West Ham United 0 - 0 Sunderland

14/12/2013

15:00

Boleyn Ground

West Ham United vs Sunderland

 Goalscorers: 

 Analysis

So that must win game we had? Yeah, we didn't win it. And we didn't even play well.

With our recent poor form, and tough fixtures coming up, this was seen as a rare opportunity to take three points and alleviate a little pressure on ourselves, whilst piling it on a side that are really struggling for form themselves.

And in such a big, important home game, it speaks volumes that our highest rated played (Squawka Performance Scores) was our goalkeeper.

Jussi Jaaskelainen stopped us from losing to the leagues bottom side on Saturday. Not only did he make an impressive six saves to keep the Mackems at bay, but he also claimed the ball successfully seven times, punching just the once. This was a real return to form for Jussi after criticism in the past month or so.

(There has been a change to post match reports, so you can find a detailed breakdown of Jaaskelainen's distribution vs Vito Mannone's below).

The image below shows the saves Jussi made on Saturday afternoon.

http://epl.squawka.com/west-ham-united-vs-sunderland/

The only other player I want to focus on is Mohamed Diamé.

It was something of a surprise to see Diamé play the more advanced midfield role ahead of Ravel Morrison, but the Senegel captain had a very good game back in the middle of the park.

Mo posted an impressive 80% pass completion rate, won two tackles (50% success) created an opportunity for a team mate, and had three separate pops at goal.

But what was great to see was his driving at the opposition. When Diamé plays wide, we lose out on his brute force and ball carrying abilities. Against Sunderland, he regularly picked up the ball and ran with it.

In fact, he attempted 11 take ons on Saturday, winning 7 of them. The entire team attempted 27 between them, meaning Diamé was responsible for just over 40% of the attempted take ons for the whole West Ham side, and 43% of the total successful attempts (16).

To demonstrate the difference that Diamé displayed in this game to the rest of the season so far, you just need to look at his average take ons for the season. So far, he's attempted 4.5 per game, and has been successful with 2.2 per game. That means he made more than three times as many successful take ons against Sunderland than his season average so far.

A very disappointing result, and a very disappointing performance.

Oh well. At least we've got some easy games coming up...

 General Play 

4-2-3-1 Formation 4-2-3-1

(64) Jussi Jääskeläinen - Vito Mannone (41)

(27) Guy Demel - Ondrej Celustka (5)

(27) James Collins - John O'Shea (2)

(64) James Tomkins - Wes Brown (12)

(38) George McCartney - Phil Bardsley (33)

(20) Mark Noble - Lee Cattermole (37)

(24) Ravel Morrison - Ki Sung-Yueng (50)

(-2) Joe Cole - Emanuele Giaccherini (36)

(20) Mohamed Diamé - Sebastien Larsson (1)

(8) Matt Jarvis - Fabio Borini (5)

(-9) Modibo Maïga - Jozy Altidore (-2)

(-1) Jack Collison - Adam Johnson (-10)

(22) Joey O'Brien - Steven Fletcher (-10)

(-1) Carlton Cole - Andrea Dossena (-2)

Best Performance

(64) Jussi Jääskeläinen - Ki Sung-Yueng (50)

Worst Performance

(-9) Modibo Maïga - Adam Johnson (-10)

