To be honest, I’m glad it’s over. There is no other game for the Hammers that winds me up and makes me feel so passionate as this one against our biggest rivals. Mind you, we haven’t played Sheffield United again yet, so maybe that will change. The performance was adequate considering the team which was one of recovering players (Noble, Mullins, Macca) and a stable few. I always think playing badly/okay and not losing is a sign of a strong team and that is what we are doing at the moment. For Tottenham, putting my prejudice aside, I think they showed they have enough to be a strong team in the league, but they still carry defensive frailties. They need to turn this promise into actual form, then people might start to respect them. It’s the fact that there fans seem to think they have already won the Premier league that winds everyone up. And for me, Keane’s behaviour was a disgrace and he should have been booked immediately and it was offside so was academic anyway. I like Keane and think he is a great player but he acted like a muppet yesterday.
I don’t do this every week but feel like doing player ratings for this one. So let’s go;
Green – 8 – poor mistake to let Spurs back in but see LBM’s report, great penalty save and looked safe despite error.
Macca – 6.5 – Not his best performance but pretty decent, had a bit of trouble with Lennon’s pace
Upson – 7 – Another solid game from Matt
Gabbidon – 5 – seemed to be carrying an injury and just does not look like someone who is enjoying playing at the moment
Neil – 6 - Getting better and the penalty decision was harsh
Etherington – 5 - a disappointing game from Matt,struggled to get into the game at all and didn’t really create much. Possibly because Macca was pre-occupied with Lennon, they weren't working as well together going forward.
Mullins – 7 – a good game from the mysterious one, some good tackles and passes, nice one Hayden
Noble – 5.5 – hard to be hard on the little fella, and you can see he was trying but am expecting more from him when fully fit
Solano – 7 – I love the boy from Peru, great set piece taker and set up the goal, top man
Cole – 8 – my man of the match, worked hard, made life difficult for the defenders and scored, can’t ask much more
Boa-Morte – 5 - gave away a pointless free kick for their goal, just does not do it for me at all
On the subs, great to see Deano back, he will need time to get back into shape and sharpness, give him a few more weeks to get back into it. Scott Parker is an interesting character, can’t quite see if I will warm to him but can’t really judge the fella from the football he has played, needs more time.
So there we go, I’m happy with a draw against a side on the up and with us getting everyone back to fitness. Now bring on Chelsea!
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