WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce believes West Ham United's generosity at the back cost them
dear against Reading
31.03.2012
Sam Allardyce was left to count the cost of a series of defensive lapses as
West Ham United went down 4-2 at home to Reading on Saturday afternoon. The
Hammers started strongly and took the lead through Carlton Cole in the
eighth minute, before going on to enjoy much the better of the opening half.
A crazy period of ten minutes from the hosts just before half-time turned
the game on its head as Reading snatched two quickfire goals from Kaspars
Gorkss and Noel Hunt. A penalty converted by veteran Ian Harte made it a 3-1
advantage before Ricardo Vaz Te pulled one back to give West Ham hope. The
joy was short-lived, however, as a lucky ricochet put Mikele Leigertwood in
to restore the Royals' two-goal advantage and dampen any hopes of a Hammers
fightback. "I'm really disappointed that we have gone and let ourselves down
with ten minutes of madness defensively at the end of the first half," Big
Sam said. "We looked so comfortable and good and then we turned it into a
massive uphill struggle for ourselves. "Not just by going 2-1 down in the
space of two minutes but also through conceding a really poor penalty so the
10 minutes of madness have cost us. That made life so difficult for us but
even then we clawed ourselves back into the game at 3-2. "I thought we would
go on and get a result at that point but we went and shot ourselves in the
foot again by gifting them a fourth."
The start made by Big Sam's side showed how much they wanted to overturn the
one point advantage Reading held going into the game and they quickly went
about knocking their visitors into a shell-shocked state. "We wanted to
start the game well. You can't give encouragement to teams like Reading and
we were really pleased with how we made them struggle. We looked like every
time we created an attack that we could get some success and several times
we opened them up."
Recent results have left Big Sam frustrated at his team's end product, but
after goals from two of his forwards, it was issues at the other end of the
pitch that he said had cost his side a result. "I never thought before,
based on where we were and how we have done, that we would ever concede four
goals here. But we have and that's why we have lost; our defensive unit
today didn't function as normal and that was a big blow to us which
ultimately cost us after such a good start to the game.
"How we didn't equalise at the very end of the first half is beyond me. The
corner came in and the header got scrambled off the line. If we go in at
half time at 2-2 then it would have given us a massive lift. But it didn't
and then we made the substitutions, waited for our chances and got to 3-2
with Vaz Te's great header."
The loss was West Ham's first in 12 games and their first at home since 3
December and although the win moves Reading further into the driving seat
for automatic promotion, the race is not completely over yet according to
Big Sam. "It's not over yet but we have made life extremely difficult for
ourselves as we have allowed Reading to open up a four point gap on
ourselves. "There is no room for error in the remaining six games, dropped
points aren't an option if we want to get out of this league."
If West Ham are to get their promotion charge back on track, they will need
win both Easter weekend games, starting with Barnsley away on Friday night.
Birmingham follow three days later, with no less than six points needed from
the two games to keep West Ham in the automatic promotion picture according
to Big Sam. Allardyce added: "We need to clear their minds and get over this
as quickly as possible and put it behind us. There is nothing we can do
about it now, we should focus on how well we played in the first 43 minutes
and how if we hadn't gifted them two goals then we would've carried on in
that way."
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Pass!
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 1st April 2012
By: Staff Writers 1 & 4
Sam Allardyce is set to appear on to appear on TV quiz Mastermind.
Sam Allardyce is due to film a round of the brainbox quiz during the summer
with further rounds to come should he progress. The manager successfully
completed a gruelling selection process that took place last week at central
London's Bush House.
He told us: "I've been a big fan of tv quizzes for ages. I always watch
University Challenge and Mastermind when they're on and, since I don't go to
university (though I am a Fellow at Bolton University), Mastermind was the
obvious choice of programme to go for, especially as I'm an avid listener of
John Humphreys on the Today programme."
" The audition process was quite tough going. They ask you about 20 general
knowledge questions. I can't remember how many I got right but it was quite
a few. You then have to be interviewed by a producer and persuade them that
your choice of specialist subject would be worth including. You have to
supply four subjects in case someone else has picked the ones you want.