43% Possession 57%

290 Passes Attempted 409

Mark Noble 47 Most Attempted 61 Lee Cattermole

75% Passing Accuracy 82%

65% In Opp. Half 73%

Mark Noble 83% Best Accuracy (min. 15 passes) 100% Phil Bardsley

62 Long Balls 62

Mark Noble 8 Most Long Balls (excl. GK) 7 Lee Cattermole

Most Frequent Pass Combination

McCartney to Morrison 12 - 13 Ki to Bardsley

 31 Aerial Duels Won 19 

 62% Success 38% 

James Collins 9 Most Won 4 John O'Shea

George McCartney 70 Most Touches 83 Lee Cattermole

 Offensive Play 

11 Attempts on Goal 19

2 On Target 6

8 Off Target 6

1 Blocked 7

5 From Outside the Box 11

Mohamed Diamé 3 Most Shots 5 Ki Sung-Yueng

9 Key Passes 16

Mark Noble 3 Most Key Passes 6 Emanuele Giaccherini

21 Crosses 29

Matt Jarvis 5 Most Attempted 11 Sebastien Larsson

7 Successful Crosses 8

33% Success 28%

Mark Noble 2 Most Successful 6 Sebastien Larsson

 Defensive Play 

22 Tackles Attempted 22

19 Successful Tackles 17

86% Success 77%

Joe Cole 4 Most Tackles 8 Lee Cattermole

34 Clearances 17

James Collins 11 Most Clearances 6 Wes Brown

19 Interceptions 11

Mark Noble 6 Most Interceptions 4 Fabio Borini

7 Shot Blocks 1

Guy Demel 3 Most Shot Blocks 1 Sebastien Larsson

 Discipline 

 11 Fouls 5 

3 Most Fouls 2

1 Yellow Cards 0

West Ham United:  Mark Noble   

Sunderland:  n/a   

0 Red Cards 0

West Ham United:  n/a   

Sunderland:  n/a   

 Head to Heads 

Jussi Jääskeläinen vs Vito Mannone

0 Goals Conceded 0

6 Saves 2

  

7 Claims 3

7 Successful Claims 3

100% Success 100%

29 Total Distribution 42

17 Accurate 23

59% Success 55%

9 Goal Kicks 16

5 Accurate 7

56% Success 44%

  

5 Throw Outs 6

3 Accurate 6

60% Success 100%

2 Kick from Hand 1

2 Accurate 0

100% Success 0%

  

13 Other 19

7 Accurate 10

54% Success 53%

0 Errors Leading to Shot 0

0 Errors Leading to Goal 0

Modibo Maïga 7 Most Passed To 5 Wes Brown

James Tomkins 5 Most Passes From 6 John O'Shea

James Collins vs Wes Brown

11 Aerial Duels 7

9 Duels Won 3

82% Success 43%

  

1 Tackles Attempted 0

1 Tackles Completed 0

100% Success 0%

  

11 Clearances 3

0 Interceptions 1

0 Blocks 0

0 6yrd Blocks 0

  

0 Errors Leading to Shot 0

0 Errors Leading to Goal 0

  

13 Passes Attempted 39

8 Successful 28

62% Success 72%

  

0 Crosses Attempted 0

0 Successful 0

0% Success 0%

  

0 Chances Created 1

  

1 Attempts on Goal 0

0 On Target 0

0 Goals 0

  

Jussi Jääskeläinen 2 Most Passed To 11 Ki Sung-Yueng

Mark Noble 3 Most Passes From 6 Lee Cattermole

Mohamed Diamé vs Emanuele Giaccherini

25 Passes Attempted 50

20 Successful 46

80% Success 92%

  

1 Key Passes 6

0 Assists 0

  

3 Attempts on Goal 4

1 On Target 0

0 Goals 0

  

4 Tackles Attempted 2

2 Tackles Completed 2

50% Success 100%

  

1 Clearances 0

0 Interceptions 0

0 Blocks 0

0 6yrd Blocks 0

  

0 Errors Leading to Shot 0

0 Errors Leading to Goal 0

  

George McCartney 6 Most Passed To 11 Sebastien Larsson

Mark Noble 6 Most Passes From 12 Sebastien Larsson

Modibo Maïga vs Jozy Altidore

1 Attempts on Goal 3

0 On Target 2

0 Goals 0

  

2 Key Passes 1

0 Assists 0

  

24 Passes Attempted 17

13 Successful 13

54% Success 76%

  

15 Aerial Duels 7

5 Duels Won 0

33% Success 0%

  

3 Carlton Cole Most Passed To 3 Sebastien Larsson

7 Jussi Jääskeläinen Most Passes From 7 Emanuele Giaccherini

Norwich City 3 - 1 West Ham United

09/11/2013

17:30

Carrow Road

Norwich City vs West Ham United

 Goalscorers: 

0-1 Ravel Morrison 32'

1-1 Gary Hooper 54'

2-1 Robert Snodgrass 72'

3-1 Leroy Fer 90'

 Analysis 
I thought that by leaving it an extra day to write about, I'd be less angry and disappointed about this result. As it turns out, I was wrong.

