Daily WHUFC News - 27th December 2014

Boxing Day defeat floors Big Sam
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce admitted a slow start left West Ham United on the canvas at Chelsea
26.12.2014

Sam Allardyce admitted a slow start left his West Ham United side unable to come off the ropes in their 2-0 Boxing Day defeat at Chelsea.
The Hammers went on the defensive from the kick-off at Stamford Bridge, suffering a body blow when John Terry jabbed in from a corner on 21 minutes. West Ham attempted to bounce of the canvas after half-time, only for Diego Costa to breach their defences again to land the knockout blow just past the hour-mark. Big Sam's team staged a valiant late rally which saw substitute Morgan Amalfitano hit a post, but leaders Chelsea fought their way to a deserved Barclays Premier League victory. "The disappointing thing was the first-half performance," said the Hammers boss. "As good as Chelsea are, I did expect us to have done a little better in possession than we did. "In fairness to the lads, in the second half we started from the very first whistle to try and become more positive, get on the front foot and cause Chelsea a few more problems, but then we gifted them the second goal right when we were in our best spell in the game. We lost possession in our own half and Costa tucked it away extremely well. "What did please me was that we didn't let that get to us. We carried on and on and on doing what we should be doing, which was get better in possession, and created some extremely good chances just after 2-0 - Enner Valencia one on one with the 'keeper and Morgan late on having one free header that just went wide and a shot that could have gone in off the post after a brilliant bit of skill. "We didn't let our heads go down. We carried on right to the end and if one goal had gone in, we might have got them a little bit nervous, but I can't complain about the result too much in the end."

Big Sam's team selection raised some eyebrows among supporters and media alike, with Alex Song and Diafra Sakho left on the substitutes' bench and only entering the fray just before Costa's goal. When asked, the manager explained that both have recently returned from injury and could not be risked from the start both at Chelsea and in Sunday's home fixture with Arsenal. "We've got two games in 48 hours, so people have got to change and rotate their team because you have 22 players that you need to use during any particular period. You can't just use them when you've got an injury or suspension, that's not the done thing today. "Some of our players were, in our educated opinion, not capable of playing two games in 48 hours. We made only three changes, one (the injured James Tomkins being replaced by James Collins) was forced on us, while the other two I have explained before. "Alex has just got back from a problem with his knee and Sakho a problem with his back, so two games in that short space of time would have been very difficult. I'm sure they'd have played very well today, but come picking them on Sunday, it might have been very difficult when we considered how they felt."

When they did appear, Song and Sakho both made an impact, as did fellow replacement Amalfitano, whose trickery and clever runs created a number of chances from both open play and set pieces. With Enner Valencia also working hard, both wide on the left and later in a centre forward role, West Ham ended the game strongly and could easily have warranted a goal for their efforts. "We played more positive football in terms of passing the ball forward [after they came on]," the manager confirmed. "We got sucked into this negative play backwards and sideways stuff in the first half and Chelsea do their pressing game, which we know about and warned the players about, and we ended up getting deeper and deeper and couldn't get out of our own half. "We didn't play how I wanted us to play in the first half, but when we put that right at half-time and the players started doing what I wanted them to do, which was get at Chelsea, we got a lot, lot better."

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Cresswell - 'We never give up'
WHUFC.com
Aaron Cresswell says the Hammers' second half performance at Chelsea once again showed their spirit
26.12.2014

Chelsea ended West Ham United's five-match unbeaten run with a show of their league leading power on Boxing Day, but Aaron Cresswell will not get downhearted ahead of Sunday's meeting with Arsenal. Goals from John Terry and Diego Costa sealed the points for Chelsea, who kept up their title charge with their 2-0 success. West Ham did improve after the break and went close to setting up a grandstand finish when Morgan Amalfitano hit the post late on and Cresswell will be looking to the closing stages as he prepares for the visit of the Gunners.
He said: "We knew it was going to be a difficult task here at Chelsea. Morgan had a chance in the last few minutes and maybe if that had gone in [it would have been interesting]. "We've shown this year that we'll never give up, no matter what score we go down. Maybe we gave them too much respect early on and then grew into the game in the second half. "We didn't really want it to end, but we knew it was going to be tough and we'll look forward to the Arsenal game now."