I bumped into [cabbie & former Mastermind winner] Fred Housego and he
advised me to avoid obvious subjects like the James Bond movies. My first
choice therefore was The History of the Dutch National Football Team
1974-1978. Those were the "Total Football" years of Cruyff, Neeskens & Rep
etc. It's been amazing researching that one - there's so much of what they
did in the way we play at West Ham it's uncanny. Though we don't play in
orange, obviously. The technical skills those guys had were absolutely
incredible, though I can't help but feeling with a slight amendment to their
style of play they might have actually won those two World Cup Finals that
they lost [to West Germany in 1974 and Argentina in 1978].
For my second subject I picked The History of Ship Building on the River
Thames. Since moving to London I've been trying to immerse myself in the
local history and culture of the East End and of course Thames Ironworks
seemed a natural place to start especially with the stuff they unearthed the
other week in the preparation for Crossrail.
I stayed with East London for my third choice The History Of The London,
Tilbury & Southend Railway. Again this is something that I know a bit about
from my local history research - though I've never been able to find out why
they don't open up those platforms at Upton Park on match days. It'd help
clear the crowds post match and if we end up staying at the Boleyn I'd say
it would be essential, assuming that we redevelop the Chicken Run
For my final choice I went for The Jeeves & Wooster books of PG Wodehouse -
they've been favourites of mine ever since I was a kid - and I think the Fry
& Laurie tv version has been one of the few successful attempts to capture
the spirit of the books on screen.
The quiz show is not Sam's first foray into non-footballing activities. Back
in 2003 he was handed a wild card entry to the 2003 North West Regional
finals of the UK Open Darts Championship. His appearance on Mastermind will,
however, be the first by a current football manager on the mainstream
programme, though Stan Collymore did appear on the "Celebrity" version,
scoring a respectable 12 points on his chosen subject of "Secluded Parking
Spots In The Cannock Chase Area" before losing out to Jason McAteer in the
General Knowledge round.
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Ex-Hammer's play-off warning
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 31st March 2012
By: Staff Writer
Former Hammer Rufus Brevett believes that Sam Allardyce's side face an
uphill struggle to achieve promotion should they finish outside the
Championship's top two this season. Brevett, who spent two-and-a-half years
at the Boleyn Ground between 2003 and 2005, was at the Boleyn Ground this
afternoon to watch his former club lose 4-2 to promotion rivals Reading -
despite dominating the opening exchanges. The result leaves the Hammers as
rank outsiders to finish in the automatic promotion spots, being as they are
now four points behind the Royals who trail leaders Southampton - who were
beaten 3-0 at Blackpool this evening - by a further two points. And it's a
scenario that Brevett believes could cost West Ham dearly, should they find
themselves featuring in the Championship play-offs in just over a month's
time. "It's difficult because if you've been up there all season and end up
falling into the play-offs, you go into them on a bit of a downer because
it's not where you want to be," Brevett told KUMB.com. "Whereas if you're a
team that sneaks into the play-offs with the last kick of a game, then
you're entering them on a high and the momentum takes you through. So you
really don't want to be going into the play-offs."
Whilst the former left-back conceded that West Ham have played some decent
football of late - including the first half of today's match against the
Royals that they mostly controlled - Brevett still feels that manager
Allardyce would need to pull out all the stops in order to take his team
over the line. "They played okay today, they did alright for the first 40
minutes," he surmised. "I think they controlled the game, they just had a
mad two minutes towards the end of the half. "If they keep playing like
that - and if Big Sam can pick them up - then who knows? But by only getting
in the play-offs they will be down, because it's not where they want to be."
The former QPR and Fulham defender also found it hard to explain just why
West Ham have failed to perform at the Boleyn Ground in recent weeks -
adding that he used to thoroughly enjoy playing in front of the Upton Park
crowd. "I don't know what it is," he mused. "When I played here, the season
we got relegated, I loved playing at home. I loved playing here with the
fans because everything's loud. I came from Fulham and here it was a
completely different atmosphere. "I've not seen much of West Ham this
season. I've heard a lot on the radio saying it's all long ball but I didn't
really see that today. But drawing against the likes of Doncaster? No
disrespect to Doncaster - but if they win one or two of those games they're
second in the league [at least]."