At half time on Saturday, there was nothing at all to suggest we could, would or should capitulate in the manner we did. A clear victory seemed in our fingertips. We dominated Norwich in the first half - restricting the home team to just one attempt on goals in the opening 45.

But in the second half, we had less possession than in the first. We attempted 101 less passes. Our completion rate was worse. We had less shots, and less on target. We conceded more shots on our goal. We attempted less than half the amount of crosses. We were less successful with those we did attempts. We attempted half the amount of take ons. We were less successful with those two. And we won less aerial duels.

The image below gives a little indication of just how different our two displays were.

And yet, despite all of that, it was the stupid individual mistakes that cost us. The team display may have been overwhelmingly awful, but if simple, costly mistakes hadn't been made, we may have just gotten away with it.

Jussi Jaaskelainen broke character from this seasons saviour to be the villain, fumbling an easy ball, and then scrambling for the ball on the floor to concede a penalty. But people make mistakes. Errors happen in football, and Jussi has had a magnificent season so far. One big mistake doesn't change that.

That said, I wasn't impressed with Jussi. Not because of his mistake. But because of his distribution. I've often defended Jaaskelainen's distribution from criticism, suggesting it has been no worse that what Rob Green used to serve us up. But on Saturday it was woeful.

The image below shows Jussi's attempted passes. As you can see, he managed to find a man once out of 14 attempts. Even for a goalkeeper going long regularly, this is an astonishingly poor return.

http://epl.squawka.com/norwich-city-vs-west-ham-united/

I don't want to write about this game too much, so I'll end with a small positive.

For me, Razvan Rat was outstanding. Particularly in the first half, but in the second he was the one man who didn't disappear for the Hammers. In that second half, Rat still made one successful tackle, won both his headed duels, made three interceptions, and four clearances.

He also ended the game with an impressive pass completion of 82% (41/50), which is far higher than the totals he has been serving up recently.

But what really impressed was his engine. He really got up and down the left flank like a much younger man.

The image below shows his heat map, and demonstrates just what a shift he put in.

I'll be honest, I don't want to talk about it anymore.

 General Play 

4-4-1-1 Formation 4-6-0

(-4) John Ruddy - Jussi Jääskeläinen (-92)

(8) Russell Martin - Guy Demel (6)

(9) Michael Turner - James Collins (-12)

(23) Ryan Bennett - James Tomkins (8)

(6) Martin Olsson - Rǎzvan Raţ (-5)

(46) Robert Snodgrass - Mark Noble (19)

(17) Jonny Howson - Jack Collison (19)

(49) Leroy Fer - Stewart Downing (32)

(-4) Anthony Pilkington - Kevin Nolan (11)

(-27) Johan Elmander - Ravel Morrison (38)

(27) Gary Hooper - Joe Cole (11)

(1) Nathan Redmond - Mohamed Diamé (8)

(4) Bradley Johnson - Carlton Cole (-1)

() n/a - Matt Jarvis (0)

Best Performance

(49) Leroy Fer - Ravel Morrison (38)

Worst Performance

(-27) Johan Elmander - Jussi Jääskeläinen (-92)

