What the papers say: West Ham

[Far Canal]

sportinglife.com

West Ham 2 Reading 4 npower Championship.

FT: 2-4 (HT: 1-2)

West Ham:
Carlton Cole 8
Ricardo Vaz Te 77

Reading:
Kaspars Gorkss 44
Noel Hunt 45
Ian Harte pen 59
Mikele Leigertwood 84

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/ne ... html&BID=4

Reading took a giant stride towards promotion to the Barclays Premier League as West Ham imploded at Upton Park.

The Hammers, who had drawn their last five home matches to slip out of the top two, were leading through Carlton Cole's strike as half-time approached.

Not only that, Sam Allardyce's side were also putting in comfortably their best performance in front of their own fans this season.

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 equalised from a corner in the 44th minute and then, in first-half stoppage time, Noel Hunt fired Reading into an unlikely lead.

In the second half Ian Harte added a third from the penalty spot and, although Ricardo Vaz Te pulled one back, any hopes of a comeback were extinguished by Mikele Leigertwood's disputed fourth six minutes from time.

After booing their recent bore draws, the West Ham fans at least got the entertainment they craved, but their side now appear destined for the play-offs.

Yet it had all looked so different after seven minutes when Cole fired the Hammers ahead.

Kevin Nolan's neat footwork sent Matt Taylor away down the left and the United skipper arrived in the area to meet the return ball with a firm downward header which hit the foot of Adam Federici's post.

The ball fell to the feet of Cole who took a touch before thumping it past the grounded Federici for his 10th goal of the season, and his first in 10 games.

Reading should have equalised in the 23rd minute but Hunt's fierce drive from eight yards out was headed clear by James Tomkins.

However, the hosts seemed well in control and Vaz Te headed straight at Federici before firing over from close range.

But, instead of pushing home their advantage, West Ham promptly fell to pieces by conceding a soft leveller a minute before half-time.

Harte swung in a routine corner but defender Gorkss got in ahead of the flat-footed Nolan to head in at the near post.

And the hosts were stunned in first-half stoppage time when Julien Faubert's challenge on Jason Roberts served only to present the ball to Hunt, who made no mistake with a low drive past Rob Green from 12 yards.

Things got worse for West Ham 12 minutes into the second half when Hunt tumbled over Abdoulaye Faye's challenge in the area and referee Chris Foy pointed to the spot, allowing Harte to step up and convert the penalty.

With 15 minutes left Vaz Te's towering header from Gary O'Neil's corner threatened a home fightback.

But instead, Leigertwood rammed home the fourth despite Hunt being well offside when the ball clipped his heels and bounced to the midfielder.

West Ham's luck was well and truly out - and their hopes of automatic promotion have been severely dented.

TEAMS

West Ham
1. Robert Green
18. Julien Faubert
5. James Tomkins (yellow card)
15. Abdoulaye Faye
3. George McCartney
4. Kevin Nolan
16. Mark Noble (46)
32. Gary O'Neil
12. Ricardo Vaz Te
9. Carlton Cole (72)
14. Matthew Taylor (60)

SUBS
7. Sam Baldock (60)
8. Nicky Maynard (72)
11. John Carew
22. Henri Lansbury
25. Danny Collins (46)

Reading
1. Adam Federici
24. Shaun Cummings
5. Alex Pearce
17. Kaspars Gorkss
23. Ian Harte
14. Jimmy Kebe (82)
4. Jem Karacan (55)
8. Mikele Leigertwood
11. Jobi McAnuff
10. Noel Hunt
33. Jason Roberts (yellow card)

SUBS
12. Alex McCarthy (GK)
7. Jay Tabb (55)
18. Simon Church
19. Hal Robson-Kanu (67)
51. Benik Afobe (82)

STAT ATTACK
West Ham.........Reading
9....Shots On Target.....8
3....Shots Off Target....3
9....Fouls (Conceded)...6
4.........Corners.........6
1......Yellow Cards.......1
0.......Red Cards........0

[Ian Royal]

Well offside when it touched Hunt's heel's, of course whether you are offside or not depends on when the ball is played, and at that point he look on to me, and any offside was as marginal as it gets. Also doesn't mention the incorrectly disallowed 5th.

