West Ham add to Ranieri’s winter chill
With his arms folded across his chest and a beanie hat pulled over his head, Claudio Ranieri had the look of a man who was braced for a long, hard winter. The former Leicester City manager has tried to bring some positivity to the club in his first month in south-west London, but it must be hard to maintain his sunny disposition when the goals are pouring into the Fulham net like the December rain.
Ranieri’s side shipped two more here, against a West Ham United team looking more coherent and clinical by the week. First-half strikes from Robert Snodgrass and Michail Antonio served to worsen the mood at Craven Cottage, where Ranieri has so far been unable to introduce the defensive solidity they will need if they are to stay in the division.
It is now one win in 12 for Fulham, who began this season with many of their fans hoping for a top-half finish. What those supporters would now give for a side as balanced and robust as their opponents were here.
West Ham have now won four consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since February 2014. There is a growing sense of belief under Manuel Pellegrini, and a newfound dash of daring in attack, where Felipe Anderson has begun to thrive on a consistent basis.
“Every game he is learning a little bit more,” said Pellegrini of the Brazilian, who was once again the key man for West Ham.
The plaudits will be for Anderson, but for the West Ham fans the praise should also be poured on Pellegrini, whose name was chanted by the away end throughout the second half. “When we started the season so badly, I never felt any negative reaction,” Pellegrini said. “They were always behind us.” They are certainly behind them now, especially with the table this morning showing that West Ham are only two points away from sixth-placed Manchester United.
The first goal came after little more than a quarter of an hour, when Anderson flipped the ball over the sliding Denis Odoi before rolling an inviting pass to Snodgrass, whose curling shot ripped into the top corner.
It felt harsh on Fulham, who should have had a goal of their own when Aboubakar Kamara raced through on goal only to be denied by Lukasz Fabianski. Ranieri’s side were playing well, but the inability of their defenders continues to undermine the attacking efforts of the forwards. “They scored very, very easy,” said Ranieri. “We have to stay calm. We want to get the ball immediately and that is not right. We had a training session about this, about staying calm and reflecting, and at the right moment making a tackle.”
No side have conceded more goals after 16 matches of a Premier League season since 1999, and the second West Ham goal was proof of how much work Ranieri will need to do this winter.
Anderson crossed from the left, and not one white shirt noticed Antonio at the back post. All it took was a simple flick from Javier Hernandez to set him up, and Antonio could hardly miss from eight yards out. The look of disbelief on the face of Tom Cairney, the Fulham captain, said it all.
Yet again, Fulham came up short in the moments that mattered most. None of their forwards had the class of Anderson, who at one stage seemed to be on a personal mission individually to humiliate as many white shirts as possible. “They tried to do their best,” Ranieri said of his players. At this rate, that will not be good enough.