Despite spending just two-and-a-half years on West Ham's books - during
which he was limited to 29 appearances as a result of an ankle injury that
kept him sidelined for nine months - Brevett says that he loves to come back
and say "hello" to some of his former colleagues from time to time. The
club, he insists, is unique - and one that deserves to be playing at the
highest level of English football. "I love West Ham, I think it's a proper
football club with proper fans as well," he said. "And the thing is, you
can't fool the fans - they like someone who's going to go out and work hard.
"They're not stupid, if you're not doing it on the pitch they'll let you
know - there's no hiding place when you've got 34,000 fans out there. "Last
year I went to the training ground and they roll the red carpet out for you,
it's fantastic. You had Tim [De'Ath] the chef (now at Arsenal), the kit man
- it's all proper people down there. I was only there for two years but I
don't get that reception when I go to Fulham's training ground or QPR's
training ground. "I just think it's a proper football club - and they need
to get back where they belong."
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Allardyce on... Reading
KUMB
Filed: Saturday, 31st March 2012
By: Staff Writer
A hugely disappointed Sam Allardyce reflects on a SIXTH home game without a
win but maintains that automatic promotion is still a possibility - albeit a
slim one...
Sam: for the first 40 minutes there was only one team in it. What happened?
We shot ourselves in the foot. We conceded in the 43rd minute from a corner
we should have done better with - we left their biggest man free - then,
instead of clearing a simple ball we've kicked it straight to their man
after 48 minutes.
We've come in [at half time] a little shell-shocked because of the position
we were in - looking good and looking like if anybody was going to score
another goal, it was ourselves. We wasted a few really good opportunities
and then, instead of waiting to play our way back into the game and
overcoming the situation we found ourselves in unexpectedly, we shot
ourselves in the foot again by giving a stupid penalty away.
So that's three goals. We've lost this game by basic errors, poor defending
- which is not normally us here - and gifted them three goals that they've
taken very well. But it could all have been avoided. When you get a big game
like this you can't afford to make those errors - and we did. That's
ultimately why we got beat.
We still clawed out way back [into the game] with another great goal from
Vaz Te - then we go and gift them a fourth. A simple ball played out and
given straight to the opposition, a ball played through and we're waving for
offside instead of dealing with the ball through - and the lad sidefoots it
and it goes in off Greenie.
Today, what's not like us has been our downfall and it's obviously bitterly
disappointing - particularly given the way we started the game. But the game
lasts 90-odd minutes, and we've thrown it away in ten.
What was the problem with [Mark] Noble?
A pulled thigh muscle.
Are you disappointed as well with the lack of a response that seemed to come
from your team in the second half?
No, not really because we've responded by getting back to 3-2, so there was
a response. The big problem was that the response we wanted to get was not
to give another goal away and we did; we gave another goal away and we gave
a penalty away. So you've got to then recover again.
We did recover again, we got [it back] to 3-2 - but we gifted them a fourth.
You can't keep shooting yourself in the foot in a game of this magnitude so
we have to hold our hands up. We're the biggest victims of our defeat today
and we just have to get ready to bounce back with the two games over the
weekend - on Friday night at Barnsley and Monday here, against Birmingham.
The sad thing is, is not winning games here - that's been the real
disappointment for us. We've overcome the adversity of playing three games
with ten men, winning two and drawing one, and then going away from home and
winning if not drawing. Then coming back here and draw, draw, draw - and
then lose. That's a massive, massive disappointment for the lads
particularly because that's the last thing they wanted to do, make it so
difficult for themselves here - and that's what they've done.
It's gone on too long now, hasn't it? If we'd drawn the game again then yes,
we'd have been disappointed, but we'd still only be one point behind
Reading. Now we're four points away from Reading with another game gone and
even if they slip up and we win, they'll still be one point ahead of us with
another game gone.
That was critical today for me. It was very, very important that we tried to
win but it was also very important that we didn't lose - and we went and did
it via our own deficiencies today. Fair play to Reading, they took their
chances extremely well and you've got to give them credit for that but we
did, in my opinion, gift them all of their four goals.
Do you think you might have to win all your remaining games to stand a
chance?
I think so, yes. I think the pressure on us now is that there are no more
opportunities for us to take [only] a point and think that's going to be
enough.
There's six games left and if Reading or Southampton are going to slip up
they might slip up once. Which means if we're winning games and they do slip
up, we can get back close to them - perhaps not Southampton now, they'll be
too far away but certainly Reading, we've got to keep on their shirt tails.