[Norfolk Royal]

Well offside when it touched Hunt's heel's, of course whether you are offside or not depends on when the ball is played, and at that point he look on to me, and any offside was as marginal as it gets. Also doesn't mention the incorrectly disallowed 5th.

I agree.

[RoyalBlue]

Clearly written by a bitter West Ham lover upset that we didn't gift them the three points they were entitled to.

Hunt well offside?

Try looking at where he was when the ball was played towards him.

[Avon Royal]

Worst "impartial" review ever.

Suck it down Cockney boy

[kirkrich]

I'd prefer it if it were 'way offside', anything that winds up that bunch of chimps is fine by me! A.lardarse needs something to blame

[Pseud O'Nym]

I was pretty unhappy with the Jacqui Oatley/Mark Bright commentary on 5 Live Sports Extra. It wasn't so much biased as coming from a starting point of expecting West Ham to win and being amazed when they didn't.

[leon]

I was pretty unhappy with the Jacqui Oatley/Mark Bright commentary on 5 Live Sports Extra. It wasn't so much biased as coming from a starting point of expecting West Ham to win and being amazed when they didn't.

I turned it off as all they seemed to be concerned with was West Ham - why they were in this surprising position and what they had to do to get back in the game. Utter shit. Also the commentator on the Blackpool Southampton game began with the comment - Southampton will be pleased West Ham lost to Reading as it strengthens their bid for 1st place. Five live really is crammed with twats.

[Lieutenant Pigeon]

Gaurdian...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012 ... ampionship

[Lieutenant Pigeon]

And some of the comments from Hammers fans on the Guardian piece...

Lifelong Hammer increasingly dismayed at the incompetent mismanagement of the Allardyce regime. I think most of us had made a Faustian pact to grin and bear the substandard rubbish being served up at Upton Park in the name of promotion. We get criticized for the impression we convey that we deserve better than the Championship: not true (we deserved relegation, and we don't deserve promotion), although I understand how that we give that impression by booing a team in the top two most of the season. Here's the rub: in all my years following football I don't recall such a Jekyll & Hyde team as this one. They're about to pass the 1958 tally for the best away record in the clubs history. Away from home, they are confident, attack minded, more organized and consistent. At home, they're a different team. Who else can we blame but allardyce? They're set up to play that way. Lump it forward, feed off the scraps, get a goal in front and sit on it for 80 minutes. Five consecutive home draws speaks for itself, until the wheels came off today, by a spirited Reading side who did to us what we've been doing as the away team all season. Chasing the game today, he made atrocious substitute decisions (none more baffling than replacing Noble with a full back, and forcing Tomkins, a probable future England defender, into midfield despite the attacking options on the bench). He's persisted with players who either add no value to the team, or are woefully out of form, or both. Unlike most WHU fans, I actually feel this team would survive in the PL, but is struggling in the Championship precisely because they are incapable of, or uncomfortable with, taking the initiative and prefer the patient counter attacking game. We may never know, though, because at this rate, promotion seems a long way off. There's really nothing left for Allardyce but to throw caution to the wind, play the attacking formation that works so well on the road and go for it. Alas, the man is too stubborn for that, and so we'll carry on limping towards the play offs and criticize the fans for not getting behind the team. Hopefully then Real Madrid will come calling, and we can all get on wi our lives.

Watching west ham this season has been horrific. No creativity in midfield, the strikers look clumsy and ineffective, and despite Allardyce's reputation they've often looked shaky against fairly average attacks. The worst thing is hearing Allardyce is the press- he seems to be trying to pass of any criticism from the fans as though they were calling for the team to be playing total football, and I often get the impression that people in the media are defending him. Whichever way they're playing Allardyce, he is in no sense doing a good job. I'm sick of him telling the fans what we should want from the club, and i'm sick of watching Carlton cole flick a punt upfield on to the keeper, Nolan miscontolling the ball or our 6'3'' centre-backs letting corners bobble around int he area. Anyone criticising the fans for booing should be forced to watch some of our games then they might understand. I'd personally be happy with either some modicum of success or some halfway decent football, but at the moment neither looks likely.