47% Possession 53%

389 Passes Attempted 444

Leroy Fer 55 Most Attempted 73 Mark Noble

77% Passing Accuracy 81%

66% In Opp. Half 68%

Michael Turner 89% Best Accuracy 100% Joe Cole

59 Long Balls 75

Jonny Howson 6 Most Long Balls (excl. GK) 15 Rǎzvan Raţ

Most Frequent Pass Combination

Bennett to Turner 13 - 12 Collins to Tomkins

 14 Aerial Duels Won 14 

 50% Success 50% 

Michael Turner 5 Most Won 4 James Tomkins

Leroy Fer 73 Most Touches 94 Rǎzvan Raţ

 Offensive Play 

14 Attempts on Goal 12

6 On Target 4

8 Off Target 3

0 Blocked 5

5 From Outside the Box 5

Leroy Fer 3 Most Shots 3 Stewart Downing

12 Key Passes 6

Robert Snodgrass 5 Most Key Passes 3 Rǎzvan Raţ

16 Crosses 22

Robert Snodgrass 5 Most Attempted 11 Rǎzvan Raţ

5 Successful Crosses 7

31% Success 32%

Robert Snodgrass 3 Most Successful 3 Rǎzvan Raţ

 Defensive Play 

19 Tackles Attempted 17

14 Successful Tackles 15

74% Success 88%

Leroy Fer 7 Most Tackles 4 Mark Noble

30 Clearances 36

Michael Turner 11 Most Clearances 12 James Tomkins

9 Interceptions 8

Jonny Howseon 3 Most Interceptions 2 Jack Collison

5 Shot Blocks 0

Martin Olsson 2 Most Shot Blocks 0 

 Discipline 

 12 Fouls 11 

2 Most Fouls 4

1 Yellow Cards 1

Norwich City:  Michael Turner   

West Ham United:  Kevin Nolan   

0 Red Cards 0

Norwich City:  n/a   

West Ham United:  n/a   

 Head to Heads 

John Ruddy vs Jussi Jääskeläinen

1 Goals Conceded 3

3 Saves 3

  

2 Claims 4

2 Successful Claims 4

100% Success 100%

18 Total Passes 14

9 Accurate Passes 1

50% Success 7%

15 Long Balls 13

83% % 93%

2 Throw Outs 0

6 Kick from Hand 5

0 Errors Leading to Shot 0

0 Errors Leading to Goal 1

Robert Snodgrass 6 Most Passed To 2 Carlton Cole

Ryan Bennett 5 Most Passes From 3 James Tomkins

Martin Olsson vs Rǎzvan Raţ

2 Aerial Duels 2

0 Duels Won 2

0% Success 100%

  

1 Tackles Attempted 1

1 Tackles Completed 1

100% Success 100%

  

5 Clearances 7

2 Interceptions 2

2 Blocks 0

0 6yrd Blocks 0

  

0 Errors Leading to Shot 0

0 Errors Leading to Goal 0

  

31 Passes Attempted 53

24 Successful 42

77% Success 79%

  

3 Crosses Attempted 11

1 Successful 3

33% Success 27%

  

0 Chances Created 3

  

0 Attempts on Goal 0

0 On Target 0

0 Goals 0

  

Nathan Redmond 7 Most Passed To 8 Joe Cole

Jonny Howson 10 Most Passes From 11 James Tomkins

Leroy Fer vs Ravel Morrison

54 Passes Attempted 37

43 Successful 34

80% Success 92%

  

2 Key Passes 0

0 Assists 0

  

3 Attempts on Goal 2

1 On Target 1

1 Goals 1

  

7 Tackles Attempted 1

4 Tackles Completed 1

57% Success 100%

  

0 Clearances 0

1 Interceptions 0

1 Blocks 0

0 6yrd Blocks 0

  

0 Errors Leading to Shot 0

0 Errors Leading to Goal 0

  

Jonny Howson 7 Most Passed To 6 Mark Noble

Jonny Howson 7 Most Passes From 7 Mark Noble

Gary Hooper vs Kevin Nolan

2 Attempts on Goal 3

2 On Target 2

1 Goals 0

  

2 Key Passes 2

0 Assists 1

  

29 Passes Attempted 27

22 Successful 22

76% Success 81%

  

0 Aerial Duels 4

0 Duels Won 0

0% Success 0%

  

6 Leroy Fer Most Passed To 6 Ravel Morrison

8 Johan Elmander Most Passes From 5 Ravel Morrison

Swansea City 0 - 0 West Ham United

27/10/2013

16:00

Liberty Stadium

Swansea City vs West Ham United

 Goalscorers

 Analysis 

Another point on the road. Four clean sheets in five away games. An improvement by three goals an one point on the same fixture last season. At the start of the season, most of us agreed that an improvement in away results would be a crucial factor in seeing us develop this season, and it appears we are getting there.

But there were more than enough opportunities for us to win this game.

We are all getting used to Sam Allardyce saying in his post match conferences that we are creating chances but failing to take them. Sometimes we don't all agree with Sam's point, but there was no arguing this week.

The image below shows the number of shots off target by West Ham yesterday afternoon. There were seven different attempts off target, six of which came from within the penalty area, and four of which came within the six yard box.