The only way we can do that it to try and win six matches on the trot.
There's still a lot to play for but do you think it's looking like the
play-offs now?
No, not yet because we could win at Barnsley and Southampton could beat
Reading - I think that's their next game. But we've got to make sure we beat
Barnsley.
We made up our spare game on Tuesday night; we put the pressure on Reading
by winning comfortably at Peterborough. We got ourselves off to the start we
wanted today but what we did today is what we don't normally do and mess up
our defensive play, which is normally very good.
Perhaps the players felt the pressure. But there was no pressure to feel for
me as there wasn't a lot of threat from Reading today, we were dealing with
everything they had to throw at us in that first 40 minutes or so. To
concede one was bad enough, but to concede another afterwards was a crushing
blow. It's not too bad to come in at half time 1-1, not the way we were
playing - but at 2-1 we put extra pressure on ourselves that we didn't stand
up to.
Do you feel under pressure here though?
I feel under pressure every game I play as a football manager because the
game is based on results. But pressure in terms of wanting to get up via
automatic promotion, yes. I feel we have the capability to do that, the
unfortunate thing is that we've not hit our best [form] at the right time,
we've had too many draws and now we've let that [today] become a defeat at
home. Away from home you couldn't ask for any more.
But how do you get what you referred to this week as...
Win the game, however you have to win it. We need to win a game at home just
to ease the pressure on ourselves and it doesn't matter how you get it,
you've got to get it. We looked like we might have got it comfortably today
but then we blew it, so we've got to make sure when we play Birmingham here
[we beat them]. We've got to make sure we beat Barnsley first, but we've
added more pressure on ourselves yet again by the fact that we have to go
there and win.
Do you scratch your head wondering why wins have been so difficult to come
by at home as opposed to away where you just seem to win for fun?
It was the reverse scenario today, wasn't it? Generally it's been about not
taking our chances when we've been in full flow. What we've done
[previously] is fall foul of a really good goal by the opposition - like
Middlesbrough, where the sub smacks a 23-yarder in off the post or the game
before when he smashes one and it hits Abdoulaye Faye on the backside and
screams in the bottom of the net.
You can't blame the defenders for that too much. But at the other end we've
created chance after chance to see the opposition off but haven't done it.
Today's been the reverse; we've been pretty good going forward, pretty good
at creating chances, [we] scored goals - but defensively we've been poor.
Thank you.
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West Ham Utd 2 Reading 4
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 31st March 2012
By: Staff Writer
West Ham's chances of automatic promotion are hanging in the balance after
Sam Allardyce's side threw away a promising start with a catalogue of
horrific individual errors. Despite having Reading rattled and on the verge
of capitulating the Hammers managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of
victory with a string of uncharacteristic mistakes from some of the team's
more reliable members. Carlton Cole had given West Ham the perfect start
that Sam Allardyce had called for when he turned sharply inside the penalty
area to fire home beneath Adam Federici with just seven minutes on the
clock. That goal was followed by a spell of scintillating football - some of
the best the Hammers have produced all season - as the home side took the
game to the Royals, who, at that stage, simply couldn't cope. Clearly
rattled, Reading were holding on for dear life as West Ham - for once in
perfect harmony with the Boleyn crowd - created chance after chance as they
threatened to kill the game by the break.
Yet once again the Hammers failed to capitalised on a string of
opportunities and were stung by a sucker punch in the 44th minute of the
first half when Kaspars Gorkss was first to react to a Ian Harte corner that
arose from a mistake by Mark Noble. Yet incredible there was worse to come
for the shell-shocked Hammers when, in the second minute of first half
injury time, Noel Hunt made the most of a Julien Faubert error to fire into
Rob Green's bottom right-hand corner. Little fault could be attributed to
manager Sam Allardyce for the half time deficit as West Ham's domination in
the opening 45 minutes proved he had got his team selection and tactics
absolutely spot on.
However the manager's decision to replace the injured Mark Noble (thigh) at
the break with Danny Collins - moving central defender James Tomkins into
midfield instead of introducing recognised midfielder Henri Lansbury -
proved to be costly as his team failed to get close to the high standards
they had set in the opening half.
