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Ricardo's report v West Ham

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Suitably dosed up with Panadol, a supply of Lockets and with the protestations of   Mrs Ricardo ringing in my ear I managed to drag myself up to CR this evening. After a week with a very bad cough and cold it probably wasn''t a good idea and I could have easily watched it on the box but old habits die hard.After an early flourish with Pilks looking lively down the left the game soon settled into a mid field battle with City distinctly coming off second best. An inability to keep the ball for more than two or three passes was soon apparent and it was the Hammers who were calling the tune. On ten minutes we couldn''t clear a free kick and only a couple of desperate blocks and a save from Ruddy prevented City from going behind. It didn''t look good and with the visitors growing in confidence by the minute you sensed that it was only a matter of time before the inevitable opener. It came just after the half hour when Nolan really should have netted but had the presence of mind to keep the ball alive right on the goal line before picking out Morrison who couldn''t miss from about 5 yards. Pilks was by now limping badly and was soon replaced by Redmond.The crowd had gone very quiet by now with City totally overrun in midfield the wasn''t much from us in the attacking sense and so there was no surprise when a storm of booing greeted the halftime whistle. At this stage I was wondering why I had bothered and I said to my son that this was the first time this season that I felt like I was watching a relegation team and I didn''t mean West Ham.The second half resumed in very much the same vein and it was obvious that we needed some kind of momentum changer. I couldn''t see it coming from the bench but many prayers were answered in the 54th minute when Jaaskelainen spilled the ball and Hooper was upended in the ensuing melee. It was a gift from the Gods and Hooper rammed home the spot kick with no little venom. At last you could feel the confidence flow back into the boys as they were quicker to the ball and started getting some meaningful possession. A great bit of harrying by Redmond and Oolsen led to Howson picking up the loose ball and his humdinger from 25 yards smacked back off the bar. Snoddy was pushed down as he tried to head the rebound and City won a free kick a couple of yards outside the box. We had been waiting so long for him to do it but when Snoddy struck his effort clean and true and past a bemused keeper it felt like a weight had been lifted.The crowd were still nervous but at last were in full voice. Snoddy should have made certain but miss-kicked from 5 yards out. There were other half chances as City now dominated and it was West Hams turn to go into a shell. They started to pump it long and several times City almost caught them on the break with Johnny Howson the architect of some lung busting drives.With time ticking down City''s closing down led to Leroy Fer picking up the ball 25 yards out. A neat change of feet and a low shot beyond Jaaskeleinan''s left hand and it was game over. His run to the dugout and leap of joy with the manager probably nails for good and all the nonsense that Hughton had lost the dressing room.MOM Johnny Howson for me. Never gave up running, unlucky with his effort that led to the second goal and at last looking like the player we all hoped he would be. A great 3 points and a turning point in the season.............hopefully.[:D][B][Y]

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Great and get well soon! Howson was mofM for me too, showing true leadership qualities and great to see Russ Martin with the captain armband, that''s where it should stay.

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Yes get well soon Ricardo!

A pretty accurate report! A turning point? Maybe, but I agree for 54 minutes I just could not see where the goal was coming from and the pen really was a Christmas gift come early!

A very long way to go and I am delighted with the win, but I do feel we really got out of jail today!

Sorry but I am still not convinced we will be ok by what I hsve seen.

Snake

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The voice of reason and clarity on here has spoken. Glad to see that season changing luck we have been long.overdue. The debate will go.on as to whether Hughton is the right man but take nothing away from him today, the same people bemoaning gore lucky he was today need to take the Cardiff game to note and realise it swings both ways.

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Thanks for a well written report.It was good to read, even though I''d seen it to 2-1 on Sky but had to go out after that.Was that 1st half just down to confidence?

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[quote user="snake-eyes"]Yes get well soon Ricardo!

A pretty accurate report! A turning point? Maybe, but I agree for 54 minutes I just could not see where the goal was coming from and the pen really was a Christmas gift come early!