Cresswell has enjoyed a stellar start to his Hammers career, having moved up from Sky Bet Championship side Ipswich Town in the summer and he will learn from every experience of playing against the league's best.. He added: "Chelsea are one of the best teams in Europe, they've shown that and it looks like they're going to have a good chance of winning the league this year. "They've got world class players, as everyone knows, and at times they showed that class. We're still full of confidence though as we look forward to the Arsenal game."

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February fixture changes
WHUFC.com
Four of West Ham United's February games have new dates or kick-off times
19.12.2014

All four of West Ham United's February fixtures have new dates or kick-off times. The home Barclays Premier League match against Manchester United has been moved to Sunday 8 February, with a 4.15pm kick-off. As a result, the trip to Southampton has been put back 24 hours to Wednesday 11 February, with a 7.45pm kick-off. The away game at Tottenham Hotspur will now be played on Sunday 22 February at 12pm. Finally, the home London derby against Crystal Palace stays on Saturday 28 February but will now kick-off at 12.45pm.

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Chelsea 2 West Ham 0
26 December 2014
Last updated at 15:06
By Mike Henson
BBC Sport

Leaders Chelsea tightened their grip on the Premier League's top spot with a commanding victory over West Ham. The Blues had already come close through Oscar and Gary Cahill when John Terry turned in Diego Costa's header from close range. After a tame first half, West Ham offered more in the second, but their hopes were snuffed out by Costa's drilled finish just after the hour. Morgan Amalfitano hit the post late on but Chelsea racked up 28 shots at goal. Chelsea look set to finish 2014 at the top of the table - and the quality of their performance suggested they may well still be there in May.

Their manager Jose Mourinho accused West Ham of playing "19th century football" after the teams' goalless draw at Stamford Bridge in January, but this Blues side, with the attacking threat Costa and Cesc Fabregas, never looked like being denied. The visitors' style has taken a quantum leap forward since - with 29 goals in their first 17 league games this season compared to 14 over the same period in 2013-14 - but it was clear as soon as the team sheets were published that Sam Allardyce intended a defensive performance similar to 11 months ago.

The West Ham manager dropped Alex Song and Diafra Sakho to the bench ahead of Sunday's meeting with Arsenal and told television before kick-off that "we have to stop Chelsea - it's as simple as that". His ambitions were almost undermined by Carl Jenkinson's lapse inside the first five minutes. The right-back, on loan from Arsenal, allowed Oscar to dart in behind him and was relieved to see the Brazilian blaze over from six yards out after latching onto Willian's floated ball in. But it was only a temporary reprieve. Gary Cahill thumped a shot straight at Adrian and the seemingly inevitable Chelsea opener arrived after Eden Hazard almost wriggled his way in on goal. James Collins' last-ditch tackle had denied the Belgian on that occasion, but from the resulting corner the defender lost Terry, who was free to poke in as Costa flicked on.

The Blues did not let up and Costa punted over when well placed before Branislav Ivanovic appealed in vain for a penalty as he went down under Andy Carroll's challenge. For West Ham, with only 27% of possession, Chelsea's slim scoreboard advantage was the only positive to take from the first half. The away side briefly flickered into life after the break and Terry had to be alert to cover across and block Valencia's route to goal. Sakho and Song were introduced for the Hammers but, just as a few concerns could be felt around Stamford Bridge, Costa's dead-eyed finish ensured the home fans could enjoy the final half hour in comfort. The Spain international's dummy took Tomkins, Winston Reid and Carl Jenkinson out of the game before his fierce low drive did likewise for goalkeeper Adrian. A late cameo for Didier Drogba was applauded warmly and West Ham were denied a late mood-killing consolation as Amalfitano's flick hit the woodwork after a neat run took him past Terry and Cahill.

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Chelsea 2-0 West Ham Utd
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 26th December 2014
By: Staff Writer

Chelsea continued their relentless march towards the Premier League title with a comfortable win over the Hammers at Stamford Bridge - but will have made few friends in doing so.

In a week when the issue of diving and players cheating their fellow professionals has been a major topic of discussion, the Blues showed their contempt for the vast majority of football followers around the country by continuing their policy of attempting to hoodwink the officials by 'going to ground' at every available opportunity.

Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic were both guilty of feigning fouls inside the 18-yard box during the first half, although neither resulted in a penalty. Credit for that at least to rookie referee Michael Oliver, although his refusal to sanction either was little short of a dereliction of duty.

It said much of Oliver's performance today that the only players to be booked in the first half wore claret and blue - and the first of the two, James Collins, was penalised for making a perfectly legitimate and well-timed tackle on Costa, as he drove towards goal.

That Chelsea were superb to watch when doing what they are paid to do - ie. play football - made their predilection for cheating even more baffling. Hazard - when not falling over or appealing for non-existent penalties - excelled for the hosts and was a joy to watch when in full flow.

However it was a far more typically-British goal that saw Chelsea open the scoring on the half hour mark. Fabregas' corner was met by the head of Costa, whose parry was met by the incoming John Terry. Marker James Collins was nowhere to be seen as the former England defender applied the finish to give the home side a deserved lead.

West Ham had been battered before the goal and continued to face the flak for the rest of the half. Fortunately for Sam Allardyce's side, Chelsea found goalkeeper Adrian once again in sparkling form; the Spaniard made seven saves and claimed three crosses to prevent the Blues from recording an even larger winning margin.

However there was little he could do to prevent the championship front-runners from grabbing a second, with 62 minutes played. Cheik Kouyate lost possession on the half way line and the ball was swiftly moved to Costa, who bamboozled Collins with quick feet before firing across Adrian into the far corner.

Aaron cresswell ✔ @Aaron_Cresswell
Not the result we wanted today, we knew it was going to be tough but look forward to Sunday now.. #COYI

That goal put any notions of West Ham pulling off a major shock to bed and although United perhaps deserved a consolation for their (much improved) second half effort, it wasn't to be. Substitute Morgan Amalfitano thought he'd reduced the deficit three minutes from time when dancing through the Chelsea defence before failing to beat the woodwork.

Big Sam's decision to rest one or two key players for this weekend's clash with Arsenal saw some of his fiercest critics re-emerge from wherever it is they have been hiding in recent months, although only in 48 hours time will we know whether that policy proved to be the right one.

Clearly Arsenal at home is a far less formidable challenge than visiting the league leaders, whose Premier League record at Stamford Bridge this season now reads played nine, won nine. Should the Hammers prevail and take three points on Sunday, perhaps the decision not to throw the kitchen sink at Chelsea today will prove to be the right one.

Diego Poyet ✔ @diegopoyet7
Gutted for the boys today 👎 Always a tough ask when playing at Chelsea away. Looking forward to our home game against Arsenal on Sunday!

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John Terry and Diego Costa on target as dominant Chelsea beat West Ham
Last Updated: 26/12/14 7:58pm
SSN

Chelsea maintained their perfect home record in the Premier League after easing to a 2-0 Boxing Day victory over West Ham at Stamford Bridge. John Terry opened the scoring for the dominant hosts in the 31st minute when he turned home from close range after Diego Costa headed a corner goalwards. Chelsea spurned a number of chances to extend their advantage, but Costa eventually made sure of the points on the hour mark when he fired a fine low shot past Adrian. The visitors, who started the day fourth in the table, failed to muster a shot on target and were perhaps fortunate to only lose 2-0, after being second best from start to finish. While the Hammers may well recover from this defeat to challenge for the top four this season, there is no doubt on this evidence that they are some way off the level of Chelsea, who were in irresistible form all afternoon. Jose Mourinho preferred Oscar over Jon Obi Mikel while the Hammers made three changes from their win over Leicester City, with James Collins, Mark Noble and Enner Valencia all starting. It was Oscar who had the best early opening as Carl Jenkinson let Willian's ball into the box bounce through for the Brazilian. Fortunately for Jenkinson, his mistake was not punished as Oscar fired over the bar from 10 yards out with just the keeper to beat. Chelsea went close again in the 10th minute as Terry clipped a ball into the box for his fellow centre-back Gary Cahill, who rose well above Jenkinson but could only head over the bar. The Blues were bossing possession and Cahill went close for a second time when he saw a fierce shot from inside the box blocked by Adrian. Willian then tested the Hammers keeper with an effort from 25 yards before Hazard almost got in after some sumptuous one-touch passing. Chelsea's dominance eventually told on the half-hour mark when Costa headed a corner towards goal and Terry turned it in from a few yards out. It was almost 2-0 minutes later as Adrian pulled off a fine fingertip save to turn Nemanja Matic's shot around the post.
Costa then went close on a couple of occasions - seeing a deflected effort spin wide and shooting over from Branislav Ivanovic's cross - as Chelsea continued to completely control the game. The Hammers didn't manage a shot on target in the first half and they soon found their goal under threat again after the interval as Hazard cut inside and drilled in a shot that Adrian had to palm away. Sam Allardyce sent on Alex Song and Diafra Sakho shortly before the hour mark in a bid to spark his side into life, but Chelsea responded by putting the game to bed in the 62nd minute.

