Premier League: West Ham United 0 - 1 Chelsea
Saturday, 25 April 09, 02:41 PM · Comments (20)
Match reports
The Observer, Amy Lawrence: "[Petr Cech], so twitchy of late, gave his confidence a boost with a classy penalty save. It was an action equally significant to the touch of the goalscorer, Salomon Kalou, and helped to give Chelsea the perfect warm-up for the Champions League semi-final. Not overly strenuous, a few rested bodies, and one happy goalkeeper. What more could Guus Hiddink have wanted?"
Sunday Telegraph, Jason Burt: "For Chelsea, there was even a fine penalty save by Petr Cech, to cap his rehabilitation and preserve the points although West Ham didn’t deserve a share. Lampard threw his shirt to a West Ham fan at the end. It was the closest anyone with claret and blue sympathies had come to getting hold off him all afternoon."
Sunday Times, Nick Townsend: "Lampard had responded with one of those typical performances, of diligence and vision, that made one question the wisdom of his peers not to shortlist him at least for the player of the year award. His display reached its peak 10 minutes after the break. He sent up a tantalising ball from near the byline. Robert Green flapped at it and just did enough to propel the ball towards Salomon Kalou, who netted easily."
Independent on Sunday, Mark Fleming: "[A]ny thoughts that [Lampard] might not be fully focused on Chelsea's priorities were dispelled in eye-catching fashion at the ground he used to call home. Lampard was given the predictable vitriolic abuse by the Upton Park crowd, who cannot forgive him for crossing London in 2001. His response was a mature display of precision and control. The only times he gave his emotions away were after he set up the game's only goal for Salomon Kalou and at the final whistle. Lampard was the last player to leave the pitch after enjoying the victory with the travelling Chelsea fans, and first to greet him in the tunnel was West Ham's manager, Gianfranco Zola, his former Chelsea team-mate."
Official Chelsea FC Website: "A game with an end-of-season and pre-big European night feel was decided by a Salomon Kalou goal and a Petr Cech penalty save."
The goal
The preamble
I had an incredibly frustrating time watching this game live on the web. It was all stop-start. There was lots of flipping from one SopCast channel to another which, as you probably know, is a time consuming process. I don't know if it was my connection, my ISP, Parallels, SopCast or a combination of all four. I also had one eye on the World Snooker Championship.
I stuck with it though. Here are a few brief points gleaned from what I saw of the game (I probably only missed a few minutes, it just seemed like more).
With Tuesday's Champions League tie against Barcelona at the Nou Camp in mind, Hiddink made five changes to the side that drew with Everton at Stamford Bridge in midweek, bringing in Michael Mancienne, Jose Bosingwa, Juliano Belletti, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou for Alex, Ashley Cole, Michael Ballack, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba.
Frank Lampard made his 50th Chelsea start of the season.
The good
- The performance overall was quite impressive. Lots of possession and neat passing, although we lacked something in the final third. The opening 20 minutes were one-sided with West Ham struggling to keep possession of the ball for more than a few seconds at a time. Cech had his first touch in the 13th minute, and the Hammers had their first corner in the 42nd. We failed to make our superiority count though and it was West Ham who had the two best chances of the half. Cech saved well at the feet of Dyer, and Mikel cleared off the line from a Tristan toe poke after we failed to clear from a corner. The second half was much the same, with Lampard continuing to impress in midfield and the Hammers struggling to keep possession for very long. The goal came in the 55th minute when some great work down the left by Lampard led to Kalou poking the ball into the top corner of Green's net. A one goal lead with more than half an hour to go looked like it was going to be more than enough. Then Kalou gave away a stupid penalty. Up stepped Noble to take the kick...
- Petr Cech saved it! Yes, you read that right. Cech saved a penalty! It was a splendid save too. He'd obviously done his homework on Noble. He dived to his left and got a strong hand on the ball to just tip it round the post. The look on his face as he celebrated in front of our fans said it all. West Ham's heads seemed to drop after that and we held on with something to spare.
- Frank Lampard. He's having a tough time of it off the field, but you wouldn't know this from his displays on it. He put in another Man of the Match performance, which must have given him immense pleasure considering his relationship with the West Ham fans, who booed him throughout. He more than made up for being sent off in this fixture last season.
