average at home, but they were an average team. Their Premier League position of 12th overall was a solid mid-table finish and their home form was reflective of that with 27 home points from their 19 home games (surprisingly the same as Liverpool).
Last time out (a fortnight ago!) West Ham looked excellent in defeating Fulham 3-0 with the Fulham defensive lining looking completely unable to cope with the West Ham attack. Sadly however the forefront of that attack was Andy Carroll who will be absent (due to injury) from this game leaving the West Ham attack looking like a bit of a rag-tag collection. Whilst Kevin Nolan will get goals he's not a pure goal scorer, Ricardo Vaz Te has goals in him but seems to lack Premier League class and Carlton Cole is a joke even amongst West Ham fans. The loss of Carroll (after just 1 game) is genuinely huge.
At the back West Ham have been solid conceding just 3 goals so far this season (in 3 Premier League games) though notably all 3 goals came in their only previous away fixture. This is a stark contract to their form last season where defensively they were rock solid away from home (conceding just 22 away goals in 23 games) and slightly less secure at home (29 goals conceded). If we were to look at last season's numbers however we'd have to favour West Ham here on the back of 13 away wins however was that in the championship, not in the Premier League.
Whilst there is Premier League quality running through the West Ham squad there are questions about the depth of the squad and the absence of Carroll really does bring that issue up. Players like Nolan, Matt Jarvis and Yossi Benayoun can all grab goals and show sparks of something extra but the squad looks like it's only ever going to be 2 injuries away from a crisis.
Kick-Off: 12:45
Prediction: 1-1
Expected Line Ups:
Norwich-Ruddy, Bassong, Garrido, R.Martin, Barnett, Johnson, Howson, Snodgrass, Holt, Morrison (4-4-2)
West Ham-
Jääskeläinen, Demel, Reid, Collins, Tomkins, Diamé, Benayoun, Nolan, Vaz Te, Taylor, Cole (4-3-3)
Notes:Norwich have the same amount of points (2) as they had after the same amount of games (3) last season.
West Ham have only lost 2 of their last 24 competitive fixtures (one of those being their 3-0 loss to Swansea)
Players to watch out for-
Norwich:
Robert Snodgrass-Talented Scot Robert Snodgrass looked very out of sorts on the opening day of the season though has looked like the key to everything Norwich have done in their most recent Premier League matches. He looks like he's going to be the driving force going forward for the Canaries and whilst he may not be an out and out goalscorer himself he will create chances for others as well as bagging a fair few himself. He really is the key to the attack.
John Ruddy-Goalkeeper John Rudd started the season with a nightmare at Fulham however he has been very good since then. Whilst he hasn't kept a clean sheet this season he's a very under-rated keeper and is doing a fine job behind a weak defense. He may not have a lot to do here, but he will need to keep his concentration.
West Ham:
Kevin Nolan-The West Ham Captain is their key player and most of what they do goes through him. Nolan is the driving force behind West Ham so the Norwich defense and Midfield will look to keep Nolan from exerting his force on the game. Whilst he's the West Ham Midfield general he's also a threat in front of goal and has already bagged himself some goals this season and will be high on confidence going into this match.
Matt Jarvis-The former Wolves Winger Matt Jarvis has that level of of class that sees him not only able to open up the defense but also create a shed load of chances. Whilst Andy Carroll will be missing Jarvis will be able to look up and find either Carlton Cole or Kevin Nolan in the penalty area giving him some solid targets to aim for in attack.
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Premier League Week 3-Write up West Ham v Fulham
West Ham 3-0 Fulham
What a difference a week makes. Just a week ago West Ham were humiliated by Swansea 3-0 though this weekend, with new loan signing Andy Carroll up top, West Ham looked a completely different side.
Going into this match up the sub story was that of two strikers. Andy Carroll who had joined West Ham from Liverpool on loan for the rest of the season and Dimitar Berbatov who had been signed by Fulham from Manchester United, though only one of them started and only one of him had any real say in the match.
Whilst Carroll may have been a £30+ million flop at Liverpool he made an immediate impact for West Ham setting up Kevin Nolan inside a minute as the Hammer's took an early lead. It wasn't long until Carroll was involved again...and again. Through out the first half West Ham kept hitting it up and Carroll kept winning the ball time and time again as he frustrated and irritated a Fulham defense that looked petrified.
