A win at last for West Ham

[Guest Gary Loughran]

A poor performance, one of the most abject games of football one could ever wish to see in the Premier League, resulted in a precious 1-0 for West Ham.

The three points are gladly accepted. The performance is not. Both teams were devoid of creativity, the main Sunderalnd threat was a high ball into the West Ham box which was typically easily dealt with by Collins and Upson.

Parker patrolled the area in front of the back four manfully. He is not a Keane or Makelele but he performed the role well. However, this exposed a workmanlike midfield. Behrami worked hard and looked useful. Faubert and Bowyer were non-existent. That actually isn't wholly true, Faubert was so inept that he actually got in the way. He and Neil on the same side is a recipe for disaster and it is no fluke that Andy Reid looked threatening until his lack of fitness meant he had to go off. Against most teams Reid's lack of fitness means he, usually, shouldn't start.

Cole was awful, posing no threat and failing to hold the ball up long enough for support to arrive. Hopefully he can regain this ability with a few games under his belt. Bellamy also worked very hard, but in the wrong places, which meant he was never where a centre forward really should be.

The lack of depth in the squad was highlighted by the introductions of Michele and Boa Morte. Michele actually proving a useful Sunderland weapon - in his 5 minutes or so of football he was responsible for 2 of Sunderlands better moves.

Let us hope that with consecutive clean sheets, the team is building and moving in the right direction. The next 2 games are extremely difficult and it was essential that we got the 3 points at Sunderland.

[John Simkin]

A poor performance, one of the most abject games of football one could ever wish to see in the Premier League, resulted in a precious 1-0 for West Ham.

The three points are gladly accepted. The performance is not. Both teams were devoid of creativity, the main Sunderalnd threat was a high ball into the West Ham box which was typically easily dealt with by Collins and Upson.

Parker patrolled the area in front of the back four manfully. He is not a Keane or Makelele but he performed the role well. However, this exposed a workmanlike midfield. Behrami worked hard and looked useful. Faubert and Bowyer were non-existent. That actually isn't wholly true, Faubert was so inept that he actually got in the way. He and Neil on the same side is a recipe for disaster and it is no fluke that Andy Reid looked threatening until his lack of fitness meant he had to go off. Against most teams Reid's lack of fitness means he, usually, shouldn't start.

Cole was awful, posing no threat and failing to hold the ball up long enough for support to arrive. Hopefully he can regain this ability with a few games under his belt. Bellamy also worked very hard, but in the wrong places, which meant he was never where a centre forward really should be.

The lack of depth in the squad was highlighted by the introductions of Michele and Boa Morte. Michele actually proving a useful Sunderland weapon - in his 5 minutes or so of football he was responsible for 2 of Sunderlands better moves.

Let us hope that with consecutive clean sheets, the team is building and moving in the right direction. The next 2 games are extremely difficult and it was essential that we got the 3 points at Sunderland.

I agree almost completely with this review of the game. I felt that in the last two games we have at last seen the influence of Clarke on the formation of the team. This has enabled us to get two clean-sheets but it has not been good to watch.

I was especially upset to see Faubert and Bowyer play instead of Mullins and Collinson. I would also have played Sears and Bellamy up-front. You can then bring on Cole to hold the ball up once you have pinched a lead. However, this is the side of the game he seems to have lost since his suspension.

Faubert is amazingly bad. He cannot get even the basic things right. Did you see Bellamy having a go at him for not running into space?

As you say: "Faubert was so inept that he actually got in the way. He and Neil on the same side is a recipe for disaster and it is no fluke that Andy Reid looked threatening until his lack of fitness meant he had to go off." One of the things that amazes me about Neil is the way he turns his back on players who appear to be about to cross the ball. If he does not have enough time to turn his back he raises his hands up to protect his face. It is a good job that Collins and Upson are such brave players.

Sunderland looked a very moderate team. It confirmed my view that the club was right to sell Anton Ferdinand.

Sunderland played into West Ham hands by playing the long-ball game. There is no one better than Collins for dealing with this approach. What Upson and Collins have difficulty with, is players like Defoe, as we saw in the game against Portsmouth. However, we did get 3 points. Given our fixture list, it might be the last points we get for sometime.

I see Pardew has been sacked by Charlton. I think that goes to show that Curbishly, despite his faults, was a better manager than Pardew.