- The back four. Guus's decision to rest five players ahead of Tuesday's game meant our defence had an unusual look to it. Ivanovic switched from right-back to the centre alongside Terry, while Mancienne and Bosingwa started at right- and left-back respectively. Bosingwa was given an hour's practise on the left before being given the job of covering for the suspended Ashley Cole against Barca. He did quite well. That said, West Ham's attack was disappointing and Messi is sure to be a whole different ball game, as it were. Mancienne started slowly but improved as the game wore on. Worryingly, he developed cramp after 80 minutes and was replaced by Ballack a couple of minutes later.
The bad
- Salomon Kalou. It's mean to pick out the goal scorer for criticism, but I was unimpressed with his overall contribution. He ran down dead ends, his final ball was poor on nearly every occasion, often after great work to get into a dangerous position, and he gave away a needless penalty. He made up for a poor display by scoring the winner, which was his first Premier League goal since October. His contract is up in the summer. While he can be incredibly frustrating, I do hope he stays at the club.
- Zola and Clarke have agreed, but not yet signed, new four-year contracts with the Hammers. There goes my dream of them taking the reins at the Bridge in the summer. I have a horrible feeling that there's something to the Carlo Ancelotti rumours.
Player ratings
- Petr Cech - 7.5/10 - Still looks iffy on crosses and set pieces, but his one-on-one save from Dyer and rare penalty stop were top class. Hopefully this performance will improve his confidence going into Tuesday's game.
- Michael Mancienne - 6.5/10 - Got stronger and more confident as the game wore on. Has a bright future.
- John Terry - 7/10 - Solid and dependable as always.
- Branislav Ivanovic - 7/10 - Switched from right-back to centre-back with ease.
- Jose Bosingwa - 6.5/10 - Promising at left-back. Bring on Messi!
- John Obi Mikel - 6.5/10 - Made a couple of needless and clumsy tackles in dangerous positions, but he bossed West Ham's midfield.
- Juliano Belletti - 7/10 - Is now a much better holding midfielder than he is a right-back. Did a sterling job alongside Mikel.
- Frank Lampard - 8.5/10 - By some distance the best player on the pitch.
- Salomon Kalou - 5.5/10 - Disappointing despite scoring the goal. His pull on Ilunga that gave West Ham a penalty was both unnecessary and idiotic. Inconsistency lets him down.
- Florent Malouda - 7.5/10 - The second best player on the pitch.
- Nicolas Anleka - 6/10 - A tad disappointing in his preferred position down the middle.
- Ashely Cole (sub for Bosingwa) - 7/10 - Hit the cross bar within minutes of coming on and was a constant threat down West Ham's right. We're going to miss him on Tuesday.
- Michael Essien (sub for Kalou) - 6/10 - Shored up midfield.
- Michael Ballack (sub for Mancienne) - 6/10 - Not enough time to make an impact.
Man of the Match
Frank Lampard. There's no doubt he's going to be held in the same esteem as Franco Zola when he finally hangs up his boots.
Final thoughts
A good performance and three points, but the Premier League title is beyond us now after Manchester United's comeback against Spurs at Old Trafford. Guus admitted as much after the nil-nil with Everton at the Bridge on Wednesday. It's going to be odd not being involved, particularly as there's still a month of the season remaining and four games left to be played. But the fact that all four teams - Fulham, Arsenal, Blackburn and Sunderland - still have something to play for, and our need to finish third to avoid a difficult Champions League qualifying tie, means it should still be an exciting end to the Premier League campaign.
The focus now though is on the Champions League and FA Cup final. Tuesday evening's first leg against Barca should be a cracker. I'm quite relaxed about the game, although I'm sure I'll be feeling sick to my stomach with worry by the time Tuesday afternoon gets here.
Keep the Blue Flag Flying High!
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20 Comments · Add yours
Sorry to contradict you, Nick, but this was actually Kalou's first PL goal since his brace against Middlesbrough at the end of January, which also decided the game. He is definitely one of the most frustrating players on our roster though, and while I still believe his best days were up front in the 06/07 season when he had less time to think and consequently lose the ball, ten goals a season isn't bad by any normal winger's standards, especially considering he's not playing on his preferred left side.
We all know our wingers have been the weakest part of our team since Robben left and therefore those two slots need renovating in the summer; Malouda, Joe and Kalou need someone else to keep them busy. Quaresma isn't even on the bench these days - there must be something seriously up if we're playing Anelka on the right over him. He's probably an awful trainer or something.
