A really entertaining game but for the attendance

I very much hope that Saturdays dismal performance is the low point of the season and that there are much better things to come. Whilst the format of this cup is very questionable it was a very useful game for the team as it gave some players a chance to push for a first team place and others a chance to confirm that they are good enough to retain a place. The crowd as expected looked very low and my initial thoughts were that this would be a huge advantage to the West Ham team as it is not easy for Professional first team to play in these surroundings. I need not have worried as right from the off we went at the opposition with an intent that was totally missing Saturday and the only real surprise was that our pressure and skilful play did not result in a couple of goals. It was a very enjoyable game throughout and whilst the Hammers have some talented players they lacked the physical strength of most of the opposing sides we come up against and this was evidenced from the first minute to the last as it was clear to see that our players meant business and knew their places were on the line which was good to see. DC now has some difficult decisions to make before Saturdays must win game. For me Bonham,Leadbitter, Lockyer, Kelly, Upson, Jacubiak and Payne did enough to guarantee their place in Saturdays match and the rest of the squad played last night did their chances no harm whatsoever.

Bonham 6.5  Thankfully was not needed to produce anything near last Saturdays form but did OK and after not being played last night I think we will see Smith depart in January as he is now firmly a number 2 and having been replaced by a Loan keeper he will feel that he needs to go to a club where he can get games which will probably be a League 2 club.

Leadbitter 6  Much better performance from him. there were still short comings where he got caught out but overall a reasonable first half display and at least has the pace to9 give us a bit of width and because of that I would start him Saturday.
Lockyer 7  Good all round performance and crowned with a goal.
Broadbent 6  An ok performance but for me not enough to displace Tony Craig and I fully expect DC to select Craig anyway. He does give us more bringing the ball out but it is important that we keep it tight at the back which most games this season we have and it has been mainly individual mistakes that have caused the problems and for me Broadbent is generally second best to Craig at present but is improving which is good to see.
Kelly 6.5  Very similar to Leadbitter's performance and did OK against a speedy opponent and had a generally sound 90 minutes. Would I play him in preference to Martin? This would be a close call but I probably would because the potential is definitely there

Matthews 6 Caught sleeping far too often for me and defensively provides little cover but is a useful player. Not sure that he gives us enough width for home games in particular and IMO it is a great shame that Rodman has not as yet provided  the sort of performance we were expecting. Personally I would be looking at out of contract players to see if there is a better option out there for the vital right wing position.
Upson 7  Best game so far and in a much more forward role. Worked hard and good on the ball but for a home game Saturday we can't afford to play both him and Ollie Clarke so for me it has to be a straight choice and whilst Ollie has had the better start to the season I think Upson is better on the ball and also in dead ball situations where based on last night I would prefer to see him controlling the situation rather than Chris Lines. His deliveries were very accurate last night and we should have scored two more goals from them. set up the first goal with a stunning pass inside the defender and allowing an exquisite finish from Jacubiak.
Clarke 6.5  Worked hard but for me similar to Sinclair lacks that bit of quality on the ball and I feel takes too long to get from deeper positions. He has played better this season but the question is for a home game does he have enough about him? It is a close decision in my opinion but I think DC will probably play him and I would not strongly disagree.
Sinclair 5 Looked rusty which is as would be expected after so long out but good to have him available again as a valuable squad member but a wide man he most definitely is not and his nuisance value is also lost out there. Is he better than what we have in the middle 2 I would say No although for me he could play in the hole behind a front two where his energy would enable us to close down and hassle the opposition which is probably a tactic we should be using. Just wish he had a bit more quality about him.
Payne 7.5 MOM  Ran himself into the ground and troubled the West ham defence all night with strong running and clever hold up play and was a completely different proposition to the lifeless display Saturday and there were at least signs that him and Jacubiak could work together. I would very much like to see Dion Moore from the  Development squad on the bench Saturday to provide a different sort of attacking player if Payne fails to produce.
Jakubiak 7  Did enough to warrant a start on Saturday and looks full of pace and the confidence his excellently taken goal gave him could be visibly seen as he started to do things which previously he hadn't and at least shows signs that he has goals in him. He is probably a better all round player to Dom Telford and showed more potential to score goals last night to either Nichols or Reilly.


Subs



Partington 6  Great to see him back and did well in the second half. For me a better option to James Clarke but not convinced he is ready to start ahead of Leadbitter on Saturday and would start him on the bench.
Russe 6 An old head on young shoulders ,reliable without being spectacular and is not scared to tell more experienced players what to do. He came on and did a good job. He is economic with the ball and gets stuck in as well as being a very hard worker. For me he is getting nearer and nearer a start but his disadvantage is his size and I mean this more because we do have  a much shorter side than a lot of the teams in this division and we have to make sure we have the right balance and certainly couldn't get away with playing Sincs, Russe and Matthews.
Baghdadi NOLE





Ref 6 Did most things well although a little lenient with Wesat ham who committed a lot of nasty fouls but he got most of the decisions right. 
Crowd 2  Don't know what the crowd was but it looked very low and probably about 1500 which resulted in no atmosphere whatsoever but because of this the game impressed me more because it is not easy for Professional players to perform in an empty ground  with two sides shut but overall I felt the side played well without being outstanding.
West Ham U21s 5.5 Had some very useful players but were second best physically. Might be worth DC remembering a couple of these pacy players out wide come January if they are available for loan.

DC Got it dead right last night to play an experienced team and hopefully some performances will be rewarded with a starting place on Saturday. As a squad we do have some very reasonable players but for me there are too many standard players with not enough quality about them. I would say that we have the ability in the squad to be mid table to 10th if we can get some consistency and find some goals but are probably three quality players short of going beyond that. I really hope that we are looking for a fast winger in the "out of contract" players as if we aren't then we should be!!

I know it is still early in the season but for me Saturdays game is a must win because anything less and I can see not only the Players confidence going but also the end of DC's reign. I really do think a result is that important. I would go for

                                  Bonham

Leadbitter        Lockyer            Craig           Kelly


Rodman or matthews          Lines          Upson    Bennett


        Payne              Jacubiak

Subs   Smith   Partington  Reilly Nichols  Moore O Clarke  Sinclair

UTG