[Archived] West Ham Versus Blackburn Rovers

[Rathbone Market]

You get another few weeks of Curbishley - aren't we nice!

Yeah, I suppose we do. Errrr....thanks! (I think!)

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

Right- from my West Ham perspective:

Thought you lot played with a lot of aggression and were very physical- Ince effect??

With the greatest respect to you guys I was quite disappointed with your team today, surprisingly so as I thought you had a good chance of turning us over despite your poor record at our place.

Rathbone

TBH Rathbone, all we can offer with the players available at the moment is a team of grafters. We have no pace, no creativity and no width. Robinson still clearly lacks confidence and our defence couldn't keep clean sheets last season - an area which hasn't been addressed. Unless Ince performs a miracle in the transfer market in the next 48 hours (something he hasn't managed in 6 weeks) we will have a long, dour season. Don't think we'll go down - but bottom 6 looms.

Good luck for the rest of the season.

[BRFC1995]

bottom 6 looms my arse! way to over react.

[Plastic Head]

Just a couple of things bugging me still...

Why did we wear that awful kit. Black and red stripes is the one, or even better what was wrong with the home shirts with blue shorts. I hate navy kits.

Also, wasn't Noble suspended after sending off at City? 3-0 win to Rovers please

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

bottom 6 looms my arse! way to over react.

and your optimism is based on...?

[BRFC1995]

and your optimism is based on...?

more than one result in a fixture that no rovers manager has avoided defeat in for a very long time. Wakey, wakey son!

[Rathbone Market]

Just a couple of things bugging me still...

Why did we wear that awful kit. Black and red stripes is the one, or even better what was wrong with the home shirts with blue shorts. I hate navy kits.

Also, wasn't Noble suspended after sending off at City? 3-0 win to Rovers please

Noble was suspended for the Carling Cup game mid-week mate.

[DP]

A lot of crap on this messageboard. We seem to pick up more morons as each year goes by.

Whatever anyone says, or points to, we should have got something out of today's game. We missed our pen and had a perfectly good goal dissallowed. Rub of the green I think they call it and we didn't have it, but hey, it's West Ham and we always lose here. In fact that's probably the best I've seen us play at the Hammers in 7 games (forgot about a league cup game we lost a few years back). Don't remember all the cries of doom and gloom when the teams under Hughes and Souness capitulated!

As for going down.... ######

[J*B]

Half way too making it fifteen years

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

based on pure performance, west ham deserved the points. very few on here would dispute that. Obv the offside goal would have changed things but on sheer opportunities created/missed we should have scored three goals and therefore probably taken something away from the game.

[frosty]

Sack Nigel Winterburn.....

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

more than one result in a fixture that no rovers manager has avoided defeat in for a very long time. Wakey, wakey son!

More than one fixture? We were poor under Hughes last year, got some lucky results. All the weaknesses of last year are still there, we have less creativity with the sale of Bentley. As I said, we have enough to stay up and I hope Ince gets Rovers playing decent football, however, I do not think the current signings will drastically improve our fortunes. It could all change in the next 48 hours. if it doesn't then I believe we'll finish bottom 6.

You don't have to agree with me, but to insinuate that it is a knee jerk reaction to one result is ridiculous. Wakey, Wakey?

[James No. 7]

- no way does Grella look like £4m of "talent", he looked out of his depth, out classed, out thought, out fought

How true. I said before the signing that the player who loses out with his signing is Mokoena. He is a better back-up player and not much more. £4 million is an absolute waste for a player of his quality. We were one creative midfielder short during Hughes' reign and there is a good chance that is set to continue. Ince has been content to waste approximately £5 million on a couple of midfielders who can "do a job".

[imy9]

How true. I said before the signing that the player who loses out with his signing is Mokoena. He is a better back-up player and not much more. £4 million is an absolute waste for a player of his quality. We were one creative midfielder short during Hughes' reign and there is a good chance that is set to continue. Ince has been content to waste approximately £5 million on a couple of midfielders who can "do a job".

No pre season games, 1st game in a new country after one training session, playing with new team mates, but well done for giving him a chance...

[James No. 7]

No pre season games, 1st game in a new country after one training session, playing with new team mates, but well done for giving him a chance...

I didn't base my opinion on this game at all. I based it on what I have seen before he came to Rovers. Unless he drastically improves, 4 million is a waste. I'm happy for him to prove otherwise and I like him, it's nothing personal. However, he will be nothing more than a squad player at best unless the unlikely happens. Quite frankly the transfer money should be going towards buying players we need, not the making-up-the-numbers midfielder the squad already has in abundance.

[Faz_Rover]

Haven't had a chance to see the full game on Sky, anyone give a insight as to how our friend Andrews played, as well as Grella. From the Commentry it said both of them looked very tidy, Grella making some cute passes and cross field balls. Are they an improvement to the squad?

[DP]

Good questions Faz. Grella looked OK but a bit aggressive and late in the challenge but very early days. Still don't know what he'll bring to the team that Vogell, who I thought looked good at the end of last season, doesn't do already.

Andrews looked promising. Got his foot in and made some good forward passes. Looks a direct player and a box to box midfielder which we need

[1864roverite]

What was clear about the tv highlights and sky game is that Rovers inept finishing let them down as well as the usual dross from mike mufc iley.

poor reffing decisions cost us along with the penalty miss.