A very long way to go and I am delighted with the win, but I do feel we really got out of jail today!

Sorry but I am still not convinced we will be ok by what I hsve seen.

Snake[/quote]Thanks Snake, as I remarked a few weeks ago playing well and losing is a bad habit to get into. Today we were not so good for almost an hour and picked up the points.Funny old game, football.[;)]

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[quote user="K Lo"]Thanks for a well written report.It was good to read, even though I''d seen it to 2-1 on Sky but had to go out after that.Was that 1st half just down to confidence?[/quote]The players were nervous and so was the crowd, you could have heard a pin drop just before half time. We were much better against Cardiff and Villa but got less than we deserved. Today, once the second goal went in it was a completely different game. West Ham never looked like getting back in it.

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I bet the players didn''t go to see you when you were bad, Ricardo?!

Would you like to see CH stick with this starting line up? I would. Bassong, RVW and BJ need to sharpen up their act from the bench and a winning side needs to feel rewarded so we get some proper competition.

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[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]I bet the players didn''t go to see you when you were bad, Ricardo?!

Would you like to see CH stick with this starting line up? I would. Bassong, RVW and BJ need to sharpen up their act from the bench and a winning side needs to feel rewarded so we get some proper competition.[/quote]The weakness of 2 up front was exposed in the first half. We were unable to win enough ball and got outnumbered in the middle. I think the problem has been lack of confidence. When you fail to stick it in when playing well and then get tonked when you play badly its probably no surprise that they looked so tentative in the first half.I thought it was a brave move to drop Bassong to be honest. The only thing I would have done differently today would have been to get Johno on sooner, but then I always get nervous in the final stages.

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[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]Would you continue with Bennett and Turner at Newcastle, Ricardo?[/quote]I think you have to RH. As you rightly say, the players have to feel that they are rewarded for the victory. I thought Turner was very good today and Bennett did o.k. as well.

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Thanks a fantastic result, we finally got the bit of luck we''ve been missing.

442 was a disaster - as you pointed out, west ham bossed the midfield with 60% possession up to the equaliser and but for woeful finishing by them the game would''ve been out of sight by half time

Fortunately after we drew level they resorted to route 1 which wasted their midfield superiority and Howson produced a super strike from a rare foray into the attack - without a holding midfielder he could attack much less than normal. When they fell behind you could see west ham lose confidence and we were able to see out the game, reverting to 451 near the end which again gave Leroy the scope to get forward for the 3rd at the death

So for me a great comeback inspired by the bit of luck we were missing against Cardiff or indeed any of our recent games. I just hope it doesn''t make people think 442 would be a good idea because it nearly gifted the game to west ham today

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I don''t think Bassong has been fully fit since tge start ofbtge season. His movement and running has been very dlow and nothing like last season.

Fit and on form he is a quality defender but hasn''t been at the races.

In the first half and a number of times in the second we looked all at sea at the back but Bennett has shown with a decent run of games he csn be very good! If Bassong is fit and ready I would bring him in for Turner!

Snake

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If anyone thinks that we really played  442 (just because Sky said we did) I''m afaid is a little bit disillusioned. Very VERY rarely did we, even in possession of the ball, play a traditional "2" ie running into the channels of a back 4, and instead Elmander played a number 10 (I hate that) behind Hooper and looked awful.  out of possession we dropped , and dropped, and dropped. I know we all like to speak of two strikers, but we really have got to understand what we are watching.

 

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If you go with 4 in midfield you just need to push the back 4 up to condense the play. That''s what stopped West Hams domination. We passed poorly, even in the 2nd half, but beat a poor team today. We aren''t out of it, but there are some poor teams we can and should still finish above. Great result, hope the confidence comes back.