And if we do somehow bludgeon our way up through the playoffs, we're going straight back down.

C.

[Handsome Man]

I was pretty unhappy with the Jacqui Oatley/Mark Bright commentary on 5 Live Sports Extra. It wasn't so much biased as coming from a starting point of expecting West Ham to win and being amazed when they didn't.

I turned it off as all they seemed to be concerned with was West Ham - why they were in this surprising position and what they had to do to get back in the game. Utter shit. Also the commentator on the Blackpool Southampton game began with the comment - Southampton will be pleased West Ham lost to Reading as it strengthens their bid for 1st place. Five live really is crammed with twats.

It was appalling. Mark Bright referred to Reading as 'they' at one stage; you could infer that the pair of them were rooting for West Ham, and just couldn't understand it when the result didn't go their way. Her reaction to our offside goal was staggering: I hope she doesn't get to see a replay.

[Avon Royal]

Gaurdian...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012 ... ampionship

Jason Roberts's shot was headed off the line by James Tomkins in the 23rd minute but mostly West Ham were on top

Roberts / Hunt, easy mistake to make...........

[Pseud O'Nym]

Gaurdian...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012 ... ampionship

Grauniad.

[leon]

I was pretty unhappy with the Jacqui Oatley/Mark Bright commentary on 5 Live Sports Extra. It wasn't so much biased as coming from a starting point of expecting West Ham to win and being amazed when they didn't.

I turned it off as all they seemed to be concerned with was West Ham - why they were in this surprising position and what they had to do to get back in the game. Utter shit. Also the commentator on the Blackpool Southampton game began with the comment - Southampton will be pleased West Ham lost to Reading as it strengthens their bid for 1st place. Five live really is crammed with twats.

It was appalling. Mark Bright referred to Reading as 'they' at one stage; you could infer that the pair of them were rooting for West Ham, and just couldn't understand it when the result didn't go their way. Her reaction to our offside goal was staggering: I hope she doesn't get to see a replay.

honestly, I gave it about 10 minutes listening and turned it off. I like Mark Bright but the bias was a joke, plus Jacqui Oatley's voice could strip paint. But good, let everyone underestimate us (and they are, apart from Robbie Savage who strangely thinks we're going to be champions - mentalist), just like today, then see what happens.

[Friday's Legacy]

Well offside when it touched Hunt's heel's...

Nope.

[Ian Royal]

Well offside when it touched Hunt's heel's...

Nope.

You should probably have finished reading the sentence.

Well offside when it touched Hunt's heel's, of course whether you are offside or not depends on when the ball is played, and at that point he look on to me,

[leon]

Well offside when it touched Hunt's heel's...

Nope.

You should probably have finished reading the sentence.

Well offside when it touched Hunt's heel's, of course whether you are offside or not depends on when the ball is played, and at that point he look on to me,

yeah I saw this and thought what a mendacious bit of editing

[Mr Angry]

The Mail On-Line:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... yoffs.html

West Ham's season-long curse in front of their own fans struck again as they lost to their closest promotion rivals to leave manager Sam Allardyce a crestfallen figure.

After squandering an early lead, Allardyce's men are four points behind the automatic promotion places as second-placed Reading tightened their grip on a return to the top flight they left in 2008.

MATCH FACTS WEST HAM: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Faye, McCartney, Nolan, Noble (Collins 46), O'Neil, Vaz Te, Cole (Maynard 72), Taylor (Baldock 60). Unused subs: Carew, Lansbury.
Goals: Cole 8, Vaz Te 77
Booked: Tomkins
READING: Federici, Cummings, Pearce, Gorkss, Harte, Kebe (Afobe 82), Karacan (Tabb 55; Robson-Kanu 67), Leigertwood, McAnuff, Hunt, Roberts. Unused subs: McCarthy, Church.
Goals: Gorkss 44, Hunt 45, Harte (pen 59), Leigertwood 84.
Booked: Roberts.
Referee: Chris Foy
Few Championship games were as eagerly awaited as this one. Both sides had targeted the fixture in a bid to gain an advantage during the run-in.

But, whereas West Ham for the most part looked disjointed, Reading were organised.