Some defending was Hughes like shambles whilst the midfield seemed a mile off the pace.

Todays game should have seen The Axe protecting the defence like at Everton.

A costly mistake although TBH we never really expected any points at WHAM did we ?

[Darwen Rover]

... Derbyshire goal should have stood - 2-2

... Roberts should have scored - 2-3

... Should have had a different ref..

FACTS: crap ref / didnt give definite goal / poor pen or good save / it was WH - They always get dodgy decisons against us!!

Move on.......

Arsenal......

[Rovermatt]

Complete and utter embarrassment. We were never going to get three points at Upton Park but the manner of the defeat is particularly hard to take. What a load of sh*te.

[BRFC1995]

from the highlights its pretty evident that samba and grella need to form an understanding whereby samba plays short balls out of defence to someone with a bit of composure. Samba's distribution is as bad as robert's finishing. We've also probably left it a bit late to start touting pederson to prospective buyers, he just offers nothing.....really starting to think we could play anyone out of position on the left and they'd offer more.

[Parsonblue]

Just returned from yet another disappointing afternoon at West Ham. I think the match highlighted exactly the position in which we find ourselves. The goalkeeping position is now becoming a serious problem as Robinson seems incapable of positioning himself for crosses. His performance was in stark contrast to Robert Green who took command of situations and came out and collected crosses thus giving his defence confidence. Our defenders look to have no confidence in Robinson and their own performances are beginning to looking increasingly suspect. The first goal was down to Robinson while Warnock was at fault for the last two. Perhaps if the 'keeper spent less time waving to the Rovers fans and more time doing the job he's paid for he might be more successful. Occasional flashes of brilliance are no good if the bread and butter saves are not made. West Ham had clearly done their homework and realised that our goalkeeper was very suspect whenever crosses were put into the box. If the young lad we are signing from Northampton has anything about him he could quickly make the number one spot his own at Ewood Park.

In midfield we looked poor for most of the game. Emerton is not an adequate replacement for David Bentley on the right. Grella was dreadful and surely should not have been selected over Mokoena at this stage. Andrews was better than Grella but then the Aussie was so bad it would be difficult for Andrews not to be an improvement on him. Reid was poor, both in the centre and on the right of midfield while Pedersen was completely outshone by Keith Treacy when he came on. Indeed, for me the performance of Treacy was the one bright spot on a disappointing afternoon. If he continues to play like this then Pedersen will soon be consigned to the bench as the youngster carries a greater threat.

I thought Roberts looked sharp until that dreadful attempt at a penalty and Derbyshire got through his usual amount of hard work. However, Roque is a class act and without him our attack doesn't look anywhere near as effective.

I believe that we have to sign a player of real craft to open up opposing defences and we need someone to play on the right hand side of midfield. Andrews and Grella look like journeymen - and I don't mean that in a negative way. I just don't believe they will provide the creative spark that we lack when Dunn or Tugay are not playing.

On today's peformance we looked like a lower midtable side and after seeing the results at Everton and Hull today it does put our start to the season in some sort of context. I suspect we are in for a transitional season rather than one of challenging for European football.

[joey_big_nose]

Good questions Faz. Grella looked OK but a bit aggressive and late in the challenge but very early days. Still don't know what he'll bring to the team that Vogell, who I thought looked good at the end of last season, doesn't do already.

I think the main point of Grella is that he is physical and a worker who can pass. Vogel is a worker and can pass but there just is not an "enforcer" ability about him. The opposition can ghost past him. Mokoena on the other hand can out muscle pretty much any player in the Prem. But he can't pass for toffee.

That said Grella has to massively improve on that showing. I fully expect him now to be dropped for a couple of weeks whilst he finds his feet and fitness. Not prepared to write him off after one game but he looked poor. He doesn't need to be Tugay in the way he plays but he needs to tick things over and retain possession. It is crucial he turns out to be money well spent.

If Dunn continues to struggle with injury Andrews looks a capable deputy. Impressed by Ince's balls on this but at a first look he is right about him being able to make the step up. Actually looks quite creative.

Reid looks like he is going to be the guy who is going to find himself in the reserves. Im pretty sure his career at Rovers is winding up. Shame cause I like him but since he came back from injury he has been largely very very poor.

Also not sure what the future for Emerton is anymore - once we sign a specialist right winger his only chance for a starting spot is right back (and I thought the whole point of getting Simpson was to provide that) or as a second defensive midfielder in a 4231. Probably going to become a sort of "super" sub.

[Nate]

FOr all the concerned Rovers out there, I would not be excessively worried because, barring two positions, the pieces are all there. Ince has just got to find the best configuration. We seem to have a good left winger in Treacy. We have a good second forward in Villaneuva and so on and so forth.

The stand-out weak spots are, imo, right wing (which Ince is apparently trying to address) and, a new opinion from me, central defence.

Few people have been talking about a new central defender and in fact, I doubt Ince will bring one in. But after today's game, Nelsen and Samba do look jittery and mistake prone. And that's not something new. (Although, they weren't helped by the other players).

For once, I agree with you.

[dopper69]

How true. I said before the signing that the player who loses out with his signing is Mokoena. He is a better back-up player and not much more. £4 million is an absolute waste for a player of his quality. We were one creative midfielder short during Hughes' reign and there is a good chance that is set to continue. Ince has been content to waste approximately £5 million on a couple of midfielders who can "do a job".

STFU and GTFO