Full-time: Swansea 0-0 West Ham
And that was a game of football. West Ham have now racked up three nil-nils in a row. Given the injuries they have, Bilic will probably be happy with that. But my god, do they need Lanzini and Payet back fit again. As for Swansea, pretty but toothless. Pretty toothless. Something like that. If Marcelo Bielsa stayed awake through that, he’ll see that his potential suitors can pass the ball, but do little else. He’ll have reams of notes as to how to fix that though. Thanks for your emails. Bye.
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90+4 min: Jenkinson plays a perfectly-weighted pass into Jelavic. But the striker’s touch is heavy and his legs move as though he’s surrounded by water these days, so he’s easily shepherded away from goal.
90+3 min: Shelvey attempts an overhead kick after Naughton drifts a ball into the box … but it hits Jenkinson and West Ham clear.
90+1 min: Valencia almost finds the corner flag with what I think was a shot at goal. And then Kouyate looks a bit confused. Not because he couldn’t make sense of what Valencia just attempted but because he clashed heads with Naughton.
90 min: There’ll be four more minutes of this. Four!
87 min: Swansea look to build from the back again but West Ham aren’t letting the home side do much to lay down any foundations in this move. Shelvey is forced wide and then whacks a ball intended for the back post that is closer to landing in Cardiff than the penalty area. Sigh.
86 min: Jinkin’ Karl Jenkinson has replaced Antonio for West Ham, who was good nuisance value on the wing at least.
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85 min: Collins leaps like a rugby player at a lineout and is miles above everyone as he wins the header. But he’s so high he has to stoop at the ball and can only shoulder it on to the top of the netting.
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84 min: Williams makes two important interceptions. The first from Jelavic, who has been hopelessly isolated for the most part today, and the second after Noble had a pop from the edge of the box. Corner for West Ham.
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82 min: Ayew is taken off. And Barrow trundles on in his place. Honk!
80 min: “Seems like you got the short straw on match coverage. Do you wish you were covering this instead?” asks Mark Judd. I’d have happily MBMd Flog It, to be honest.
78 min: Shelvey drops a lovely pass over the West Ham defence for Gomis who, wait for it, stays onside. The big striker cocks his foot at the ball but Adrian comes jumping out at him in the Peter Schmeichel-style and saves with some sharp goalkeeping.
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76 min: Nope. Gomis gives it an almighty thwack up field. West Ham, having hung around in this game like a bad smell for the most part, look like they fancy nicking it now.
75 min: Valencia cuts inside Naughton far too easily and stings the palms of Fabianksi with a dipping effort. Corner. Corner cleared. Another corner. Corner cleared. A cross by Valencia. Easily cleared. And then another corner. Third time lucky?
72 min: Shelvey is on for Cork. Shelvey makes things happen, both good and bad. Which will it be? Ooh, the anticipation.
71 min: West Ham fashion a chance. Noble digs the ball out from a midfield melée and plays it into Song’s feet. The big midfielder carries out a lovely bit of deception, looking one way and playing the ball another, inside the Swansea full-back to Cresswell, whose cross into the six-yard box is gathered bravely just before Antonio can poke home. He takes a whack for his trouble. He’ll survive.
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70 min: West Ham have dropped deeper here and seem content to watch Swansea make pretty triangles with passes in front of him. Ayew dummies a pass into him and Gomis is caught offside for about the 99th time in the past 15 minutes.
68 min: Angel Rangel looks to have twanged a hamstring. He’s replaced by Kyle Naughton, who’ll bring some diligent scampering to Swansea’s right-back position if nothing else.
65 min: Gomis is almost sent clear but seems to lose the run of himself and doesn’t take the ball in his stride when he had a good opportunity to. He’s proving a handful, though, winning the physical battle with Ogbonna more often than not and keeping Swansea’s attacks alive at times.
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61 min: Swansea are unlucky not to win a penalty. Ki is worked into the box after some neat interplay with Fernandez. He sidefoots a shot at goal that Collins throws himself, all hands and legs, at … but the ball thwacks into an outstretched hand and goes over for a corner. Collins falls to the turf holding his head. It’s not quite as theatrical as this … but getting there.
60 min: Another shot! An exciting one too. West Ham make a mess of trying to clear a Swansea free-kick, it’s headed to the edge of the box, where Cork hits a textbook knee-over-the-ball volley towards the top corner but Adrian flies across goal to punch it clear. That’s much better. Life at last.
58 min: Zarate is hooked off. Valencia is on in his stead.
56 min: West Ham win a corner. Swansea clear easily and break and there’s a shot. Yes, a shot. Ki hits it but Collins throws his body in the way of it on the edge of the box as though it’s the last thing he’ll do in life. West Ham clear. Pffft!