Where West Ham's final pass too often missed the target, Reading showed admirable teamwork and accuracy.

And yet it started so well for the Hammers, eager to win their first home game for almost two months and repay the visitors for a December demolition in the corresponding game at the Madejski Stadium, when both West Ham defender Joey O'Brien and midfielder Jack Collison were sent off in a 3-0 defeat.

Kevin Nolan thumped a header against the post after eight minutes, and Carlton Cole kept his balance beautifully to sweep the rebound into the corner of the net.

Home fans, many of who have been berating Allardyce, liked what they were seeing and sat back waiting for the advantage to be extended.

But they should have known better. In two game-changing minutes just before half-time, West Ham - not for the first time this season - shot themselves in the foot.

A pinpoint Ian Harte corner was buried by an unmarked Kaspars Gorkss.

Then, in first-half stoppage time, Julien Faubert, under pressure from Jason Roberts, lost possession and Hunt lashed the ball home.

Allardyce reshuffled his side when Mark Noble failed to re-emerge for the second half because of a pulled thigh muscle, and the pa announcer urged the fans to 'get behind us like you never before'.

But, just as the home players threatened a recovery, they were pegged back again as Abdoulaye Faye tripped Hunt and Harte drove home the penalty.

With 13 minutes left, Ricardo Vaz Te rose above Gorkss to head home and give West Ham renewed hope, but it was short-lived as man-of-the-match Mikele Leigertwood netted Reading's fourth six minutes from time as an offside flag against Hunt never came.


West Ham's dire home form - they have won just nine of their 20 league games at Upton Park - is in stark contrast with their 11 away wins and Allardyce believes they may have to win all remaining six fixtures to go up automatically.

'The game lasts 90 minutes and we've thrown it away in 10,' he said.
'You can't afford to make so many basic errors. In my opinion we gifted them all four goals.
'Perhaps it was the pressure but there wasn't much threat from Reading.
'I feel under pressure in every game in terms of wanting to get automatic promotion because I feel we have the capability. We need to win a home game and might have done so comfortably today.
'We've certainly added more pressure on ourselves by having to win away all the time.'
Brian McDermott is running a half-marathon for charity today so will the Reading manager have an extra spring in his step after placing one foot in the Premier League? Not a bit of it.
'Actually I'll probably waddle round,' he joked, before turning serious.
'I've been in the game too long to get carried away, but to come here and get four goals is a real credit to the lads.
'We didn't play very well for 35 minutes and needed to stay in the game. To go in 2-1 was massive. There's a big difference between one point and three.'

How big will be known in about a month.

[Mr Angry]

Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... qus_thread



By Thore Haugstad, Upton Park

8:19PM BST 31 Mar 2012

Sam Allardyce conceded West Ham may have to win all their remaining games to ensure automatic promotion from the Championship after an impressive Reading victory left his side four points behind second place.


Goals from Kaspar Gorkss, Noel Hunt, Ian Harte and Mikele Leigertwood handed Reading an invaluable victory in the promotion race to clinch their 11th win in the last 13 games – despite Carlton Cole’s opener and Ricardo Vaz Te’s second-half header.


Taking such form under consideration, and with six games remaining, Allardyce admitted victories need to come soon. “The pressure on us now means there are no more opportunities to take a point and think that will be enough,” he said. “There are six games left, and if Reading or Southampton are going to slip up they might slip up once.


“Certainly with Reading, we have to keep the pressure on them and the only way we can is to try to win all six matches on the trot.”

West Ham, entering the game on the back of five consecutive home draws, opened the scoring after 10 minutes when captain Kevin Nolan flicked Matt Taylor’s precise cross against the near post, leaving Cole swivelling to convert the rebound.

Little else happened until Reading paid their first visit to the West Ham area on 23 minutes. Jimmy Kebe’s cross found Hunt alone on 10 yards, but his goal-bound finish was headed off the line by James Tomkins.

West Ham slowly fastened a grip, and nearly scored when Gorkss’s last-ditch block denied Vaz Te. Seven minutes later, the Latvian centre-back inflicted further damage on the home side, nodding home Harte’s in-swinging corner.