Decent result today, and Lamps continues to show the lunacy of his being omitted for the PFA award. He has to be a shoe-in for the FWA, who have longer to make their decision and are thankfully a little less biased. Onto Tuesday...
Barça struggle to draw with Valencia - LINK
Another routine win with Lamps putting in another MOTM performance.
Now for Barca. As a Chelsea fan i of course hope that hehas an off day, but in the end one can only but admire his genius. Therefore here is a brilliant article from The Times which puts Messi alongside Pele and Maradona as a true great:
LINK
From the Messi link.. i got a kick out of the intro..
"Here’s a not too debatable list of the great players around today: Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Kaka. And here are some recent greats: Ronaldinho, Zinedane Zidane, Luis Figo, the Brazilian Ronaldo.
Who’s missing?"...... errrr bloody frank lampard?
The piece actually goes on to say Messi is the player missing from the list, but how can such a pivatol player be left out? Amazing.
Cannot wait for the first leg..
I quite enjoyed the post match comments (courtesy of BBC)
West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola on Frank Lampard:
"They didn't forgive him for leaving.
"Frank is a very good professional, a very good boy and it makes me sorry to think he has a problem with this crowd."
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink:
"I have rested some players but if I had suggested doing the same to Frank Lampard, well, I didn't even talk to him about it.
"He would have looked at me as if to say, 'Why are you doing that?' These guys with big personalities, they want to play every game.
"Maybe some time in the near future I will have to tell him he's not going to play, but without looking at him I think."
Nice to see those ever-loveable Hammers living up to all the stereotypes; I think it would probably freak Frank out more if they ignored him or gave him a standing ovation, but every time we play them their abuse seems to spur him on to better things.
Much of their ire seems to be their woeful nepotism argument about him only making the team because his father was there; presumably he would sink without a trace when he moved and didn't have such a powerful influence helping him out? Oh... I suspect the fact that he's reasonably intelligent, well educated and - horror of horrors - middle class doesn't sit to well with some of the cave-dwelling wankers at Upton Park.
Reply to KaiserJonny_II:
Spot on JD; they didn't want him when he was there, and they resent the fact that he's gone on to be one of the best midfielders in the world.
I am happy each time we win 3 points (extremelly happy , of course :) ) . What makes me even more ''extremely happy'' is that Petr Cech, saved a penalty. After making a fool of himself against Liverpool and his poor reaction against Juventus, I
thought, no matter how much I loved Petr Cech and thought of him as the best goalkeeper in the world, respected him for being loyal and deciding to continue his career after the injury : he is done. Not even in top 3 best ,I thought.
But then, Cech, who was never really great penalty saver, saved the penalty against West Ham. Delightful.
i REally hope, he will regain his confidence and prove to all the skeptic he is great goalkeeper, truly great.
About Kalou... the guy, I thought, has a talent. The problem is,I think, he will always have a potential and talent until he is 40, never developing the potential into skill .However... until we get a DECENT winger we should keep him and pray to God, he will start playing good all the time, not only once in 40 games.
About Zola and Clarke... That was my wish ...but it won't come true ...For a simple reason called : Abramovich, who values managers who are ''stars'' and Zola is a legend in THE world of footballers, not managers (yet) . If we get Ancelotti, probably the second manager I hate the most ( First one is rIJKAARD, but I wouldn't object if he comes instead of Ancelotti ...better Rijkaard than this moron).
1. Our team today ...who is getting older and older, without anyone paying attention to the youth (di santo, stoch ...especially di santo), will get even more older. WE WILL keep the squad as it is today and start buying has-been players (Like Deco for example...)
2. We will play ugly and cowardly football, that consists of leading 2:0 and than losing 2:3 to a team thats twice weaker than ours.
What happens to a big club like Milan is because of him and Galliani who doesn't want to change him...I hope , really that he doesn't come. Anyone but him.
And about Barca... they drew against Valencia. I can't wait. They are team with best players and form , but we can win them, we can do ANYTHING!
Only thing that scares shit out of me is Lionel Messi...Without A.Cole to mark him, or anyone we could be screwed.
Nick, do you have a twitter account?
Seems funny to think back to when Spam hired Franco, and no one was sure whether he'd make a good club manager. By all accounts he transformed the team pretty quickly (no doubt at least half thanks to Stevie Clarke) and has them playing proper football. Oh, and he's brought good young players in, and got the whole team buying into the system he wants. Oh, and he sees it as a long-term project, and wants to take a few years to build the team just the way he wants it.
