WHUFC vs Tottenham -- November 23, 2019

MSNBC (the channel that broadcasts premier league footie over here) is running a premier league pups thing where you send in pictures of your pooch - I guess in football attire or something...

seems Pellegrini has taken that to heart by constantly parading his dog of a team out there for all the world to see...

He has to go, and I don't always ask for a managerial change... but this has got to stop before we're in League Two....


and speaking of dogs... my beloved Ripley has seen enough of this shit and wants to go back to bed...

but I'm still awake... it's now 5:30 on a Saturday morning... there's the rest of the weekend to be depressed through...

even Aston Villa could overtake us today if they get a result...

Well here's something... Antonio is out in the starting 11....

Anderson makes way...










I'd call it desperate rather than inspired... even though Anderson is pants and we need Antonio's strength, speed and just all round love of playing football...

Will it be enough to salvage this game or Pellegrini's career?

I have my doubts on both fronts... but we'll see.

2 minutes gone, almost all West Ham... Antonio wins a free kick...

see, he's done more in two minutes than the team has in the last 7 games...



oh god... piss poor free kick and Spurs....

almost score but Mora passes across an open goal instead of slotting the ball home...

Diop needs ...

oh fupp... it's 0-3


Pellegrini has to go... this is pitiful...

I wa about to say that diop needs to be taken off because he's obviously so gun-shy about getting booked that he's not tackling anyone...

then he completely fails to see Kane behind him and Kane heads the ball... which passes THROUGH Roberto's hands... into the back of the net...


Roberto needs to quit football... he's ab-so-sucking-lutely terrible...

we could have NO goalkeepers at the club at all... no green jersey's and Roberto would still be the wrong choice... but Pellegrini plays him wen in week out... yes... Fabianski is a legend and yes, Fabianski is injured... but for Fucks sake... not having a goal keeper wouldn't be a worse tactical choice than playing him....

Lets see if we have to get relegated before the Daves will actually do something about how terrible we are...


Diop is shoulder barged off the ball by Harry Kane... please... take him off... not because he's bad but because you'll actually save him from having his confidence completely destroyed...

"GOAL! West Ham United 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur (Kane 49)

Moura’s miss matters not. Aurier is afforded space down the right. He crosses high. Kane rises and plants a downward header past the flapping Roberto. Kane beat a snoozing, dizzy Diop with ease there."


Spuds are currently 5th in the table...

Fornals is stripping to come in... take your pick as to who goes off... they're all shit...

Antonio is flagged offside... but it's still nice to see a West Ham player get the ball and actually run into the penalty area.


Yarmolenko comes off to make way for Fornals... like that's going to change anything.

56 minutes gone... more than half an hour still to play...

we could lose by 4, 5... even more isn;'t out of the question.

Comms have got it spot on....

"this is the West Ham team... that's the worrying thing"

yup... this is it...

where to we go? what do we do?

who are we waiting to come back?

Fabianski obviously... but he won't win games for us, he just stops us losing or losing by big margins...

on the actual going forward side of things... who?

Wilshere? He's been shit even when he's fit...

Lanzini... sure, we love him... but he's hardly a match winner...

Masuaku - yes, there's no obvious reason for his omission from such a poor team...

but that's it... THAT' along with our bunch of can't give a toss players who are already ou there proving they have no heart, no desire, no fight...

that's all we have... that's the West Ham squad, not even just the team...


So I guess the logical part of the brain is saying, why sack Pellegrimni, there's no really any other players to pick from...

you all know I can't stand Noble and hat him more every time he proves he's past his sell by date... but who else would you put there?

That's the big question... so yeah... there's no justification for keeping the manager even to the end of this game, let alone the end of the season... but what's a new guy going to do?

"61 min: West Ham United force Gazzaniga into a save! Antonio glides in from the right and curls towards the top right. It’s an easy catch for the keeper, who immediately launches long. Diop, who has been awful today, misjudges the flight of the long blooter, and allows Kane to tear clear on goal! To be fair to Diop, he mops up his own mess by powering back and blocking Kane, who dithered uncharacteristically. But still. What a mess."


I would go on but Diop is now finally being spared form himself...

Sanchez comes on to save Diop's blushes...

we've had 3 shots...

1 on target...

antonio cuts through three Spuds players before being brought down...

freekick

straight into Kane's face...

apologies... but this one is just too good not to cut and paste...

"67 min: Aurier nutmegs Snodgrass out on the right wing, and scampers off tittering, like a cartoon character with a bag of sweeties. Snodgrass tilts his head back, scrunches his eyes, and emits a loud AW NO. It’s been that sort of day for West Ham."

just as I'm sitting here trying to think of something witty or pithy or... well, anything to write at all at this point other than how abjectly awful we are...

Antonio - the only man in claret and blue who cares... actually goes and scores a damn goal...

and it was a good goal too... just peachy.

the guardian has a much better handle on making things entertaining to read than I do...

"GOAL! West Ham United 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur (Antonio 73)

Antonio has been West Ham’s one success story this afternoon, putting himself about since coming on, a whirlwind of desire and talent. There’s some pinball in the Spurs box. The ball breaks to him. He slips Alderweireld with a deft shimmy right, then slaps a low shot into the bottom left from the edge of the area! A lovely finish, and there’s life in this match yet."

15 minutes to go...

Antonio chests down to Haller who flaps at the ball like he's doing his best impersonation of Roberto...

it'll still count as an attack....



Spuds are bringing on fresh legs... just what we need...

less than ten minutes to go...

wholesale changes needed

Spurs have bossed this game from top to bottom... we just carried on the work we've done in the last 7... until Antonio came on and spoiled everything by actually caring and trying... and fupping scoring...

We need a new manager, and quickly

The BBC:

"85 mins
West Ham 1-3 Tottenham
Any hope and momentum West ham were hoping to get from the Antonio goal has failed to materialise. Tottenham look pretty comfortable."

yup, that pretty much sums it up...

Snoddy and Kane getting their handbags out...
tbh, it was a cunty move by Kane
but they both get booked and we're still losing at home.

The Guardian again...


86 min: West Ham refuse to put the ball out of play with Sissoko down injured. Kane has a nibble at Snodgrass, who reacts angrily and throws the Spurs man to the floor. Just for a second, it looks like developing into a bit of rough-house, but everyone calms down quickly enough.

87 min: However, after giving it some thought, Michael Oliver books Kane and Snodgrass, who, it should be pointed out, are both grown men.

antonio wins us a corner

and we score...

Rice taps in at the far post form a West Ham head... but it looks like he's going to be VAR'd offside...

all it's doing is dragging out this pointless (literally) dead game... and giving some people hope to cling to...