After a West Ham attack was broken up on the halfway line, Hazard moved the ball forward for Costa, who twisted and turned on the edge of the box before firing an excellent low shot across goal and into the corner. Chelsea looked in the mood for more and came close as Costa volleyed over from Ivanovic's superb back-post cross and then Adrian tipped Oscar's free-kick over the bar. As the Blues made late changes, the Hammers almost snatched a consolation effort when Morgan Amalfitano chipped a shot over the dive of Thibaut Courtouis, but saw the ball bounce back off the post. That was to be the visitors' best chance of the match and Allardyce will hope for better from his side when they host Arsenal on Sunday.

Player ratings
Chelsea: Courtois (6), Ivanovic (7), Cahill (6), Terry (8), Azpilicueta (6), Fabregas (6), Matic (7), Willian (7), Oscar (7), Hazard (8), Costa (8).
Subs: Ramires (5), Drogba (5), Mikel (5).

West Ham: Adrian (7), Jenkinson (5), Collins (5), Reid (6), Cresswell (5), Noble (5), Nolan (6), Kouyate (5), Downing (5), Carroll (5), Valencia (6).
Subs: Sakho (6), Amalfitano (5), Song (5).

Man of the match: Eden Hazard.

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Sam Allardyce admits West Ham weren't on top of their game in Chelsea defeat
Last Updated: 26/12/14 4:47pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce admitted his side were second best against Chelsea as they were beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. The Hammers didn't muster a shot on target throughout the Boxing Day match and conceded goals in either half from John Terry and Diego Costa.They did improve in the final stages as Chelsea took their foot off the gas but by then it was too little too late, as Allardyce acknowledged.
"Up to 2-0, we didn't really do anything to affect them enough because of the quality they have got and the fact we didn't play as well as we know we can," he told Sky Sports. "It was a bit of both, a top-quality team playing against us not on top of our game. I said if we were going to get anything against Chelsea, you have to play your best and even then that might not be good enough. Sam Allardyce says West Ham did not play as well as they can during their 2-0 defeat to Chelsea but will take positives from the game "The best chances for us came after we went 2-0 down which was really our fault and not due to great football from Chelsea." Particularly frustrating for Allardyce was Chelsea's first goal from Terry, which came after a corner was flicked on by Costa for the defender to finish from close range. "It kills me conceded from set pieces because we do markings every week," said Allardyce. "But to be fair we are one of the best at defending them this season, that's why we are where we are and we are pretty good at scoring them, but it's pretty disappointing.
"Against a team as good as this, you can't give them a goal from a set piece. You have so much to worry about in general." The Hammers' best moments came late in the match as Morgan Amalfitano headed wide and hit the post. And Allardyce said it was disappointing his side couldn't grab a goal and force a nervy finish. "I am not saying we deserved anything, Chelsea were the better team, but the last 20 minutes when we carved out those chances, you want one to go in and see if they got nervous or not," he commented. "It would have been a bit of a smash and grab job that might have upset Chelsea but because one didn't go in, it's pretty disappointing. At least we created some good chances late on and didn't give up."

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CHELSEA 2, WEST HAM 0. QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS.
By David Hautzig 26 Dec 2014 at 17:16
West Ham Till I Die

A few years ago I went to pick up the kids from school. It was the dead of winter, and the teacher had this incredibly bright light sitting on her desk. I asked her what it was, and she told me it was a special light used to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD as it is referred to at times. According to Wikipedia, the U.S. National Library of Medicine notes that "some people experience a serious mood change when the seasons change. They may sleep too much, have little energy, and may also feel depressed. A large percentage of them also support West Ham United during the Christmas season".

