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What happened?

It’s hard to take any positives from what was yet another poor performance from both the players and Sam Allardyce. On reflection, the 3-0 scoreline wasn’t particularly surprising, but if you’re going to lose to the likes of Chelsea it would be nice to see the players go down fighting.

Instead we were gutless, reckless and just embarrassing at times. Guy Demel‘s half hearted back pass forced Jussi Jaaskelainen to give away a penalty which, Frank Lampard converted with ease. And then Oscar was allowed too much time on the ball to slot home ten minutes before the break.

I reaction in the second half was needed and you would have least expected the players to come out and push for a goal, but instead it was much of the same and Frank Lampard rounded things off with a third eight minutes from time.

There were, however, two positives to take from the game. Firstly, Ravel Morrison continued to show how much of a talent his is and showed no fear against a Chelsea side riddled with world class internationals. And, secondly, the support shown from Hammers fans towards the end of the game in the corner of the Alpari Stand was superb. While half of the Boleyn Ground had emptied out, that corner stayed and sang their hearts out. Top effort.

Why?

It’s the same old story every single week. Allardyce’s refusal to play a striker is seriously damaging our chances of finishing in the top ten this season. Of course, it doesn’t help that Andy Carroll has been sidelined for so long, but Allardyce clearly doesn’t know how to deal without him in the side. 4-6-0 does not work and it’s fair to say that the 3-0 victory over Tottenham was a complete one off. That won’t happen again.

Also, his team selection is something of a mystery at the moment. In a game that need a strong midfield, he left Mohamed Diame on the bench and then, when he decided to introduce the big man, he stuck him out on the wing.

Furthermore, Allardyce’s love affair with Kevin Nolan needs a serious rethink. There’s no doubting Nolan’s ability and he’s been brilliant for us ever since signing two years ago, but we have seen this season that his services are void without a striker to feed off. If Allardyce is not going to play a striker, then he simply can’t play Kevin Nolan. The formation doesn’t suit him and it never will do.

Did we deserve it?

Yes, there’s not question that we didn’t deserve to take anything from the game and the scoreline was fully justified by our performance.

That said, Chelsea weren’t exactly at their best on the day, which makes the result even more disappointing. If your performance makes Chelsea look good then you know something needs to be done.

Who stood out for the Hammers?

Ravel Morrison was a shining light, while Stewart Downing showed glimpses of his ability deliver perfect crosses. If only we had a striker to get on the end of them!

The rest of the side were average and most were poor. Joey O’Brien was caught out of position on way too many occasions, while Modibo Maiga offered absolutely nothing up front once again.

Who’s next?

After a run of disappointing results, we now face two six-pointer London derbies against sides below us in the table. Fulham come to the Boleyn Ground next week just as desperate for a result as we are, while our trip to Crystal Palace the week after doesn’t look as promising as it did a few weeks ago now they’ve got permanent manager in Tony Pulis and a morale boosting win at Hull.

But the reality is that anything less than six points from our next two games will mean a definite relegation battle this season, which is a far cry from where we should be.