It was a cold shower for West Ham, but more was to come. Just before half-time, Julien Faubert’s tackle lucklessly fell to Hunt who, alone with Robert Green, finished coolly.

Allardyce said: “We let their biggest man free and then, instead of clearing a simple ball, we’ve kicked it straight to them. We came in [at half-time] a little shell-shocked because of the good position we were in.”

More misery awaited in the second period. With an hour played, Abdoulaye Faye tripped Hunt inside the area, leaving referee Chris Foy to award a penalty. Harte sent Green the wrong way.

“That’s three goals lost by basic errors and in big games like these you can’t afford that,” Allardyce said.

Inevitably, West Ham started to launch men forward, and reaped rewards when Vaz Te rose to steer Gary O’Neil’s corner past Adam Federici. But Reading sealed the points five minutes from time when the excellent Leigertwood side-footed past Green.

Brian McDermott, the Reading manager, said: “We didn’t play well in the first 35 minutes but we needed to stay in the game and we did.

“Going 2-1 up was massive for us and in the second half we passed the ball well and deserved to win.”

[Agent Balti]

Indy

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/leigertwood-class-adds-to-allardyces-anxiety-7606139.html

The jeers were always more heartfelt than the encouragement – such has become the depth of dissatisfaction with the management of Sam Allardyce – and it hardly lowered the tone when the identification of Ricardo Vaz Te as man of the match was greeted with a mixture of stupefaction and mild scorn.

The majority of the crowd were not deriding Vaz Te, who had scored, so much as acknowledging that all legitimate candidates were from Reading: the central defenders Alex Pearce and Kaspars Gorkss, Jason Roberts and Noel Hunt up front and, above all, the wonderfully sound midfield presence that was Mikele Leigertwood.

West Ham had begun well but after half an hour they had been utterly outplayed. It seems increasingly likely Brian McDermott's side will earn an automatic return to the Premier League while West Ham are left to the anxieties of the play-offs.

Lamenting all four goals, Allardyce said of the third, a penalty converted by Ian Harte: "Instead of waiting to play our way back into the match, we shot ourselves in the foot."

The home side drew first blood and although the breakthrough was credited to Carlton Cole, much of the work was done by Kevin Nolan, who deftly fed Matt Taylor on the left flank and accelerated into the space reserved for what turned out to be a prompt and immaculate near-post cross; Nolan's header came back off the upright and Cole tucked the ball beyond Adam Federici.

West Ham thereafter suffered for a shortage of composure at both ends. They failed to make the most of chances and let in two goals in three minutes close to the interval, the latter being a horror show. The equaliser came when Harte's corner was met by Gorkss and although Nolan appeared to get his head to the ball at the same time, the greater force carried it into the net. West Ham had still to regain their concentration when Roberts went determinedly for the ball, inducing Julien Faubert to send it straight to Hunt, who, with several defenders preoccupied elsewhere, whipped a low shot past Robert Green.

There was enough time for West Ham to suffer a bit of bad luck, Abdoulaye Faye's on-target header hitting Nolan, before half-time arrived. But West Ham continued to struggle under any pressure and Faye's clumsy tackle in the area was read by Hunt, whose fall enabled Harte to stroke the kick home and give Reading a lead of two goals.

Only when Vaz Te reduced it, superbly heading in Gary O'Neil's corner, did the Bubbles Choir find their voice. And not for long, because Leigertwood drove forward and threaded a fine pass to Hunt. The striker could not control it, but West Ham assumed offside anyway and stopped, enabling Leigertwood to follow up by beating Green. McDermott was asked what a momentous win meant to Reading. "Three points," replied the commonsense manager.

West Ham (4-3-3): Green; Faubert, Tomkins, Faye, McCartney; O'Neil, Noble (Collins h-t), Nolan; Vaz Te, Cole (Maynard, 71), Taylor (Baldock, 59)

Reading (4-4-2): Federici; Cummings, Pearce, Gorkss, Harte; Kebe (Afobe, 82) Karacan (Tabb, 55, Robson-Kanu, 67), Leigertwood, McAnuff; Roberts, Hunt.

Referee Chris Foy.

Man of the match Leigertwood (Reading).

Match rating 7/10.