OK. I added the last part.

I'm pretty cool when it comes to withholding judgment on people and their maladies, real or imagined. Life can be rough at times. As I drove around yesterday running a few errands I remembered my own version of SAD that clobbered me so many seasons during the Christmas fixture insanity. Basically, I wanted to hibernate and hope that when I woke up we had gathered just a couple of points to help in our relegation battle. Looking out of my car window at the grey sky, muddy roads, and bare trees it all looked familiar.

Except it didn't feel the same. I was looking forward to today. In fact, I was relishing it. You want a piece of us, Jose? You got it, homen.

Every rational bone I had in my body was not bothered by getting a result today. Or Sunday. All I wanted was for our team, our lads to go out there and show the world that win, lose or draw we have every intention of eventually crashing this party. In my mind I tried to stop questioning, perhaps only temporarily, every lineup or substitution decision made by Big Sam. And there were many lineup changes today that caused a Twitter stir. But the guy has been doing this for a long time and maybe I should have some faith that he wants to win at least as much as I do. I mean, if Sam walked into my house and told me I was choosing the wrong wines for my customers I'd tell him to go lay down in my driveway while I call for the plow. But after it was all said and done, I couldn't stop a bunch of questions from re-surfacing.

We had gone into the game expecting Eden Hazard to be on the sideline. I guess Kouyate thought so as well, and early on decided maybe he could make that dream a reality with a nice little hip check on the Belgian. Unfortunately for us, he was fine.

Carl Jenkinson has not taken many bad steps this season, but in the fifth minute he stepped off the edge of a cliff. Willian drove down the right side and sent a cross into the box towards Oscar. It was, in essence, a nothing ball. By letting it go past him, Jenkinson turned it into quite a something ball that Oscar should have buried for an early 1-0 lead. Instead his shot went over the bar, and Jenkinson was pulled off the edge. Chelsea continued to attack, led in large part by how far up the pitch Willian and Ivanovic pressed. In the 9th minute, Willian ran up the right and passed to Matic, who crossed to Cahill but the Chelsea defender's header went wide.

Chelsea's ball movement was so strong and so fluid right from the opening whistle, as compared to West Ham where Carroll looked totally isolated. The Hammers were pressed back to such a degree that the midfield, such as it was, couldn't do a thing and any attempt to build from the back ended in a long ball. Stoke tried to do that with Crouch on Monday and it didn't work. Would Sam realize that before it was too late?

The best hope West Ham had to get something from the game was to use it's pace, and in the 18th minute we finally gave it a try. Valencia made a run and fed the ball to Downing who won a corner from Azpilicueta. His low corner, however, was poor but Noble intercepted the Chelsea clearance and won a free kick. Valencia stepped over the ball, and I dreamt of a repeat of his blast at Hull. I woke up as it sailed out for a goal kick.

For most teams, creating opportunities in and around the penalty area takes a lot of work as well as a lot of skill. For Chelsea, it looked so easy and they continued their attack in the 20th minute. Hazard beat Downing before Reid cleared it out for a corner. Moments later, Fabregas fed Cahill who slammed a volley towards the top corner that Adrian got a hand on for a terrific save.

Before the season started, Mourinho knew exactly who he wanted and why. Costa to score goals, and Fabregas to create the chances that would lead to those goals. Along with West Ham's superb series of signings, that "bit" of business has had the biggest effect on the Premier League so far this season. The mantra of Fabregas to Costa was repeated so many times today it sounded like a vine. In the 31st minute, that combination created Chelsea's opening goal when Fabregas put a corner into the box for Costa to head to the back post. There it was met by the one guy we really didn't want to see on the list of goal scorers, John Terry. But there he was, and he easily guided the ball into the net.

Chelsea 1, West Ham 0.

The Hammers tried to respond when Valencia ran down the left and tried to earn a free kick. Michael Oliver didn't agree with our Ecuadorian speedster, and when Cresswell tried to regain the ball from Oscar the young referee showed the young defender a yellow card. A minute later Hazard gave the ball to Matic and the big Serbian attempted to curl a 25 yard strike past Adrian but it was pushed wide by the keeper for a corner. Five minutes later Costa made the West Ham back line look like pylons, dicing and slicing his way through before his shot was deflected out for another Chelsea corner.