It was due to the clear fear in the Fulham defense that West Ham netted their second goal. After a cross was cut out for a Hammer corner the Fulham defense were at 6's and 7's and Winston Reid charged through the area to net a thunderbolt header to dobule the lead with less than half an hour gone. By then it seemed as if West Ham were in control and just over 10 minutes later they secured the 3 points after the ball was have cleared to Matt Taylor who's shot just seemed to split the Fulham defense.
Despite having the 3 points in the bag West Ham didn't have the perfect afternoon as both Andy Carroll and Guy Demel limped off in the second half, however Carroll seemed to be taken off more a precautionary messaure than anything too serious. For Big Sam it wasn't just the performance of Carroll that will have pleased him but the whole squad. Kevin Nolan's role in the team was again crucial to the Hammers positives, and he's now netted his second of the season and Ricardo Vaz Te looked exceptional. With both Matt Jarvis and Yossi Benayoun expected to be in the West Ham squad for their next match we may well see West Ham looking more and more like a team that have the quality to stay up.
Fulham's Martin Jol will certainly be very unhappy at his side who didn't look like a side who opened their Premier League season with a 5-0 win. They looked terrified at the back and up front they looked toothless barring the occassional flash from Damien Duff and second half substitute Dimitar Berbatov (who aside from one or two moments was anonymous). The few positives that Jol can take from the game are that Keiran Richardson looked pretty creative and Steve Sidwell never gave up on the match despite being out numbered and out played in the middle. A poor performance and a poor result for Fulham.
What a difference a week makes. Just a week ago West Ham were humiliated by Swansea 3-0 though this weekend, with new loan signing Andy Carroll up top, West Ham looked a completely different side.
Going into this match up the sub story was that of two strikers. Andy Carroll who had joined West Ham from Liverpool on loan for the rest of the season and Dimitar Berbatov who had been signed by Fulham from Manchester United, though only one of them started and only one of him had any real say in the match.
Whilst Carroll may have been a £30+ million flop at Liverpool he made an immediate impact for West Ham setting up Kevin Nolan inside a minute as the Hammer's took an early lead. It wasn't long until Carroll was involved again...and again. Through out the first half West Ham kept hitting it up and Carroll kept winning the ball time and time again as he frustrated and irritated a Fulham defense that looked petrified.
It was due to the clear fear in the Fulham defense that West Ham netted their second goal. After a cross was cut out for a Hammer corner the Fulham defense were at 6's and 7's and Winston Reid charged through the area to net a thunderbolt header to dobule the lead with less than half an hour gone. By then it seemed as if West Ham were in control and just over 10 minutes later they secured the 3 points after the ball was have cleared to Matt Taylor who's shot just seemed to split the Fulham defense.
Despite having the 3 points in the bag West Ham didn't have the perfect afternoon as both Andy Carroll and Guy Demel limped off in the second half, however Carroll seemed to be taken off more a precautionary messaure than anything too serious. For Big Sam it wasn't just the performance of Carroll that will have pleased him but the whole squad. Kevin Nolan's role in the team was again crucial to the Hammers positives, and he's now netted his second of the season and Ricardo Vaz Te looked exceptional. With both Matt Jarvis and Yossi Benayoun expected to be in the West Ham squad for their next match we may well see West Ham looking more and more like a team that have the quality to stay up.
Fulham's Martin Jol will certainly be very unhappy at his side who didn't look like a side who opened their Premier League season with a 5-0 win. They looked terrified at the back and up front they looked toothless barring the occassional flash from Damien Duff and second half substitute Dimitar Berbatov (who aside from one or two moments was anonymous). The few positives that Jol can take from the game are that Keiran Richardson looked pretty creative and Steve Sidwell never gave up on the match despite being out numbered and out played in the middle. A poor performance and a poor result for Fulham.
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Premier League Week 2-Write up Swansea v West Ham
Swansea 3-0 West Ham
Things went from good to better for new Swansea manager Michael Laudrup who's team will sit atop the Premier League for at least a couple of hours having won the early kick off of the day. The Swans have not only collected a maximum 6 points from their opening 2 games but also netted an impressive 8 goals which conceding 0 and looked very impressive so far.
Early in the match it was West Ham who looked impressive starting fast with new signing Matt Jarvis almost setting up Kevin Nolan inside 90 seconds or so. Quickly however West Ham's impetus faded and Swansea grew into the game before grabbing the lead thanks to a huge blunder by Finnish keeper Jussi Jääskeläinen who effectively tipped a Angel Rangel shot into his own net. It took little time for West Ham to shoot themselves in the foot for a second time as James Collins (who was awful throughout the game) allowed Michu an easy opportunity to double the lead and he duly took it netting his 3rd Premier League goal in just 2 games.
