Yes, the history of West Ham United (Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters was an integral part of the 1966 England World Cup winning side) enthralls me so much when I was 13 (2001) years old that I decided to support the team through thick and thin. As they got relegated I have stuck with them by constantly keeping myself updated with the latest musings of West Ham United in the coca-cola championship.
When the Hammers return to the top flight I was ecstatic. The club did not only play and win but they played with a certain flair and heart with the likes of Yossi Benayoun and as the seasons passed we acquired World class player like Carlos Tevez.
This season was different. From the start, I felt that the club made the wrong decision to bring in Avram Grant. Yes he brought Portsmouth to the F.A. Cup finals but they still got relegated. The players weren't much into games with the exception of Scott Parker.There are so many things that went wrong this season and I will try my best to cover it starting with the Goalkeeper.
Goalkeeper
Robert Green (1st Choice)
Peter Kurucz
Marek Stech
Ruud Boffin
From the list we can see that the goalkeeping department lack depth and experience. Aside Green, the other three goalkeepers are just starting in their footballing careers and the average age between the three young keepers are 22 years old. I am not saying they are bad goalkeepers because they are young (look at Joe Hart, Iker Casillas etc.) but if the manager trust them shouldn't they be in the game since Robert Green has been having a torrid season since the world cup? This have prove something to me that the goalkeepers are not to the standard of the league or the manager doesn't trust them.
Robert Green is terrible this season. There. I have said it. He truly had a disappointing season for somebody fighting for the England No. 1 jersey. Most of the times we was unsure, erratic, nervous every single attribute you don't want a keeper to have he had it. My say is Goodbye Green and buy a new keeper. He has done too much damage already it is better he leaves before it gets worse.
Here are the team Stats for the season in goal
Clean Sheet: 5(tied for the 2 worst record with two other clubs)
Conceded goals: 67 ( third worst in the league)
Goals against average per match: 1.81 ( third worst in the league)
Goal difference: -24 ( The worst in the league)
Statistics are retrieved from statistics of premier league and stats from football365
We are at least in the bottom three for any one of the categories. We have a 56.7% chance the opponent will score first in any match away or home. Compared to one of the relegation candidates Birmingham City who are at 48.6%
With a defensive and Goalkeeping like this there is no wonder we got relegated so easily without any fight. In the coming post I will talk about the defensive frailties of the West Ham United Back line and the shining light that might help them to come back up straight from relegation into the premier league once again.
I'm forever blowing Bubbles!
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