Hmm. Looks like we missed the bus fairly emphatically. Oh well, luckily for us there's another ageing non-Anglophone martinet manager with a big reputation whom we can hire instead. So that'll be all right then.
Worth noting also that Robbie Di Matteo's lot have had a great year (though tailed off a bit in the last couple of months), and Brendan Rogers has comprehensively saved Watford from relegation. But why look to a promising young manager with a real attacment to and feel for the club, when you can have a proven eminence grise who will be fired if he loses in the CL round of 16 or lets the team drop to 4th place?
Grrrr.
Reply to limetreebower:
'tis a fair point about Franco, but you're right about the club's outlook, LTB. Until they accept that taking a chance on someone like Franco might need a couple of years to get things right, I suspect we'll be ploughing the 'tried and tested' route which, as we know only too well, has its own particular pitfalls.
(have to say that whilst Franco has done well, he's only got West Ham roughly where they should be, in rather decent style, it has to be said - be interesting to see what happens if the board have to start flogging their decent talents to keep things on an even keel which is ultimately what did for Curbishley).
Lady luck smiling..wahay!! Barcelona only drew yesterday and Real madrid won 4-2 away to Seville!!!! Next week is El clasico in Madrid..right in the middle of Barcas Cl clash with US!! madrid will be out to win at all costs to be only 1 point behind..so hopefully expect some fatigue or injuries to barca unless Guardiola rests players. So much for their 12 point lead 3 months ago! lets hope this plays right into our hands.
This was a very good result.
Points, players and a decent performance all sorted ahead of Tuesday night.
Much as we want and need to win the CL, playing against barca is kind of relaxing: if we win then we're in the final and if not then there's no crowing from another PL side to contend with. We're vastly underestimated by the media so we've still got the underdog status, which also helps.
Given our recent history against them and their apparent drop in form, they should certainly be most nervous when we meet. Let's hope we can do another Poo all over them, so to speak.
PFA Player and Team of the Year
LINK
What a complete farce....... Giggs wins Player of The Year, despite only making 12 starts in a season and scoring one goal.
Only Anelka, possibly our most over-hyped player this year makes the Team Of The Year.... No place in the side for Lampard, with another 20 goals or Ashley Cole is absolutely taking the mick, especially when you consider our defence has still conceded the least goals this season.
Still, we should be used to not getting a fair shot at these awards by now.
I've just heard that Klinsmann has been sacked........now I wonder?????
CT,
Don't, please.
How anyone couldn't manage this seasons Bayern team to the title in Germany is a mystery. Some fairly solid, if unspectacular opposition in the Bundesliga.
If he cant do well with a squad as good as theirs against 'decent' opposition, could he really win the Premier League for us against the 'Big Three TM' ??
Still holding out for Riijkaard......
Reply to Fiftee:
Me too, anyone but Ancelotti for me. But Klinsmann is young and Bayern did pretty well in the CL, only being undone by everyone's darlings at Barca.
And if we're building for the future we've got to stop with this constant 'proven track record' bollocks. If every club went down that route then no new managers/coaches would ever come to the fore. Ancelotti has won 2 CL's....how many have won 3? I'll tell you then. 1. Bob Paisley is the only manager to have the trophy 3 times when it was just the plain old European Cup. Plenty are in the 2's club, Ancelotti, Clough, Hitzfeld, Sir Purplenose, Del Bosque, Sacchi et al, but only 1 has done it 3 times. Now that's since 1956, some 53 years. It suggests to me that its unlikely to be won a 3rd time by anyone, and even then, picking the who equals Paisley would need enormous luck. Lets be honest, Sir Purplenose is the most likely candidate to equal that achievement.
Now we're getting close to the time of speculation I'm merely throwing Klinsmann in as a possibility amongst Rijkaard, Moyes, Hughes, Ancelotti, Mancini, Spaletti and the usual suspects. I would be OK with Klinsmann as he is depply intelligent. modest, good with the press and experienced as a player, national coach and team coach and may well feel like he has a point to prove.
CT,
Fair point, and I agree that this time we need to go with someone who'll be given time.
If Jurgen came, he could always bring Ribery, Lahm and Schweinsteiger to soften the deal......
'' anyone but Ancelotti for me ''
this is what Tony said, and I completely agree
I just think its sad that some of our ex players are great with managing the clubs but Abramovich probably, doesn't even think of hiring them...