Failing to even hit the target on four different occasions from within the six yard box is criminal, and we need to start taking these opportunities if we want to climb up the table.

http://epl.squawka.com/swansea-city-vs-west-ham-united/

And this inability to take our chances meant we, yet again, relied on our defence and goalkeeper to save the day.

Jussi Jaaskelainen made 5 saves on the day, with one or two of them at the very highest standard (Wilfried Bony's attempt had my heart in my mouth!), and the defence were once again almost impenetrable.

Between them, the back four of Guy Demel, James Tomkins, Winston Reid and Razvan Rat managed 5 tackles, 11 interceptions, 22 clearances, and blocked three shots.

Between the five of them, they managed to thwart 8 goal-bound Swansea attempts, as shown in the image below (Purple = Saved, Orange = Blocked).

One thing we did see for the first time in a while was a big man leading the line. Although we started with the strikerless 4-6-0 again, Carlton Cole's introduction gave us a different way to attack. 

Carlton's return to the club has not been universally welcomed by supporters, but he certainly managed to provide an alternative outlet in attack on Sunday. He only managed 15 touches of the ball, but with those, he managed to get one shot on target, create a goalscoring opportunity for Matt Jarvis, and, perhaps the one thing we've most lacked in the absence of a big man, four clearances.

The image below shows Carlton's attempted passes. What you can see, is that he operated within the width of the 18 yard box and no wider - giving the side a real focal point. Okay, so his passing wasn't perfect with a 43% accuracy, but his presence allowed us to regain a foothold in the game when it looked to be slipping away.

The final area that I wanted to focus on was the performance of Kevin Nolan.

There has been a lot of criticism of Nolan's involvement so far this season - with the skipper failing to gain a foothold in game after game in the Premier League.

Well, Sunday afternoon was no different. In a full 90 minutes, Nolan touched the ball just 26 times - less than all West Ham players other than the substitutes and Ricardo Vaz Te (removed after half an hour with injury).

He did get involved in the dirty, defensive work - attempting three tackles, and managing one interception and a clearance, but his defensive role appears increasingly baffling. The selection of Nolan in this deeper, defensive role next to Mark Noble is designed to allow Mohamed Diamé the opportunity to push on and attack the opposition. But Diamé is one of our best tacklers, and his energy and ability to drive with the ball from deep was one of our most effective weapons last season. It seems that Nolan sitting in this role is forcing Diamé out of his best position, and moving Nolan away from the areas in which he is most effective.

The image below shows Nolan's passes. Although he was useful on the ball (81% passing accuracy) his total of 16 attempted passes essentially renders him anonymous in possession.

Any point away from home is a good point, so we should be pleased with this result. But we will always wonder what could, or should, have been in this game.

A midweek trip to Burnley in the Capital One Cup will give us the opportunity to get a few more players up to speed before Aston Villa come to the Boleyn next Saturday, in a game we really need to to win.

 General Play 

4-2-3-1 Formation 4-2-3-1

(47) Michel Vorm - Jussi Jääskeläinen (43)

(22) Angel Rangel - Guy Demel (15)

(66) Chico Flores - James Tomkins (24)

(63) Ashley Williams - Winston Reid (46)

(24) Neil Taylor - Rǎzvan Raţ (18)

(4) Leon Britton - Mark Noble (18)

(1) Jonathan De Guzman - Kevin Nolan (10)

(8) Nathan Dyer - Stewart Downing (36)

(16) Miguel Michu - Ravel Morrison (-1)

(-10) Wayne Routledge - Ricardo Vâz Te (2)

(-16) Alvaro Vazquez - Mohamed Diamé (-18)

(27) Pablo Hernandez - Matt Jarvis (-26)

(11) Wilfried Bony - Carlton Cole (6)

(n/a)  - Joe Cole (-35)

Best Performance

(66) Chico Flores - Winston Reid (46)

Worst Performance

(-16) Alvaro Vazquez - Joe Cole (-35)