The 42nd minute was a microcosm of the first half and summed up the difference between the two sides. Noble won the ball around the center circle and wanted to build something that would at least resemble an attack. But there was little to no movement from any other West Ham player, and Noble even raised his arms as if to say "help me for gods sake". Instead, he was forced to pass back to Collins who lost the ball for a Chelsea throw and yet another attack by the Men In Blue.

In the final minute of the first half, Ivanovic tried to win a penalty when Carroll brushed him in the box. It was a dive for sure, and a number of West Ham players voiced their fury. Adrian appeared to raise his hand near Ivanovic's neck, which could have been a disaster on another day. I'm not saying our keeper should have seen red. I'm saying he could have seen red, right or wrong, and halftime could not have come soon enough.

The second half started better for West Ham, with Valencia trying to take advantage of Ivanovic pressing so high up the pitch. In the first few minutes Valencia got behind his counterpart twice but on neither occasion it led to anything. The 48th minute saw Kouyate join in on the act by pressing higher up. West Ham were trying to get into the game, but that was easier said than done. Despite having some possession and stringing a few passes together, West Ham hadn't tested Courtois at all.

That couldn't be said of Adrian, who was called upon yet again in the 52nd minute when Willian gathered the ball at midfield. As he ran at the West Ham defense, all that separated him from Moses parting the Red Sea was a big stick. He slipped a pass down the left to Hazard who cut to his right before slamming a shot at Adrian. Another quality stop by our keeper who had been our only real bright spot.

When watching footballers at this level, there are some skills that make it very easy to see what separates the very good from the sublime. One such skill is the ability to control the ball in very tight spaces, with opposition players seemingly on top of you. Chelsea have many players who can do that, most notably Eden Hazard. In the 54th minute, Hazard won a free kick when Reid had no other choice but to foul him or else a waltz on goal was destined to happen. Willian's free kick went over the bar, but the class that created it was notable.

West Ham only have one player with that ability, Alex Song, and Sam decided it was time to put him on as part of a double substitution. Carroll and Noble gave way for Sakho and Song. The former I understood and agreed with, but Noble instead of Nolan? I know, I know. I said I would try to stop questioning Sam so much. At least the Sakho-Valencia tandem was back in action.

We all hoped for a quick goal after the substitution. So did Chelsea, apparently, and that is what they got three minutes later when Kouyate lost the ball in midfield to Hazard. One pass to Costa, and the rest looked all too easy for the Blue's star hitman as he directed the ball past Adrian and into the far corner.

Chelsea 2, West Ham 0.

West Ham tried to respond quickly a minute later when Song put a through ball into the box for Valencia. A race to the ball commenced between the West Ham striker and Courtois, and the keeper got there a split second earlier to smother the ball and West Ham's hopes of getting right back into the game.

There is a famous announcer over here named Marv Albert. He used to be the play by play guy for The New York Rangers ice hockey team, and one of his signature lines was "kick save and a beauty" when the goalie (as they are called in ice hockey) stopped a shot via a quick reaction with his leg. I heard those words in my head in the 67th minute. Oscar forced a save from Adrian from a set piece that resulted in a corner, which came to Matic. He deflected the ball with the outside of his right leg towards Adrian, who reacted like he had a nervous tick with his leg and kept the ball out.

Despite being down 2-0, and likely out of the game, one thing was more than just a little obvious since the substitutions. When Song is in the game, the midfield actually exists. And when the midfield exists, everything changes.

Last year, or should I say in the 19th century, West Ham came away from Stamford Bridge with that valuable point in no small part because of the number of times defenders threw themselves in front of cannon like shots on goal. That fact wasn't lost on Winston Reid in the 72nd minute when Costa tried to play the role of provider instead of scorer when he fed Oscar in the box. His running shot slammed off of Reid, and that block likely prevented the score from being 3-0.

Two minutes later Sam made his final substitution when Amalfitano came on for Nol…..What?!?! Downing? My attempt to stay quiet on the issue of player selection ended less than two hours after it began. Downing had not been at his best, but he also was once again played in a wider position. Nolan, on the other hand, hadn't shown he was able to offer much of anything in any position.