West Ham finished the first half they way they started it, looking very dangerous. They had 3 corners one after the other as the Swansea defense struggled to cope with the threat in the air. They came close during this spell of pressure with Carlton Cole having a shot cleared off the line by Neil Taylor though couldn't breach the defense as Swansea held on for dear life hoping to go into the half time without conceding.
Thankfully for Swansea the half time effectively killed West Ham's threat and the visitors rarely looked like scoring in the second half with the nearest they came being a chance that Carlton Cole tried to bicycle kick but missed completely. Whilst West Ham looked like an ever more toothless team Swansea looked to increase their lead and came close a number of times before Danny Graham sealed the game with the 3rd goal of the match. After this the game was all but over and West Ham were greeted to some rather unflattering chants by the Swansea fans who were willing to describe the West Ham players in a way they saw fitting.
For Swansea this is a perfect start to their season and one that no one could have expected. 6 points and 8 goals is just something no Swansea fan would have dreamed of though it's something that will see them marking their cards. It's amazing to think that the story of Scott Sinclair not even being on the bench will be completely forgotten following this result and the Swans won't care if he stays or not.
Although Michael Laudrup will be understandably chuffed to pieces it's fair to say that Sam Allardyce won't be anywhere near as happy. Last week his team didn't look anything special but still easily beat Aston Villa, this weekend however his team looked genuinely awful. Matt Jarvis aside there was little positive to take from this game for West Ham who perhaps feel lucky it was only 3-0 following a nightmare for their defense. It's fair to say the Hammers will just want to put this behind them and look towards their next match.
Notes-
Michu becomes the Premier Leagues Highest Scorer so far with 3 goals
This match featured 6 yellow cards, tied most for a fixture this season.
Although the opening goal was originally put down as an own goal, it appears the "dubious goals panel" has awarded it to Rangel.
Things went from good to better for new Swansea manager Michael Laudrup who's team will sit atop the Premier League for at least a couple of hours having won the early kick off of the day. The Swans have not only collected a maximum 6 points from their opening 2 games but also netted an impressive 8 goals which conceding 0 and looked very impressive so far.
Early in the match it was West Ham who looked impressive starting fast with new signing Matt Jarvis almost setting up Kevin Nolan inside 90 seconds or so. Quickly however West Ham's impetus faded and Swansea grew into the game before grabbing the lead thanks to a huge blunder by Finnish keeper Jussi Jääskeläinen who effectively tipped a Angel Rangel shot into his own net. It took little time for West Ham to shoot themselves in the foot for a second time as James Collins (who was awful throughout the game) allowed Michu an easy opportunity to double the lead and he duly took it netting his 3rd Premier League goal in just 2 games.
West Ham finished the first half they way they started it, looking very dangerous. They had 3 corners one after the other as the Swansea defense struggled to cope with the threat in the air. They came close during this spell of pressure with Carlton Cole having a shot cleared off the line by Neil Taylor though couldn't breach the defense as Swansea held on for dear life hoping to go into the half time without conceding.
Thankfully for Swansea the half time effectively killed West Ham's threat and the visitors rarely looked like scoring in the second half with the nearest they came being a chance that Carlton Cole tried to bicycle kick but missed completely. Whilst West Ham looked like an ever more toothless team Swansea looked to increase their lead and came close a number of times before Danny Graham sealed the game with the 3rd goal of the match. After this the game was all but over and West Ham were greeted to some rather unflattering chants by the Swansea fans who were willing to describe the West Ham players in a way they saw fitting.
For Swansea this is a perfect start to their season and one that no one could have expected. 6 points and 8 goals is just something no Swansea fan would have dreamed of though it's something that will see them marking their cards. It's amazing to think that the story of Scott Sinclair not even being on the bench will be completely forgotten following this result and the Swans won't care if he stays or not.
Although Michael Laudrup will be understandably chuffed to pieces it's fair to say that Sam Allardyce won't be anywhere near as happy. Last week his team didn't look anything special but still easily beat Aston Villa, this weekend however his team looked genuinely awful. Matt Jarvis aside there was little positive to take from this game for West Ham who perhaps feel lucky it was only 3-0 following a nightmare for their defense. It's fair to say the Hammers will just want to put this behind them and look towards their next match.