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You can describe it how you want but either way we had 2 strikers up front who left the midfield outnumbered which left west ham with 60% possession and control of the game until we got a bit of luck for our equaliser. If we''d had similar luck against Cardiff that would have been a much more comfortable win than today''s comeback

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[quote user="Graham Paddons Beard"]

If anyone thinks that we really played  442 (just because Sky said we did) I''m afaid is a little bit disillusioned. Very VERY rarely did we, even in possession of the ball, play a traditional "2" ie running into the channels of a back 4, and instead Elmander played a number 10 (I hate that) behind Hooper and looked awful.  out of possession we dropped , and dropped, and dropped. I know we all like to speak of two strikers, but we really have got to understand what we are watching.

 

[/quote]I think I fully understood what I was watching and it is beyond a shadow of doubt that we were outnumbered in midfield in the first half. If your midfield can''t win enough of the ball it doesn''t matter how many forwards you play.

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[quote user="ricardo"]With time ticking down City''s closing down led to Leroy Fer picking up the ball 25 yards out. A neat change of feet and a low shot beyond Jaaskeleinan''s left hand and it was game over. His run to the dugout and leap of joy with the manager probably nails for good and all the nonsense that Hughton had lost the dressing room.

.[:D][B][Y]




[/quote]

 

Ricardo, Fer did run to the dugout and leap with joy but it wasn''t Hughton or the coaching staff he hugged so, whether Hughton has a firm bond in the dressing room remains to be seen IMO. As your report indicates, given our performance until the penalty came along, one certainly would have grave doubts. The dismal showing against Manchester City must have caused much discussion between the players and the manager/coaches leading up to today''s game but, whatever transgressed, it did not result in the right kind of approach by the players until the penalty.

Nevertheless, it was a great win today because we obviously needed it. Regardless of all else let''s hope it was the spark that the players needed to push on.

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[quote user="ricardo"][quote user="Graham Paddons Beard"]

If anyone thinks that we really played  442 (just because Sky said we did) I''m afaid is a little bit disillusioned. Very VERY rarely did we, even in possession of the ball, play a traditional "2" ie running into the channels of a back 4, and instead Elmander played a number 10 (I hate that) behind Hooper and looked awful.  out of possession we dropped , and dropped, and dropped. I know we all like to speak of two strikers, but we really have got to understand what we are watching.

 

[/quote]

I think I fully understood what I was watching and it is beyond a shadow of doubt that we were outnumbered in midfield in the first half. If your midfield can''t win enough of the ball it doesn''t matter how many forwards you play.
[/quote]

 

Well put Ricardo. As a matter of interest, what position do you think Nolan played in the first half/

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[quote user="YankeeCanary"]

[quote user="ricardo"]With time ticking down City''s closing down led to Leroy Fer picking up the ball 25 yards out. A neat change of feet and a low shot beyond Jaaskeleinan''s left hand and it was game over. His run to the dugout and leap of joy with the manager probably nails for good and all the nonsense that Hughton had lost the dressing room.

.[:D][B][Y]




[/quote]

 

Ricardo, Fer did run to the dugout and leap with joy but it wasn''t Hughton or the coaching staff he hugged so, whether Hughton has a firm bond in the dressing room remains to be seen IMO. As your report indicates, given our performance until the penalty came along, one certainly would have grave doubts. The dismal showing against Manchester City must have caused much discussion between the players and the manager/coaches leading up to today''s game but, whatever transgressed, it did not result in the right kind of approach by the players until the penalty.

Nevertheless, it was a great win today because we obviously needed it. Regardless of all else let''s hope it was the spark that the players needed to push on.

[/quote]

 

It looked to me as if Fer ran to Bassong, but I bow to the boards more senior posters....

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[quote user="Graham Paddons Beard"][quote user="ricardo"][quote user="Graham Paddons Beard"]

If anyone thinks that we really played  442 (just because Sky said we did) I''m afaid is a little bit disillusioned. Very VERY rarely did we, even in possession of the ball, play a traditional "2" ie running into the channels of a back 4, and instead Elmander played a number 10 (I hate that) behind Hooper and looked awful.  out of possession we dropped , and dropped, and dropped. I know we all like to speak of two strikers, but we really have got to understand what we are watching.

