I’LL GET MORE SAYS TRAORE
CRISIS has never been far from the Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park since West Ham moved in, and another one is brewing.
Rock-bottom and without a point in four games, despite a £100million trolley dash in the summer, the Hammers have gone all Francis Ford Coppola before the kids have even gone back to school.
No messing about, they are having their apocalypse now.
Captain Marko Arnautovic branded a feeble home defeat “unacceptable” and former England defender Aaron Cresswell admitted: “For the money we’ve spent, we should be nowhere near where we are.”
Off the pitch, the Hammers politburo are arguing with stadium owners E20 about the colour of the carpet border around the playing surface.
It is like squabbling over the cutlery when there is a food shortage.
West Ham’s next three league games after the international break are against Everton, Chelsea and Man United. Unless manager Manuel Pellegrini and his players pull their fingers out, the table could look a whole lot worse before it gets better.
This is no time for Pellegrini to adopt former American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s approach to emergency: “There cannot be a crisis next week – my diary is already full.”
But West Ham were booed off, and the storm clouds are gathering. Throwing £100m at the squad is all well and good, but jigsaw pieces don’t fit together just because they are expensive.
In both home games to date, instead of playing with urgency ADAMA TRAORE bagged his first Premier League goal and told cock-a-hoop Wolves: “It will be the first of many”.
Speedy winger Traore’s pace off the bench terrified West Ham and his 93rd-minute winner sealed Wolves’ first Premier League win since Mick Mccarthy was in charge, seven managers ago, in February 2012.
After his first goal in 40 top-flight appearances, the record £18million signing said: “I’m so happy, not only for the goal but for our performance as well.
“The team worked so hard and to win in the Premier League is the best feeling. Whether the game is open or and tempo, West Ham have been insipid, soporific and feeble. Jack Wilshere looks short of a gallop and if Carlos Sanchez – whose dithering led to sub Adama Traore’s stoppage-time winner for Wolves – is the answer, what was the question?
Pellegrini is in danger of becoming the conductor of a symphony orchestra who will be on the concert deck of the Titanic before they are playing all the right notes.
Wolves left it late but they brought cohesion to the party where the Hammers jarred like too many designer labels in the same outfit.
Pellegrini admitted: “I don’t think it’s a bad start – it’s a very bad start. We can’t lose nothing to show for his £100million summer makeover, with pointless Hammers bottom of the Premier League table.
The odds on the Chilean becoming the first top-flight boss to lose his job have been cut from 14-1 to 7-2, but there is no suggestion he will be jettisoned just yet. Pellegrini said: “It is just four games, we won’t stop fighting now. We are just starting and we will resolve that problem. Everyone inside the club is calm.” not, I need to adapt to the difficulty and find good solutions.
“Our performances have been good, now we need to keep pushing forwards to the next level. I am so happy to score. The first of many? Of course!”
Wolves skipper Conor
Only Usain Bolt has shown more pace than Traore at the London Stadium. While Bolt clocked 23.2mph on his way to 2012 gold, the Wolves star was not too far behind
six points at home the way we have... we must be very worried.”
Already the largesse of West Ham’s owners, the Two Daves, in the transfer window has the aura of a false dawn.
Another relegation battle lies ahead and Arnautovic raged: “This is unacceptable. We have quality but need to show it. The club and the fans expect a lot more from us.
“We need to turn this around as soon as possible, otherwise there is going to be big trouble.”
Cresswell added: “We let ourselves down and it wasn’t good enough. After four defeats, and 10 goals conceded, there’s no getting away from it.
“New players have come in but we’ve had a lot of time together – two months if you include pre-season. Nobody wants to be in this situation.
“For the money we’ve spent we should be nowhere near where we are, but the reality is that we’re down at the bottom.”
Just because Pellegrini won the title at Manchester City four years ago, it doesn’t mean he will navigate the choppy waters of a relegation battle.
The last time West Ham lost four games on the bounce at the start of a season was in 2010-11 under Avram Grant. And that story didn’t have a happy ending. Coady said: “It’s special to get our first win and we’re all thrilled for Adama – you don’t want him running at you, believe me. He’s so quick it’s scary.
“But it’s not just about his pace. He has total confidence in his own ability and he’s a real asset to the club.”