Despite red card Carroll, Allardyce & Co have last laugh over Swans
If Andy Carroll hadn't have seen red, it would have been hard to see West Ham's afternoon going more to plan. Who needs the ball if you know your opponents can't do anything with it? Yesterday's performance was very frustrating, and in truth we didn't ever look like winning the game despite (as per usual) hogging the lion's share of possession.
Laudrup lined up with Tiendalli in for Rangel (the Spaniard was carrying a knock), while Leon was dropped for Jordi Amat in midfield. No such suggestion of a knock, but I felt that had a massive impact on our game - fresh from a decent win over Fulham we could really have done with retaining our midfield dynamo but Laudrup clearly felt rotation was necessary and Jordi got the nod. The only other change was Dyer in for Pablo after the ex-Valencia man endured a rather stuttering return to the team before his withdrawal against Fulham on Tuesday.
What went wrong then? Quite simply, we were unable to penetrate through the middle of West Ham's defence. Considering for most of the game their defence consisted of their entire team, that was always going to have a pretty big influence on things. In all honesty though, penetration is something the Swans have lacked for, in my opinion, the best part of a year, and it is really starting to concern me now. Absolutely all of our play goes through our wingers and our midfield just isn't functioning as a unit.
Against Fulham I noticed that when Leon had possession, he rarely, rarely had De Guzman or Shelvey alongside him looking for a pass. Given there's supposed to be some kind of midfield partnership going on (and central midfield is, for me, the most important aspect of a 4-5-1/4-2-3-1 system), that's just counterproductive and again against West Ham our midfielders looked isolated. We used to have arguably the most efficient midfield unit in the Premiership, but that seems a long time ago now and I can't remember the last time I thought we completely controlled an opposition midfield. Sure, we control possession, but the midfield? I'm not so sure.
What cost us against West Ham was defending crosses into the box. Ok, the delivery was good, and I can accept that in Carroll and Nolan you've got a pretty well drilled knock-down combo, but still - two free headers for Carroll? Fulham enjoyed similar success and we've only got the generosity of Brede Hangeland to thank for our clean sheet. I felt it was harsh to criticise too much on that occasion as both centre-backs were 6'6" plus, but it's not getting beaten in the air that's the problem - it's the complete lack of marking of key aerial targets.
How can Andy Carroll be completely free in the area - twice? The commentators yesterday were full of superlatives - "You can't beat him in the air" etc, however you don't need to. Mark him well, and stop him making that run. He's not going to score every game, and there's ways of managing him. Sadly, we haven't quite worked that bit out yet.
I suppose I better look at the red card too. I won't go on about it - I felt it was harsh but at the same time for me there's a deliberate swing of the arm there. Chico, however, once again displayed an aspect of his character which Swansea fans are fast growing sick of. As a centre-back you're always going to take a bit of a beating, and his theatrics have already seen him pick up a number of bookings this season - bookings which have already led to a suspension. Unacceptable.
I suppose I better look at the red card too. I won't go on about it - I felt it was harsh but at the same time for me there's a deliberate swing of the arm there. Chico, however, once again displayed an aspect of his character which Swansea fans are fast growing sick of. As a centre-back you're always going to take a bit of a beating, and his theatrics have already seen him pick up a number of bookings this season - bookings which have already led to a suspension. Unacceptable.
The loss leaves us with a whole week(!) to prepare for our next game - the small matter of the local derby against Cardiff. Before the Fulham game I was asked if it was a "must win" game, to which I replied that if it wasn't, it was damn close. Saturday's game against Cardiff now has a similar feel about it - win, and we're six points clear of them and they'll be in real relegation trouble. Lose, and they'll likely be within a point of the relegation zone while we'll be dragged further into the mire.
Saturday could be one of the most important South Wales derbies of all time. I for one can't wait.