Were West Ham Hard Done By?
Article by e-West Ham Correspondent Martin SanctoFollow e-West Ham on Twitter here!
So, were West Ham hard done by with their one nil loss when they visited Goodison Park or did the bogey team syndrome kick in? Maybe both, every fan no matter what team you support will have two or three teams that they hate to play, as no matter how well your team plays you just cannot break that cycle and get the win you deserve. You can most definitely say that Everton are one of West Ham's for sure.
Taking nothing away from Everton, they have always been a well-run side with quality players and tactically astute Managers for some time. However, West Ham has and can on their day beat better teams. So why do we and most teams find it so hard to get a win and break that cycle commonly known as “bogey team syndrome”? Well I don’t know, but I would really like someone to shed some light on the subject.
Looking at the result, we really did make it hard for Everton, losing at Goodison Park by a single solitary goal is nothing to be embarrassed about, to go one step further and take a positive out of a hard done by loss, West Ham have only conceded two goals in six games.
Putting that to one side, I thought that we could have had a very different result if Gareth Barry had of been sent off for holding back our skipper Kevin Nolan when he was clear through on goal. Sam Allardyce thought so, although, our Manager is bound to sat that. I do not normally like watching Match of the Day when West Ham lose, but I was very interested to hear what Gary Lineker’s guests had to say about that very controversial incident.
Well, it was no surprise that regular guest Alan Hanson and stand in guest for Alan Shearer (Robbie Savage), were without a doubt both unanimous in their opinion that Gareth Barry should have been given his marching orders. That isn’t to say that Kevin Nolan was guaranteed to score, although with his form of late I would like to think he would of, then we would have been against ten men.
It wasn’t to be, and then to rub salt into the already raw open wound, Romelu Lukaku, who West Ham tried to sign from Chelsea in the summer, was brought on as a substitute for Leon Osman only to get the goal that brought our run of wins to an end.
However, some good results this weekend from teams below us including Crystal Palace getting a nice little draw away to Swansea leaves us remaining in 10th place on joint 31 points with Aston Villa. With 10 games to play, and only needing 9 more points to reach that magic 40 points that most Managers like to reach to ensure Premier League survival, things are looking positive. The next game on the 15th March sees us away to Stoke City with hopefully no new injury concerns, and with Stoke currently on 30 points and playing on the 8th March we will without a doubt need to take something from the game.
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WHUFC far too negative parked the bus and hoped to sneak a win instead of having true conviction.
ReplyDeleteGiven how others players have been sent off for much less, it was a poor refereeing decision. It would have changed the game, and given the appalling refereeing in the reverse fixture which saw West ham reduced to 10 men on 81 minutes and leading 2-1, only to then lose 2-3, it only reinforces the 'bogey team' myth.
ReplyDeleteIt was 100% a clear sending off. But Everton have been getting away with red cards all season. I'm sure in the first half a dozen games of the season there were four or five times when an Everton player should have seen red and for some reason didn't.
ReplyDeleteI remember Barkley clearly stamping on Morrison whilst he was on the ground in the opposing fixture at Upton Park. Once again, he didn't get even a yellow. I guess they have just had the rub of the green on some contentious decisions. It happens.
Sorry, I just double-checked. Barkley was booked for the incident at UP, but all pundits agreed that it was a clear red. We were winning 2-1 at the time.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Pedro. Now that you've had one season of attacking football do think that you can comment on other teams? Under Moyes Everton invented the term "park the bus".
ReplyDelete