The visitors, buoyed by their unexpected half time advantage went 3-1 ahead
on the hour mark after Abdoulaye Faye, usually so reliable made a horrendous
gaff when trying to control a cross. Having allowed the ball to slip away
from him the 34-year-old brought down Noel Hunt with a lunge - and Harte
stepped up to convert the resulting spot kick.
West Ham briefly threatened an unexpected comeback when Ricardo Vaz Te
climbed highest to convert Gary O'Neil's corner to reduce the deficit to
just one goal. But Mikele Leigertwood finally put the game beyond United
with six minutes of normal time remaining, leaving West Ham four points
adrift of today's visitors.
Blackpool's 3-0 demolition of leaders Southampton later in the day - a
result that ensures the Saints remain six points ahead of West Ham and just
two ahead of Reading - was scant reward for such a dreadful result.
With just six games of the season left to play Allardyce's side must somehow
eradicate that sizable gap if they are to avoid the lottery of the play-offs
- something that few would back them to win given their appalling lack of
form at home; West Ham have taken just five points from the last 18 at the
Boleyn Ground.
West Ham Utd 2 Reading 4: match facts
West Ham Utd: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Faye, McCartney, Noble (Collins 46),
O'Neil, Nolan, Vaz Te, Taylor (Baldock 60), Cole (Maynard 72).
Subs not used: , Lansbury, Carew.
Goals: Cole (8), Vaz Te (77).
Booked: Tomkins (74), Faubert (90).
Shots on/off target: 9/3 (12).
Reading: Federici, Cummings, Pearce, Kebe (Afobe 82), Gorkss, Harte, Karacan
(Tabb 55, Robson-Kanu 67), Leigertwood, McAnuff, Hunt, Roberts.
Subs not used: McCarthy, Church.
Goals: Gorkss (44), Hunt (45+2), Harte (pen 59), Leigertwood (84).
Booked: Roberts (27).
Shots on/off target: 8/3 (11).
Referee: Chris Foy (5).
Assistants: Simon Bennett and Richard West.
Fourth Official: Mick Russell.
Attendance: 33,350.
Did you know? Reading's win today was the first time the Hammers had lost at
home by more than a single goal since the final day of last season when
Sunderland won 3-0 at the Boleyn Ground.
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Will Our Rivals Slip Up and, if so, Can We Take Advantage?
About 9 hours ago
West Ham Till I Die
Yesterday's 2-4 defeat to Reading was a bitter disappointment, how could we
play so well in that first 45 minutes, dominate play so comprehensively, and
yet go in at half-time 1-2 down? We played some excellent football, but it
was the same old story against opponents at Upton Park, dominating play, but
not making that dominance tell sufficiently. How many times this season, at
home, have we gone 1-0 up, only to fail to push on and score a second and a
third? Too many times this season. It is one of the golden rules of
football, when you are on top you must punish the opposition. Otherwise they
have an unfortunate tendency of coming back at you and making you pay for
your lack of ruthlessness.
We conceded two very poor goals against Burnley last week and it appears
that a certain defensive sloppiness has crept in to our game. Sam Allardyce
is right to say that we shot ourselves in the foot defensively today. All
four goals were absolute gifts for Reading FC and that needs to be stamped
out immediately. I was not happy when I saw that Faubert was starting at
right-back, but I suppose that in the absence of O'Brien, and in view of
Demel's lack of match fitness, there was little other option. It may be time
to revert back the Tomkins-Reid central defensive combination (if Reid is
now fit?) and we may need to gamble on playing Guy Demel at right-back. That
may be harsh on Faye, who has played very well recently, but Tomkins-Reid is
probably our best central defensive partnership and we may need to revert
back to it now. While Demel is different class at right-back, if he is
anywhere near a reasonable level of fitness then there is a definite case to
be made for taking the gamble.
I recently stated in a blog post that we needed to fully exploit the
offensive abilities of Kevin Nolan. That means pushing him up into a close
attacking role behind our striker(s). I liked the way that we shaped up
today offensively, with Vaz Te on the right, Taylor on the left and Nolan
playing in close support to Carlton Cole through the middle. Its an
attacking formation that has real potential. I also thought that Noble and
O'Neill both did very well in central midfield and their dominance was the
main reason that we played so well in the first 45 minutes. In my view,
Allardyce made a mistake in not replacing the injured Noble with either
Lansbury or Collison. Instead, he brought Collins on and pushed Tomkins into
midfield and it just did not work. Moreover, it allowed Reading FC to get a
firmer grip on the game and that was reflected in the opposition's greater
prominence in the 2nd half.