 

[/quote]I think I fully understood what I was watching and it is beyond a shadow of doubt that we were outnumbered in midfield in the first half. If your midfield can''t win enough of the ball it doesn''t matter how many forwards you play.[/quote]

 

Well put Ricardo. As a matter of interest, what position do you think Nolan played in the first half/

[/quote]If there is a position where you can foul opponents and get away with it then that is the position in which I think he played.[:D]

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[quote user="ricardo"][quote user="Graham Paddons Beard"][quote user="ricardo"][quote user="Graham Paddons Beard"]

If anyone thinks that we really played  442 (just because Sky said we did) I''m afaid is a little bit disillusioned. Very VERY rarely did we, even in possession of the ball, play a traditional "2" ie running into the channels of a back 4, and instead Elmander played a number 10 (I hate that) behind Hooper and looked awful.  out of possession we dropped , and dropped, and dropped. I know we all like to speak of two strikers, but we really have got to understand what we are watching.

 

[/quote]

I think I fully understood what I was watching and it is beyond a shadow of doubt that we were outnumbered in midfield in the first half. If your midfield can''t win enough of the ball it doesn''t matter how many forwards you play.
[/quote]

 

Well put Ricardo. As a matter of interest, what position do you think Nolan played in the first half/

[/quote]
If there is a position where you can foul opponents and get away with it then that is the position in which I think he played.[:D]
[/quote]

 

And yet the referees don''t see it? Why Ricardo? Why? [:)]

 

PS he was offside for the first goal....

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[quote user="Graham Paddons Beard"][quote user="ricardo"][quote user="Graham Paddons Beard"][quote user="ricardo"][quote user="Graham Paddons Beard"]

If anyone thinks that we really played  442 (just because Sky said we did) I''m afaid is a little bit disillusioned. Very VERY rarely did we, even in possession of the ball, play a traditional "2" ie running into the channels of a back 4, and instead Elmander played a number 10 (I hate that) behind Hooper and looked awful.  out of possession we dropped , and dropped, and dropped. I know we all like to speak of two strikers, but we really have got to understand what we are watching.

 

[/quote]I think I fully understood what I was watching and it is beyond a shadow of doubt that we were outnumbered in midfield in the first half. If your midfield can''t win enough of the ball it doesn''t matter how many forwards you play.[/quote]

 

Well put Ricardo. As a matter of interest, what position do you think Nolan played in the first half/

[/quote]If there is a position where you can foul opponents and get away with it then that is the position in which I think he played.[:D][/quote]

 

And yet the referees don''t see it? Why Ricardo? Why? [:)]

 

PS he was offside for the first goal....

[/quote]Long experience in the game I would guess.I didn''t notice the offside from my position behind the goal but you may well be right.Anyway, thanks to all for your replys, Rikkys now off to kip with a couple of Panadol. nite nite all.[:D]

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For me, Redmond coming on made a big difference. Although Snodgrass scored with a great free kick, and defends with commitment, I''d rather see Redmond and Martin working the right side and Olsson and Pilkington on the left. Still, a very welcome 3 points.

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Ricardo, i have admired your reports over the years (!) but as someone who openly does not like Hoots or his sidekicks I can assure you the `Fer went to Seb leaving Hoots and Trollope breathing in cold Norfolk air.

Perhaps Hoots is truly learning about managing in the Prem. I bloody hope so!!

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[quote user="Bury Yellow"]Hi Nutty. Morty is on here somewhere too.[/quote]Oh put your bottom lip away...

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Now I''ve seen the goals I am even more convinced many of our problems have stemmed from being slow to put the ball into the box.

Bennett lofted it in and it caused panic, resulting in a penalty.

Too many touches too often. Early balls please.

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