West Ham away (PL) Match Reaction Thread

[Özim]

I think you need to view results in isolation. If you pretend we haven't collapsed catastrophically and we really needed three points to keep our slim, slim title chances alive (remember the win every game message Wenger was talking about), just forget all that and a draw is a decent result.

But then there's the old problem of blowing leads. So what we need to do is take each half in isolation. If we ignore the first half I think we showed great resilience in coming from a goal behind to get the draw. A point there is a pretty good result. Ignoring the Leicester and spud results, every point is precious at this stage of the season.

So all in all plenty of positives to take from the game.

Don't forget if we go on a mini unbeaten run from now until the end of the season it will prove Wenger is right and we were the greatest all along, they should just base the title on the last 7 games, that would be the only fair thing to do.

Next season we should tear it up based on our results in the last few games, we don't need any new signings as we have about a half a dozen new signings to come back from injury, everything is falling into place just as Wenger said it would, we've found the 2% at last

[Özim]

ZIM NOT FINDING ANYTHING POSITIVE TO SAY SHOCK EXCLUSIVE

There are no positives to dropping points left right and center when it mattered and then picking up draws in games we were 2-0 in.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I have had plenty of people my brother included say that Chelsea, United and City have all collapsed this season as some kind of mitigation.

1) They have all won the title more recently than us so to compare ourselves to them is misleading

2) There is a familiarity in our collapse in the way it tends to happen at the same time of every season whenever we are challenging for the title (07/08), (10/11), (13/14) and now this season. You can argue that we haven't been able to compete because of spending power disparity but you'd have all your work in front of you to argue that the collapses have anything to do with lack of spending if we got ourselves into that position in the first place. Lack of spending didn't contribute to Gallas flouncing off like a little girl after the 2-2 draw at St Andrews, blowing a four goal lead at Newcastle or being 4-0 down at Anfield in twenty minutes.

3) At all these other clubs there is consequence for their failure. Of course you could argue in the case of Chelsea that they don't give their managers enough time but it's only Arsenal where whether we give ourselves an uphill struggle or a spectacular fall from the summit and end up in the same position where it's regarded as an achievement.

[Letters]

Is there a point to comparing them to other teams? If we're going to compare ourselves to previous title holders, they've had shit seasons and the managers have been sacked or will be. Also, we need to looking internally rather than outside to others because it's another 'disappointing' season and we're saying it's not good enough. It's unlikely Chelsea, City and Utd will have another season like this but we're more than likely to have a season where we're ending up in the 70 points bracket at the end of the season.

All teams will drop points in games when they've gone ahead. If it's perceived that it's a particular problem with us then I think it's useful to compare with other teams to see whether it's something which happens more than other teams. That's my reasoning for doing it. And maybe a comparison with ourselves in other seasons would be useful to see if it's something which has got worse or better.

[Letters]

There are no positives to dropping points left right and center when it mattered and then picking up draws in games we were 2-0 in.

I'd take you more seriously if you weren't so unrelentingly miserable about every sodding thing.
You clearly get no enjoyment from football, I don't know why you don't just stop watching and put us out of your misery.

[Kano]

There are no positives to dropping points left right and center when it mattered and then picking up draws in games we were 2-0 in.

Of course there aren't. It's absolute bollocks to talk about resilience and coming back to get a draw after such a calamitous collapse mid-game.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Leicester have taken the lead five times this season and not come away with a win

But there are far more instances of them coming back to claim results when they have been behind


Spurs have taken the lead the same time as us without going on to win


But again far more points accumulated from conceding the first goal or going behind at any point during the game.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I'd take you more seriously if you weren't so unrelentingly miserable about every sodding thing.
You clearly get no enjoyment from football, I don't know why you don't just stop watching and put us out of your misery.

Can you honestly say that apart from going 2-0 up there was anything remotely enjoyable about the West Ham game. Without going on to claim a winner, Koscielnys equaliser was next to useless to us.

[Letters]

Can you honestly say that apart from going 2-0 up there was anything remotely enjoyable about the West Ham game. Without going on to claim a winner, Koscielnys equaliser was next to useless to us.

Didn't see it tbh, I was out and about, but I heard it was a good game generally. The positive is we didn't lose when it went to 3-2 and a point there generally is a good result, the negative is we were 2-0 up and should have won.
It's as simple as that really.

[Power n Glory]

All teams will drop points in games when they've gone ahead. If it's perceived that it's a particular problem with us then I think it's useful to compare with other teams to see whether it's something which happens more than other teams. That's my reasoning for doing it. And maybe a comparison with ourselves in other seasons would be useful to see if it's something which has got worse or better.

What's the purpose? Are you battling perception on GW or looking for evidence of improvement in the team? Looking at what previous title winners have done is pretty pointless because they haven't gone 10 years or so without winning the league. That's what all this debate adds up to. Our inability to sustain a title challenge. Of course all teams drop points but we're a team that always seem to hit a glass ceiling. Since last winning the league, we've only finished the season with over 80 points twice (2004/05 and 2007/08). Nobody has won the league with less than 80 points since the late 98/99. That says it all really. We're just not improving.