65% Possession 35%

644 Passes Attempted 326

Ashley Williams 94 Most Attempted 38 Mark Noble

82% Passing Accuracy 65%

71% In Opp. Half 59%

Jonathan De Guzman 92% Best Accuracy 88% Ravel Morrison

56 Long Balls 62

Ashley Williams 12 Most Long Balls (excl. GK) 7 Rǎzvan Raţ

Most Frequent Pass Combination

Williams to Chico 23 - 9 Noble to Downing

 7 Aerial Duels Won 15 

 32% Success 68% 

Ashley Williams 3 Most Won 4 Winston Reid

Ashley Williams 110 Most Touches 55 Mark Noble

 Offensive Play 

10 Attempts on Goal 15

5 On Target 5

2 Off Target 7

3 Blocked 3

4 From Outside the Box 3

Miiguel Michu 3 Most Shots 3 Stewart Downing

8 Key Passes 12

Pablo Hernandez 2 Most Key Passes 2 Stewart Downing

23 Crosses 18

Jonathan De Guzman 12 Most Attempted 7 Stewart Downing

4 Successful Crosses 6

17% Success 33%

Jonathan De Guzman 4 Most Successful 3 Stewart Downing

 Defensive Play 

15 Tackles Attempted 13

13 Successful Tackles 9

87% Success 69%

Wayne Routledge 2 Most Tackles 3 Kevin Nolan

32 Clearances 35

Ashley Williams 12 Most Clearances 9 James Tomkins

7 Interceptions 19

Angel Rangel 2 Most Interceptions 5 Winston Reid

4 Shot Blocks 4

Angel Rangel 3 Most Shot Blocks 2 Winston Reid

 Discipline 

 10 Fouls 14 

3 Most Fouls 3

1 Yellow Cards 0

Swansea City:  Angel Rangel   

West Ham United:  Guy Demel,  Ravel Morrison,  Joe Cole 

0 Red Cards 0

Swansea City:     

West Ham United:     

 Head to Heads 

Michel Vorm vs Jussi Jääskeläinen

0 Goals Conceded 0

4 Saves 5

  

5 Claims 5

4 Successful Claims 5

80% Success 100%

10 Total Passes 17

7 Accurate Passes 10

70% Success 59%

4 Long Balls 14

40% % 82%

9 Throw Outs 3

1 Kick from Hand 3

0 Errors Leading to Shot 0

0 Errors Leading to Goal 0

Chico Flores 6 Most Passed To 4 Carlton Cole

Angel Rangel 3 Most Passes From 3 James Tomkins

Ashley Williams vs Winston Reid

4 Aerial Duels 5

3 Duels Won 4

75% Success 80%

  

1 Tackles Attempted 1

1 Tackles Completed 1

100% Success 100%

  

12 Clearances 9

2 Interceptions 5

0 Blocks 2

0 6yrd Blocks 0

  

0 Errors Leading to Shot 0

0 Errors Leading to Goal 0

  

94 Passes Attempted 30

84 Successful 17

89% Success 57%

  

0 Crosses Attempted 0

0 Successful 0

0% Success 0%

  

0 Chances Created 0

  

0 Attempts on Goal 0

0 On Target 0

0 Goals 0

  

Chico Flores 23 Most Passed To 3 Kevin Nolan

Chico Flores 21 Most Passes From 3 Mark Noble

Jonathan De Guzman vs Kevin Nolan

77 Passes Attempted 16

64 Successful 13

83% Success 81%

  

2 Key Passes 1

0 Assists 0

  

1 Attempts on Goal 2

0 On Target 1

0 Goals 0

  

1 Tackles Attempted 3

1 Tackles Completed 2

100% Success 67%

  

0 Clearances 1

0 Interceptions 1

0 Blocks 0

0 6yrd Blocks 0

  

0 Errors Leading to Shot 0

0 Errors Leading to Goal 0

  

Leon Britton 11 Most Passed To 3 Stewart Downing

Angel Rangel 12 Most Passes From 3 Winston Reid

Wilfried Bony vs Carlton Cole

1 Attempts on Goal 1

1 On Target 1

0 Goals 0

  

0 Key Passes 1

0 Assists 0

  

5 Passes Attempted 7

4 Successful 3

80% Success 43%

  

2 Aerial Duels 1

0 Duels Won 1

0% Success 100%

  

2 Nathan Dyer Most Passed To 1 Joe Cole

2 Nathan Dyer Most Passes From 1 Joe Cole