So is it the play-offs for us after today's result? Well Southampton's 3-0
defeat today, at the hands of Blackpool, is a timely reminder that team's
can and do slip up. Reading FC are a good, efficient side. But they are far
from unbeatable, Peterborough Utd recently proved that. They also have some
tough away matches in the run-in, against the likes of Southampton and
Birmingham City. In addition, other upcoming opponents like Notts Forest and
Leeds Utd are also capable of causing an upset on their day. So, no the
automatic promotion issue is not settled yet, but we are now relying on
others to take points off Reading FC. Really, being four points ahead, with
six games to play, puts the Royals firmly in the driving seat and they need
to chuck it away. But stranger things have happened, especially in football.
However, West Ham must be in a position to capitalise on any slips if they
do in fact happen. The worst thing will be if Reading FC lose to Southampton
and Birmingham and we do not get the victories that we need to take
advantage. Allardyce and the players need to follow Antonio Gramsci's old
dictum, 'pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.' Whilst knowing
that they are unlikely to slip up, we must proceed with the purposeful
intent that they will. Allardyce reckons that we may need to win all six
remaining fixtures to pip Reading FC. That might ery well prove to be the
case. Certainly, the team are capable of it, but will they apply themselves
enough to deliver? They must try, that is all we can ask at this stage.
And if the worst case scenario does come about and we end up in the
play-offs? Sam Allardyce will have a huge job to do to motivate and re-focus
the players. The third placed teams rarely gain promotion through the
play-offs. Whereas the 4th, 5th and 6th placed teams seem to see the
play-offs as a fresh opportunity, the 3rd placed team usally suffer a
massive psychological blow, at missing out on automatic promotion, and
subsequently invariably fail to rise to the challenge. After all, it is
hardly fair that a team who can finish as much as 10 points ahead of the
others have to enter a play-off process, but that is the name of the game!
If that is what transpires then the players will need to quickly put the
disappointment behind them and go on to secure promotion via the two legged
semi-final and a victory at Wembley. No one wants to have to do it, but if
it proves necessary, then rise to the challenge we must!
Still, lets cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime,
'pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will' and hope that Reading FC
stumble and fall and we can step over them by winning our remaining matches.
Unlikely yes, impossible no.
SJ. Chandos.
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Reading roll on and inflict further frustration on West Ham
Paul Doyle at Upton Park
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 31 March 2012 17.26 BST
Suddenly West Ham fans are pining for a draw. The Upton Park faithful had
vented their anger in recent weeks as their team racked up five consecutive
stalemates at home for the first time in their history but they would surely
have settled for a similar outcome from this game. Not perhaps after Carlton
Cole had fired them in front in the seventh minute but certainly when Ian
Harte's second-half penalty put Reading 3-1 up to increase the likelihood of
Brian McDermott's team achieving automatic promotion and West Ham having to
navigate their way through the play-offs.
Reading deserved their win because they played with the simple effectiveness
that has been their hallmark all season. And West Ham deserved to lose
because, in the words of Sam Allardyce, "we shot ourselves in the foot
repeatedly".
Unlike many visitors to Upton Park this season, Reading did not come to
contain and frustrate their hosts. "I promised I would always to do things
as a manager: go with my gut feeling on team selection and always try to win
matches rather than draw," explained McDermott. His side's enterprising
approach made for an open game but one in which West Ham were well on top
early on. The hosts scored from their first real attack.
Kevin Nolan slipped a ball out wide to Matt Taylor and then darted into the
box to meet the ensuing cross. His header bounced out off the post but
Carlton Cole had time to control the rebound, swivel and shoot low into the
net from 10 yards. This made Cole the first West Ham striker to reach double
figures this season and was the response that Allardyce had no doubt
intended to provoke when he blamed the slack finishing of his forwards for
their failure to compete with Southampton for the title.
Jason Roberts's shot was headed off the line by James Tomkins in the 23rd
minute but mostly West Ham were on top, passing with a slickness that has
often eluded them at home recently. Kaspars Gorkss had to scramble the ball
away from Nolan on the half-hour as West Ham threatened to double the lead.