Notes-
Michu becomes the Premier Leagues Highest Scorer so far with 3 goals
This match featured 6 yellow cards, tied most for a fixture this season.
Although the opening goal was originally put down as an own goal, it appears the "dubious goals panel" has awarded it to Rangel.
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Premier League Week 1-Write up West Ham v Aston Villa
West Ham 1-0 Aston Villa
Sam Allardyce's West Ham may have been the latest team to earn their Premier League berth having come up through the Play Off Final (where they defeated Cardiff City) though, in the eyes of many they are the promoted team with the best Premier League pedigree having a number of players with Premier League experience as well as "Big Sam" at the helm. In Villa they faced a team that have really failed to gain any continuity in recent seasons with managers being chopped and changed on a regular basis, this was the first game in charge for new manager Paul Lambert, who was brought in to replace Alex McLeish.
The first half was a tedious affair with little to talk about until West Ham's captain Kevin Nolan put the Hammers ahead after a controversial move that saw the linesman flag for offside and then getting over-ruled by the referee. Whilst the referee was right, as the ball had flicked off a Villa defender it didn't make it any easier to swallow for the Villa players.
The goal allowed West Ham to shake the shackles and in the second half they looked the much better team and had several notable chances, though they failed to convert any of them. Thankfully for Hammers fans Villa failed to make them pay for their missed chances and aside from a long range shot by new signing Ron Vlaar Villa posed no threat to Jussi Jaaskelainen goal as West Ham kept a clean sheet.
Sam Allardyce will be proud of his players for picking up the win, and whilst this may not have been the football that West Ham fans want to see they will agree the 3 points are what they needed much than an eye catching performance. With a good core of players, including Nolan, Vaz Te, Noble, Collins and Jaaskelainen it'll be a surprise to me if West Ham do flop. Whilst Sam hasn't brought in many new players (though he did re-sign former player Collins) he hasn't the sort of squad that should have enough experience to keep them up.
Whilst I feel West Ham are good enough to stay up I do have serious worries about Villa who on this performance certainly need to sign at least 1 more player as they simply didn't create enough chances. If you don't create chances you will struggle to score. Whilst they have brought in a number of solid players most of them seem to have been defensive players other than Brett Holmann who didn't look 100% today. The lack of continuity at Villa has to be a worry for fans who will be hoping that Lambert can turn the teams fortunes around after last years relegation battle.
Sam Allardyce's West Ham may have been the latest team to earn their Premier League berth having come up through the Play Off Final (where they defeated Cardiff City) though, in the eyes of many they are the promoted team with the best Premier League pedigree having a number of players with Premier League experience as well as "Big Sam" at the helm. In Villa they faced a team that have really failed to gain any continuity in recent seasons with managers being chopped and changed on a regular basis, this was the first game in charge for new manager Paul Lambert, who was brought in to replace Alex McLeish.
The first half was a tedious affair with little to talk about until West Ham's captain Kevin Nolan put the Hammers ahead after a controversial move that saw the linesman flag for offside and then getting over-ruled by the referee. Whilst the referee was right, as the ball had flicked off a Villa defender it didn't make it any easier to swallow for the Villa players.
The goal allowed West Ham to shake the shackles and in the second half they looked the much better team and had several notable chances, though they failed to convert any of them. Thankfully for Hammers fans Villa failed to make them pay for their missed chances and aside from a long range shot by new signing Ron Vlaar Villa posed no threat to Jussi Jaaskelainen goal as West Ham kept a clean sheet.
Sam Allardyce will be proud of his players for picking up the win, and whilst this may not have been the football that West Ham fans want to see they will agree the 3 points are what they needed much than an eye catching performance. With a good core of players, including Nolan, Vaz Te, Noble, Collins and Jaaskelainen it'll be a surprise to me if West Ham do flop. Whilst Sam hasn't brought in many new players (though he did re-sign former player Collins) he hasn't the sort of squad that should have enough experience to keep them up.
Whilst I feel West Ham are good enough to stay up I do have serious worries about Villa who on this performance certainly need to sign at least 1 more player as they simply didn't create enough chances. If you don't create chances you will struggle to score. Whilst they have brought in a number of solid players most of them seem to have been defensive players other than Brett Holmann who didn't look 100% today. The lack of continuity at Villa has to be a worry for fans who will be hoping that Lambert can turn the teams fortunes around after last years relegation battle.
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