West Ham did us proud once again on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Stoke City, becoming only the fourth team to go to the Britannia and get all 3 points this season.
It was by no means an easy task, the game was very physical and with Rory Delap peppering the box with his long throws, the defensive line more than earned their money by resisting everything Stoke threw at them. At the centre of this was Robert Green who, while David James was spilling tepid headers at Fratton Park, showed while he should be in consideration for a starting place in the England line up. Green handled long balls and stopped shots with great skill and agility all game, much to the frustration of the impressive Ricardo Fuller.
Man of the match for the Hammers was yet again Lucas Neill who put in another captain's performance. I don't know if it is the contract negotiations or the management that is pushing Neill to put in these performances, but he has been key for us in the second half of this season. While I think a pacy right back such as Glen Johnson will be an important purchase for us in the Summer, Neill has illustrated he is still more than up to the task for now. Anyway, player ratings...
Green - 7 - excellent display by England's number six!
Illunga - 6 - not bad effort by the reliable Herita
Upson - 6 - pretty solid throughout but seem less involved than his defensive partner...
Tomkins - 7 - top defending by our young prospect, seems set to make this spot his own next season
Neill - 8 - fantastic performance by Skippy, strong defensively and linked up well with the midfield
Stanislas - 6 - a much better display than the one against Chelsea, would stil lrahter see him push the ball and beat the man raher than cut in every time
Noble - 6 - if ever a player divided opinion, it's him. But worked his socks off in this game
Kovac - 6 - he was jsut getting into the pace of the game before his injury and is hasving trouble adapting again, but put in a good shift
LBM - 7 - was busy throughout, the boos have certainly disappeared when we hear his name
Di Michele - 5 - not a great game from the dimunitive Italian
Tristan - 6 - also did not have a great game and missed a sitter. having said that he also scored a superb free kick, what are we to make of Diego?!
Zola and Clarke - 8 - snuffed out Stoke's main threat and got the alds to play our way when we kept the ball, another good shift
Overall, a great result, oh and a big shout to James Collins too for coming to sit with the Hammers fans. Hope to see you ready for the squad soon big man. Good prep for another big match on Sautrday against Liverpool, but the way we are playing, we can take on anyone at the moment!
Just a shame we didn't rise to the occasion in the cup final at whl.
Posted by: aardvark | 04/05/2009 at 19:49
As a Spurs fan Aardvark, I assume you are referring to yourselves. It may have been a cup final for you sunshine but it wasn't for us, what with you being a lesser team than us in the Premier League and all...
Posted by: West Ham Blog | 04/05/2009 at 23:56
Here are some facts about two unnamed clubs. Club A and Club B :-
Top 4 finishes
Club A - 29
Club B - 1
Top 3 Finishes
Club A - 14
Club B - 1
Top 2 Finishes
Club A - 9
Club B - 0
Title wins
Club A - 2
Club B - 0
FA Cup wins
Club A - 8
Club B - 3
League Cup wins
Club A - 4
Club B - 0
European Cup best finish
Club A - lost semi final on away goals
Club B - Nowhere near it
UEFA cup
Club A - 2 wins, 1 runner up,
Club B - 0
Cup Winners Cup
Club A - 1 win, 2 semis
Club B - 1 win
Record Attendance
Club A - 75,038 against Sunderland
Club B - 42,322 against CLUB A - SAY NO MORE
Posted by: Powerblade | 05/05/2009 at 10:41
Yes, but most of those achievements were before tyou were born mate. How about the last 8 seasons? One trophy to our none, such a huge club aren't you?
Posted by: West Ham Blog | 05/05/2009 at 16:37