After a more than convincing performance and scoreline - that could have easily been double what it was - what can the players take away from their performance in the second leg?
Gary O'Neil is coming good at the right time
I'll admit, I've not really been too impressed with he midfielder until very recently. When he was signed we had the likes of Scott Parker and Mark Noble in central midfield as well as Tomas Hitzlsperger just about to return from a lengthy injury and so, in my opinion, he was a somewhat unnecessary signing. He seems determined to prove me wrong! His performance was first class yesterday - man of the match in my opinion - and all that was missing was a goal! His improvised volley that crashed against the crossbar was a stroke of genius and his curling effort that would have flew into the top corner but for Marshall was brilliantly executed. I don't often admit that I'm wrong but in this case I am quite happy to!
Rob Green might well be staying after all
There has been a lot of speculation recently regarding Green's future, many implying that a move to Spurs is on the cards. However, his celebrations when we scored were not that of a player who's about to depart for our bitter rivals! If we fail to go up and he subsequently moves on to a bigger team, fair play to him because he's much better than the second tier of English football and many in his position would've been seeking an immediate exit route following relegation. I really hope he does stay as he's been a constant key player for us over the years and has shown tremendous commitment following relegation.
Carlton Cole doesn't get the credit he deserves
Everyone was full of praise for the big man after the 2-0 victory in Wales in the first leg as he terrified the Cardiff defence all evening and held up the ball brilliantly despite seeming to play on with a slight knock. He was just as good yesterday and his work rate and commitment to the hammers has been there for all to see this season. I really do think he's underrated among West Ham fans, when he has an off game or two, he gets nothing but abuse but then when he plays well - as he has done in the last quarter of the season - everyone loves him again and I think it's fair to say that more often than not he puts a good shift in and is a valuable asset to the team.
The home 'hoodoo' is definitely broken!
Following our run of 5 consecutive home draws - including 1-1 scorelines against relegated Doncaster - there was a lot of pressure on the players and staff to break the 'hoodoo' and get that illusive first win at home since February. We did that in some style with a 6-0 hammering of Bright & Hove Albion with Ricardo Vaz Te scoring a memorable hat-trick - including his athletic overhead kick that was later voted goal of the season by West Ham fans - and followed that up with a 2-1 victory over Hull City on the final day of the regular season meaning we went into the play-offs in fine form. Having seen the performance from the players and the ever-present backing from the Upton Park faithful in the 3-0 win against Cardiff and our third consecutive home win, I think it's safe to say the home 'hoodoo' has been put to bed, for now at least!
Sam Allardyce deserves a lot of credit
That's right I said it! Yes, with the team we've got we should have probably won the league - or at least gone up automatically but you have to give credit where it's due. We finished the season with a points tally that would see you promoted automatically in 4/5 seasons and despite this disappointment we have progressed to the play-off final at Wembley with a record 5-0 aggregate score against Cardiff, who are by the way a decent team on their day! We've also been playing a very attractive style of football in our current good run of form and as a result the fans couldn't be happier. It looked like our season might just be falling apart when we drew 5 games on the trot at home and started to lose ground on the top 2 but we've definitely revived our season in some style! A win at Wembley would cap an outstanding first season for Allardyce and considering the mess we were in when he came in last summer!
COME ON YOU IRONS!
No comments:
Post a Comment