Then the match was suddenly turned on its head. Gorkss headed a Harte corner
into the net in the 44th minute and another minute later Abdoulaye Faye
poked the ball away from Roberts but inadvertently into the path of Noel
Hunt, who fired into the net from 10 yards. "We should have marked better
for the corner and then we should have made a simple clearance but kicked it
straight to them and ended up coming in at a half-time shellshocked," rued
Allardyce, whose fury deepened in the 59th minute when the normally
impeccable Faye committed a clumsy foul on Hunt to concede a penalty. Harte
converted.
There was a desperation and disjointedness to West Ham's attempt to come
back, but it did yield them a goal in the 77th minute when Ricardo Vaz Te
headed superbly into the net from a Gary O'Neil corner. Yet Reading, by now
the far more fluent side, remained dangerous and secured their victory six
minutes from time when Mikele Leigertwood pounced on a loose ball and found
the net with a 16-yard shot that Green should probably have stopped.
"We've lost through basic errors that have not been like us at all this
season," said Allardyce, whose team must take on four other promotion
contenders in their remaining six matches. "It was really important not to
lose today, even a draw would have been OK, but now I think we have to win
all our remaining games to have any chance of catching Reading or
Southampton," he sighed.
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THE ROYAL ROUT THAT COULD CUT SHORT REIGN OF BIG SAM ALLARDYCE
Sunday April 1,2012
By Greg Lloyd and Roddy Ashworth
Daily Express
HE insists he's not in it for the long ball but Sam Allardyce may not be at
West Ham for the long haul either. COLIN MAFHAM experienced the fans'
growing unrest...
It's a while since Sam Allardyce was being touted as the next England
manager - but he is probably hoping the FA have long memories right now.
Even though West Ham are still third in the Championship, their manager took
an unwilling step nearer to Skid Row yesterday as the supporters he branded
"deluded" booed loudly after a potentially disastrous 4-2 defeat by Reading.
Allardyce is not waving the white flag just yet but the England job would be
a welcome escape route from an increasingly bitter battle with the Upton
Park faithful. The Royals fans' chants of, "You're getting sacked in the
morning" were perhaps a tad premature but the brutal truth is that despite
yesterday's defeat being the Hammers' first in 12 games, Big Sam is now
seriously under threat as the natives become increasingly restless.
Fairly or otherwise, the Eastenders have never really taken the man from
Coronation Street land to their hearts. The clear feeling is that whatever
Allardyce achieves this season won't be good enough for many of the fans
with whom he has waged a war of words. The manager, who complains West Ham
fans have unfairly tagged him a long-ball merchant, put on a defiant face
last night, despite admitting that his players had "shot themselves in the
foot".
"Yes, I feel under pressure," he admitted. "But I feel under pressure every
game I play." He is under even more pressure now. "The sad thing is not
being able to win games here," he admitted after yesterday's defeat made it
six at Upton Park without success. "Now the pressure is on all of us because
there are simply no more opportunities to take just one point. "There are
six games left and we will probably have to win them all to go up
automatically."
Anything less than that will almost certainly make Karren Brady and co.
nervous about the future with a manager who may not have lost the dressing
room but who is in danger of losing the fans. Allardyce will rally his
troops ahead of the Good Friday visit to Barnsley but he had to admit: "This
is bitterly disappointing. We lost this game though basic errors we couldn't
afford to make in a big game like this. The game lasts 90 minutes but we
threw this one away in 10."
West Ham heaped the pressure on their manager yesterday despite taking an
early lead. Slack defending allowed Reading to score twice in two minutes
just before the break and add another from the penalty spot soon after the
restart. And although Ricardo Vaz Te gave West Ham hope, defensive blunders
enabled the Royals to wrap it up with a fourth. Allardyce left to
increasingly familiar boos, while opposite number Brian McDermott went home
to celebrate with a hot chocolate and a bowl of porridge - his strict diet
ahead of the half-marathon he is running today. He said: "We are just trying
to enjoy life and do the best we can." So is Big Sam... but it isn't quite
working the same for him!
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Ian Holloway: The era of Moore and Hurst is gone - so Hammers fans, get
behind Big Sam
They were strong words, and risky too because fans have a lot of power
IAN HOLLOWAY SUNDAY 01 APRIL 2012
The Independent
A message to West Ham fans: forget about the academy of football and where
you were 40 years ago, and concentrate on the here and now. You might have
had Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, but you don't any more.
