Big Sam upsets the applecart once again

Article by Brandon Freeman

Listen to the latest e-Football Podcast

In the build up to Saturday evening’s meeting with Liverpool at Upton Park, Sam Allardyce spoke of upsetting the applecart as he has done many times during his career as a manager, especially during his time at Bolton. And after last season’s controversial home loss to Liverpool, the hammers certainly had the incentive to go and beat Liverpool, particularly given our abysmal display in our last home match against Southampton. But the Upton Park faithful couldn’t have dreamt of a better start. Just as the final words of “I’m forever blowing bubbles” were ringing out throughout the stadium West Ham found themselves 2-0 up in the opening 10 minutes of the game, courtesy of some poor man-marking from Liverpool which resulted in Winston Reid scoring his first goal in almost a year and also through a rather fortuitous but nonetheless fantastic goal from striker Diafra Sakho who claimed that he had indeed intended to score. The first-half almost completely belonged to West Ham who got at Liverpool from the first whistle but the reds were able to get back into the game through Raheem Sterling who lashed home after Mario Balotelli’s shot was blocked. Although Liverpool started the second-half brightly they were unable to make the decisive breakthrough despite forcing some impressive saves from Adrian. West Ham finally clinched their first home win of the season when Downing, an ever-present force for West Ham throughout the game, capitalised on a mistake by Liverpool’s Sakho and released second-half substitute Amalfitano through on goal where he smartly guided the ball past Simon Mignolet for his first West Ham goal.

The victory certainly came as somewhat of a surprise given West Ham’s poor record against Liverpool which has seen them take just 4 points from their last 8 games against the reds. However, it is not only the victory which warrants the plaudits but the manner of such a victory. The hammers certainly followed up on their impressive attacking performance against Hull but also showcased the defensive resilience needed to hold off the probing Liverpool attacks which were launched in the final stages of the game. But it was our attacking game which really deserves further appraisal. Firstly, with a midfield trio of Mark Noble, Cheikhou Kouyate and Alex Song the West Ham backline were brilliantly protected with all three midfield players recycling possession and turning defence into attack with relative ease, providing the attacking trio of Downing, Valencia and Sakho with the necessary service to go and change the game. This was certainly the case with Stewart Downing flourishing in a more central role, allowing him to make the powerful runs at the Liverpool defence and create some fantastic chances for Sakho and Valencia; it was such a run which resulted in West Ham’s third goal with Downing slipping the ball into the box for Amalfitano to apply the finish. Hopefully Downing’s impressive displays in a more central role will encourage Big Sam to keep Downing in that role rather than looking too push him out wide to accommodate Kevin Nolan when he makes his comeback from injury.

Another impressive element to West Ham’s performance Saturday night was their passing game. The first half saw some fantastic attacking play with Song, Noble and Kouyate adopting very crisp, quick and purposeful passing meaning Sam Allardyce’s side dominated possession throughout the first-half. As a result West Ham were able to play a more expansive game which gave rise to the attacking brand of football we have been crying out for at Upton Park since Sam Allardyce took over. I was also hugely impressed with the performance of Alex Song who added a much needed touch of class to hammers midfield, looking calm and composed on the ball, slowing the game down when West Ham needed to regain composure and also working tirelessly alongside Noble and Kouyate to keep Liverpool at bay. The on-loan Barcelona midfielder also had little problem containing Steven Gerrard who had little impact on the game. And with Song still not fully fit surely the best is yet to come from him.

Credit certainly has to go to Sam Allardyce for luring Song to Upton Park and also for the hugely impressive performance on Saturday which is hopefully a sign of things to come from West Ham this season but more importantly a sign that Big Sam is capable of providing more entertainment, especially now he has the players of the requisite quality to do so.

How impressed were you with the team’s performance on Saturday and do you believe we will be able to replicate such a performance throughout the season? Leave your comments below and follow our Twitter page @e_westham for the latest match day build-up, news and views, all things West Ham.

© e-Football 2014 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Spurs