The draws continue for West Ham as Sam Allardyce’s side were held 0-0 at home to Aston Villa this Saturday. It was simply the most frustrating result of the season for several reasons. Whilst the Hammers completely dominated the match, largely through the efforts of Alex Song, Big Sam’s team created chances galore and Aston Villa were just hopeless. Nevertheless, Villa defended resolutely as Sakho and co. ultimately failed to put the ball in the back of the net for a change. Perhaps a philosophical approach is best applied on this occasion however, as the club have certainly played worse than on Saturday and still won this season. Progress must be being made if a side like Villa come to Upton Park defending the whole match, time wasting with half an hour to go and celebrating the 0-0 point as if they’d just won a cup match.
Adrian – The Spaniard had so little to do the whole match it was almost embarrassing. Adrian was barely involved at all which makes the fact that West Ham didn’t win the match all the harder to take.
Carl Jenkinson – The jury is still out on Carl Jenkinson. Although he offers pace going forward, against Villa he looked short of ideas and his positional sense wasn’t at it’s best. Whether or not Guy Demel may sometimes be a better option is a matter still up for debate.
James Collins – The Welshman had a solid match and made sure his side never looked like conceding. There was simply so little going on with our back four that it’s hard to remember which members of the defence were actually playing.
Winston Reid – The same applies for Winston Reid. With the Kiwi international and Collins at the back, the clean sheet was almost guaranteed before the match had even begun.
Aaron Cresswell – West Ham’s latest left back put in a few good crosses but nothing that compared with his attacking offerings in previous matches. Cresswell was a direct force for the whole ninety minutes as he was barely needed at the back.
Alex Song – The former Arsenal man was by far and wide West Ham’s man of the match. In the first half in particular, nearly every aspect of our play came through Alex Song. It’s a shame a performance such as this one didn’t warrant the three points it deserved.
Mark Noble – On Saturday West Ham’s longest serving player was nothing short of indifferent. Noble was part of some good moves, but also continued his slightly annoying habit of not playing the ball forward, instead opting to pass it around in our own half. It meant that some of the Hammer’s counter attacks became way too slow and ineffective. As well as this, Mark Noble should simply leave set pieces to someone else. He may be a great combative midfielder with an eye for a good pass, but his time for taking under-hit corners should be well and truly over now. Noble was replaced by Andy Carroll late on, and what a sight it was to see the big man finally return. He almost scored despite only being on for 2 minutes, which raised questions as to why he wasn’t brought on earlier. Carroll would have won this match for West Ham if Allardyce didn’t leave it till injury time to bring him on.
Chiekhou Kouyate – Against Villa Kouyate just didn’t get involved. West Ham should therefore only play a Kouyate – Song – Noble combination against the Premier League’s tougher opposition. When a side comes to Upton Park happy not to score and go home with a draw as Villa did, someone in the mold of Amalfitano or Zarate would have been a much more efficient option. Kouyate was replace by Kevin Nolan however, which really didn’t end well as the club captain barely got a touch of the ball in 25 minutes.
Stewart Downing – Downing of course didn’t let his side down against his former team. He had a few chances, one of which he maybe should have buried, and looked like a threat throughout the whole match. Not much more could have been asked of the recently recalled England international on this occasion.
Enner Valencia – This was by no means Enner’s best performance, yet the Ecuadorian star nevertheless continued his promising form of recent weeks. No goals this time, but Valencia is starting to look more and more like a successful summer signing despite his steep price tag. The £12 million man was replaced by Carlton Cole in the second half, who certainly done OK, but many Hammers fans were hoping to see the much more technically gifted Mauro Zarate get a run out instead.
Diafra Sakho – In failing to score against Villa, Sakho unfortunately didn’t beat Micky Quinn’s record of 8 goals in 8 league matches. It was strange to see the new Senegal international not celebrating an obligatory goal for the first time this season, which really shows how far he has come. The in-form striker still could have got on the score sheet however, with a few of his headers only just missing Brad Guzan’s net.
Sam Allardyce – It is important to remember that Big Sam has made a great deal of changes this season to create a more attacking brand of football whilst scoring more goals in the process. The starting XI he put out on Saturday created countless chances and really should have picked up all three points. In light of all this, some of Allardyce’s substitutions against Villa were still a bit iffy. Why Carlton Cole was brought on before Carroll none of us will understand, especially as the big man looked so in-shape and dangerous when he came on. The Irons also didn’t really require Kouyate in Saturday’s line up, as Amalfitano would have been a much more suitable option to break down Paul Lambert’s defensive wall. Understandably it seems Big Sam isn’t used to having that many options at West Ham, but he nevertheless needs to make sure he picks the right line up for the right opposition. Lastly, it is becoming increasingly concerning to see Mauro Zarate left out of the match day squad. No matter how well we do this year, it will be a great shame and waste on Allardyce’s part if the South American isn’t allowed to get involved for his new club.
hammersnewsblog 