We’ve let ourselves down
Allardyce blasts side as boos ring out following defeat by 10-man Palace and admits...
IT IS turning nasty again and not just because Mile Jedinak’s elbow found its way to Diafra Sakho’s face. These are hard times for Sam Allardyce and help from referees is about as scarce as support from the stands right now.
He was booed once more as he walked away from this debacle, complaining to himself and media about two key decisions that might have changed the game.
But, while he had a point that match-winner Glenn Murray was lucky to last as long as he did before his second yellow card, and Allardyce was also correct to criticise Palace’s Jedinak for his late elbow, West Ham lost this game because of their own performance.
And credit to Allardyce, because he did not shy away from that reality.
Far from it. His frustration and anger were obvious as he explained how his team’s week was spent preparing for Palace’s set-piece threat. To then lose three goals from two corners and a free-kick was galling.
‘We spent time looking at their set-pieces based on the fact that 50 per cent of their goals come from set-plays,’ Allardyce said.
‘You know how dangerous they are. We have lost on that tactic alone, which is disappointing. It is our fault.
‘We really did not see this coming. We have let ourselves down a bit.’
It is a sentiment that could be broadened to the club’s recent form, even if Allardyce has been quick to highlight the tiny margins keeping West Ham from wins against Tottenham and Manchester United.
But the point stands that, unlucky or not, West Ham have now won only once in 10 Premier League games and this defeat was dire.
The fact it came at Upton Park, where they have done so well this season, will only intensify the feeling that matters and confidence are on the slide.
Certainly there was no coherence in the home side’s thinking as Palace went 2-0 ahead. Murray headed the first, though Aaron Cresswell might be credited with an own goal for the calamitous swipe that sent the ball into the net.
Scott Dann scored the second after exposing dreadful marking from Winston Reid. Murray then made it three, having been lucky to avoid a second yellow card in the first half.
He was later handed that second booking but by then the game was won and Allardyce had a legitimate gripe.
He said: ‘The amount of fouls he committed in the first half, for me the sending off came too late because in between he scored.’ More aggrieving was the nature of Jedinak’s late elbow on Sakho. Allardyce added: ‘When you are in a winning position, there is no need to even attempt something like that. He is lucky to get away it.
‘If the referee was in position to see it, I think he would give a red and a penalty but I am not going to use that as an excuse.’
Of course, it would be unfair to take credit away from Palace and Pardew, who has won 13 points from a possible 21 since taking over last month.
He went with an attacking line-up and is finding the best from Murray and Jason Puncheon, who created all three goals with excellent set-piece deliveries.
For Pardew, this season is on the direct opposite arc to Allardyce’s.
He started with criticism and now he is walking tall, having won a third straight away game for the only time in his career.
Those who called this career move a backwards step ought to reassess. Through no fault of his own, though, he must now contend with the possibility of losing Jedinak to retrospective action.
He said: ‘I don’t think there is anything malicious in it. I hope the authorities look kindly on it.
‘Anyone who knows him knows he doesn’t have nastiness in him. It is a shame those incidents grab some headlines.’
Those words struggled to convince against the evidence of replays, but Palace’s wider performance was extremely impressive.
It was only after Murray’s red card with 22 minutes to play that Palace let West Ham find any kind of stride pattern.
They pulled a goal back through Enner Valencia and the same player also brought a delightful save from Julian Speroni but there was no salvation for West Ham.
Pardew said: ‘Murray just has that nous as a No 9 to find a bit of space and be in the crucial place at the crucial time. He is a bit like Teddy (Sheringham) in that he can create space without a great deal of pace. He is clever.
‘I felt sorry for him getting sent off because he was brilliant.’
He was but it always helps when the opposition are such a soft touch.