SNAP!!!...Stoke do it the Allardisi Way

Touche!!! There’s been all sorts of carping by West Ham about the various injustices served upon them during their 3-1 defeat yesterday at the Brittania, but in all fairness we got beaten sat our own game. A tough and resolute Stoke side matched us for every missed pass in a scrappy but entertaining affair and despite taking a ‘crucial’ early lead, we let them grind us down and then behead us on the break as we pushed up in desperation at the end. The shots on target rating favours Stoke at 9 versus 2 and that alone surely says enough about who deserved to take the points.

 

There can be little consolation in losing to such a charmless lot – with Shawcross, Odemwingie and the truly odious Stephen Ireland unlikely to win any popularity contests outside of the Potteries. The only solace for Hammers fans was in the excellent performance of Andy Carroll and his return to goal scoring after a full eleven months! Hardly the form of anybody looking to travel to the world cup, and after all his injuries it would surely be better for the Hammers if he stayed back in the safety of East London for the summer break.

After the harsh treatment of Mark Noble, Hodgson deserves little assistance from the Hammers and many fans are still sore about the Ashtongate incident. So it’s back to the grind and a reality that we still need to watch our backs as the relegation battle will be tight as hell and likely to throw up a few surprises yet. Next up is a hopelessly out of from Man United, straight off a thumping at home from Liverpool.  They will arrive feeling sore and ready to bite back and a fit Rooney (who always seems to score against us!). We must not forget the genuine injustices of last season’s encounters with the Mancs which left a score to be settled.