At least Sam got half of that final move correct, because the three finest attacking moments of the game from West Ham's point of view all came from Morgan Amalfitano. In the 79th minute he and Song worked together to create a chance for Song but his shot went wide. In the 86th minute the roles reversed and Song crossed to Amalfitano whose header went just wide. Then, in added time, Amalfitano beat Cahill in the box and dinked a shot over Courtois that hit the post. I have no illusions that had that shot went in we would have gone on to find the equalizer. But had Amalfitano played a whole half? I just wonder.

Final Score. Chelsea 2, West Ham 0.

When my kids get their grades from school, there are two sets. One is the mark for the actual work, their knowledge of the subject matter. The other is for the effort they put in, regardless of how many questions they got right or wrong. I didn't expect to win today. I would have like a draw, but didn't expect that either. What I did expect was for West Ham to show Chelsea and the world watching the only EPL game available what has gotten them off to such a fine start. I don't think we did that today, and even within the context of rotating the squad during this challenging period I think we could have done more. We had players in Amalfitano, Poyet, and Zarate that could at least try to create in the midfield and link up with the strikers. The final 15 minutes proved that. Which is why in many ways, apart from the result, this year's visit to Chelsea was disappointing. We are a very solid team this year, and Sam is doing a terrific job. We could have had a go at them today. We had players available to ask them some questions.

Instead, the only questions I have are for Sam.

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West Ham fans react on Twitter to Kevin Nolan's display against Chelsea
HITC
Olly Dawes

West Ham fans were bemused by Sam Allardyce's loyalty to Kevin Nolan in the Hammers' 2-0 defeat to Chelsea today. West Ham United couldn't get a result at Stamford Bridge this afternoon, losing 2-0 to an impressive Chelsea side. Sam Allardyce has guided the Hammers to the top four this season, but today's defeat and Southampton's win over Crystal Palace means they now drop out of the Champions League places. Goals from John Terry and Diego Costa handed Jose Mourinho's side all three points, with West Ham unable to continue their fine recent form. West Ham fans were naturally disappointed on Twitter after the game, urging manager Allardyce to make changes to the line-up - particularly concerning Kevin Nolan. The Hammers skipper struggled throughout, and West Ham fans were calling for the 32-year-old to be dropped from the starting line-up in favour of other, more mobile players. Nolan was one of Allardyce's key players during their time together at Bolton, and has also been productive at Upton Park under 'Big Sam'. Yet now, West Ham's squad means that there are better players available than Nolan, and it may be time for Nolan to be taken out of the side if Allardyce is to lead West Ham to European qualification. Here are some of the reactions from West Ham fans on Twitter after Nolan's poor display against Chelsea.

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Irons without Song is so scary
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on December 26, 2014 in Whispers
By Rich Sprent
Claret & Hugh

Watching Alex Song's impact when introduced from the bench this afternoon against Chelsea showed everybody the true reality of West Ham 2014/15! Forget the dreamlike belief that this is a Champions League squad. Song is head and shoulders above anyone else in the team and without him and his ability to make the team tick we would be half a dozen places further down the league.

Yes, we have signed some very good players which has helped enormously but it's Song who elevates them as a group. It is Song who bonds them into a unit that can compete with top sides. It is Song for whom we have no adequate replacement…and that is more than a little scary. Reading some of the knee jerk post-game comments after losing 2-0 to the probable champions shows how far we have come; and how so many fans still do not get it. Without Song the diamond formation is simply not sustainable with this squad against top sides.. He is the only player on the staff who lets the ball do the work; who is comfortable on the ball when facing Champions League winners.

He alone can bring a smooth transition from defence to attack and force the Premier League contenders to sit back. He ain't perfect. Arguably there are better passers about. But there is no denying his class. He enables the very good players alongside him to play their game. He makes us dangerous as a unit. He helps the team play upto the standards that our league position requires and demands.

The real scary thing is twofold:

O Without him, West Ham we are an improved team on previous years but with a need to fall back on reactive football.

O With him, we are real contenders for a European place. A difference of 4th-6th to our pre-season target of 10th.

To sustain the heady heights however, Alex Song needs an understudy or one of those vey good players in the squad needs to upgrading to his level. The second scary part is that we actually achieve a coveted European placing and then fail to keep or replace Song. That would be like invading Russia with winter coming.

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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