You are where you are - and the Hammers are in the Championship with no
God-given right to get out of it.
I say this because Sam Allardyce has been getting stick lately. The fans
have been singing the name of another manager and grumbling about the style
of football. But for the life of me I can't understand why.
Sam has got a relegated team flying high in the table with a terrific chance
of winning automatic promotion. Failing that, they've got the play-offs.
What's not to like?
Don't give me any of that "but we're West Ham - we should be winning the
title". It doesn't work like that, and besides, what a huge insult that is
to the rest of the Championship. I've heard Sheffield Wednesday fans say the
same about League One. It is nonsense.
Now don't get me wrong, Sam knew what he was getting himself into when he
went to Upton Park. He knew the expectation and the pressure on him to
deliver. His brief is to take them up. But chances are, he is going to do
exactly what the club hired him for and win promotion. So why judge him now?
The stick has obviously affected Sam because he has described the supporters
having a go at him as "deluded". They were strong words, and risky too
because fans have a lot of power at any club.
That said, it is not terminal if you lose a section of the supporters. Look
at Alan Pardew and Newcastle. They didn't want him in the first place but he
has won them round by doing a brilliant job.
Sam is an experienced manager, tough as old boots, and he clearly felt he
had to stand up and protect himself. And the bottom line is that the
majority of West Ham supporters will be delighted with how he is doing. You
only ever hear the minority.
Sam knows he has a responsibility to win matches and he has consistently
done so throughout his career. Unfortunately for him, he seems to have been
labelled a long-ball man.
I don't see it myself. They beat my Blackpool side 4-0 and 4-1 this season.
Everybody compliments us for the type of passing football we play but West
Ham took us apart in both games and played some great stuff.
Just judge Sam at the end of the season is all I'm saying, and until then I
would suggest that the fans sing songs which actually help him and his team
rather than hinder their chances of going up.
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Allardyce rues errors as West Ham lose ground to Reading in automatic
promotion race
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 19:10, 31 March 2012 | UPDATED: 19:10, 31 March 2012
Daily Mail
Sam Allardyce admitted West Ham only had themselves to blame after their
promotion bid suffered a major blow with a 4-2 defeat by Reading. The
Hammers are now four points behind their opponents in second after throwing
away the lead in astonishing fashion at the end of the first half at Upton
Park. Carlton Cole fired them ahead but the match, and possibly West Ham's
entire campaign, turned in the space of two minutes. Totally against the run
of play, Kaspars Gorkss was left unmarked to equalise from Ian Harte's
corner in the 44th minute. And moments later Julien Faubert's challenge on
Jason Roberts succeeded only in setting up Noel Hunt to fire Reading into an
unlikely lead. In the second half Ian Harte added a third from the penalty
spot after Abdoulaye Faye tripped Hunt, and although Ricardo Vaz Te pulled
one back, any hopes of a comeback were extinguished by Mikele Leigertwood's
strike six minutes from time. But the damage was done in that crazy end to
the first half and Allardyce said: 'We shot ourselves in the foot. The
corner we should have done better with, and then instead of clearing a
simple ball we've kicked it straight to their man. That was a crushing blow.
'Then, instead of waiting to play our way back into the game, we shot
ourselves in the foot again by giving away a stupid penalty. 'We gifted them
three goals. We can't afford to make those errors and that's ultimately why
we got beaten.' West Ham now have just six games left to attempt to reel in
Reading, and Allardyce admits they will probably need to win the lot to
stand any chance of avoiding the play-offs. 'There are no more opportunities
for us to take a point any more,' he added. 'To keep up with Reading we have
to win six on the trot.' Royals boss Brian McDermott could not celebrate too
hard, as he is preparing to run the Reading half-marathon. But McDermott is
all too aware the Championship is a marathon, and not a sprint, as he
refused to get carried away with what could be a huge victory. 'It's three
points, that's all it is,' he said. 'It's never easy to go 1-0 down here but
we stayed in the game, got ourselves a goal and to go in 2-1 up was massive.
'Then in the second half I felt we deserved to win. But I've been around
this game a long time so I'm not cock-a-hoop yet.'
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