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54 min: This is dreadful. Swansea can’t get anything going in the final third. West Ham just can’t get anything going. This looks like a third 0-0 on the bounce for the Hammers. Here’s some further reading on Marcelo Bielsa Swans fans. It’s something at least.
52 min: Sigurdsson hustles and bustles his way into a crowd of West Ham defenders. He’s too keen to get through though, the pesky so and so, and gives away a free-kick. Adrian gifts possession straight back to Swansea with a huge aimless punt.
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49 min: There’s a half-hearted shout for a penalty from West Ham as Antonio tries to bundle his way into the box, forcing Ashley Williams to fall over and watch the ball roll against his arm. He couldn’t really do anything to get out of the way of it so not a penalty in my opinion. You may disagree.
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48 min: Swansea keep possession calmly but nothing is happening here. Nope. Isn’t it ridiculously mild in the UK at the moment? It’s like autumn played a long ball to spring and left winter running around in midfield unable to get a touch on the seasons.
45 min: No changes as the second half gets under way. Collins absolutely spanks a clearance into the Swansea fans as though meaning them harm. A kid wearing a blue hoodie shows great reflexes to dodge it. If that’s how West Ham mean to go one this could be seriously ugly.
It says much about this game that the only email I have received at half-time is about a team that aren’t playing. “After losing to Watford, Jürgen Klopp will be piste off that he had to cancel his normal Christmas skiing in Germany and he may have to hope for snow to come to his rescue on Boxing Day in Liverpool so that the match with Leicester is postponed to later in the season to avoid another slip up with their current form,” slaloms Raymond Reardon.
This is the first half summed up in a video.
Half-time: Swansea 0-0 West Ham
If this was a game of footballing pass-the-parcel, Swansea would be well ahead. Unfortunately, it’s not. There’s still hope for them, though. They’ve been the better side and had the best of not-too-many half chances. It can only get better.
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43 min: West Ham are giving the ball away far too easily but by hook or by crook they fashion a chance. Kouyate finds some space on the right and drags a ball back into the area. It goes behind Noble but the ball flicks up off him and goes high into the air. Fabianksi comes to gather but he’s sent crashing to the deck by Antonio, who was a bit sharp-shouldered as he went in for that. The Swansea keeper is soon back up and at it though.
41 min: Ayew side-foots a shot just an inch wide of the post after Swansea vary their approach and play a bit more direct. It was a Ki knockdown that led to Gomis scuffing his shot and Cork flicking it on to Ayew, who raced on to the loose ball. Adrian had it covered but the home side are knocking on the door (gently) here.
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38 min: Swansea have got a grip of possession again after West Ham’s attacking cameo. Ki spanks a shot at goal that is blocked and the Welsh side have found their mojo again. Gomis tries a couple of flicks that almost come off but perhaps next time he should just hold the ball up and be a bit more conventional. He’s certainly got the strength to do that.
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36 min: “This is hard to watch,” writes Colt Kennedy, who has decided that contacting me is preferable to staring at the TV for the full duration of this match. “No movement or pressing up front and our championship winger is being triple marked. If Song’s in this team we need to tell him to just run and chip it to Jelavic/Zarate all day. The problem is, he’d have to run, and he doesn’t fancy it.”
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33 min: Zarate has a dig from 20 yards. Fabianksi parries it out for a corner when he could have caught it in my opinion but I’m not a professional goalkeeper playing in the heavy South Wales rain. The corner is cleared and Britton and Song slide into each other after the whistle goes for a foul against Britton as he turned his marker. Song wags his finger at the little midfielder in the kind of arrogant manner that only someone who has played for Barcelona can. West Ham are having their best spell here. Collins has an effort after Fabianksi punches clear unconvincingly and Swansea show the first signs of panic at the back. They don’t usually react well to being ruffled.
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30 min: The story of the half can be summed up thus: Swansea have made 252 passes, West Ham have made 63. The Hammers have done a good impression of River Plate against Barcelona earlier in the day. Swansea haven’t got Suárez, Neymar and Messi, mind. Oh well.
28 min: West Ham force a corner and may, just may, have weathered the Swansea storm. Collins gets his head to the corner but his effort is glanced well wide.
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25 min: Rangel almost sticks a skewer through all of Swansea’s good work with a pass straight to Jelavic. The West Ham striker finds Noble inside him but he’s under pressure as he strikes at goal from the edge of the box and his effort skims a yard wide. If Swansea were being marked out of 10 on concentration this season they’d be lucky to get a ‘3’.
24 min: Swansea are thoroughly bossing this. Ki slams a shot at goal but Adrian gets down and parries it wide for a corner. The corner comes to nowt. West Ham need someone to get a hold of the ball and calm things down. Song? Noble?
22 min: Ki scampers forwards and is allowed to have far too much time on the ball. He plays a sharp pass into Ayew’s feet. He turns in the box and is forced out wide by Tomkins, who concedes a corner. It’s taken short to Ki. He plays a one-two with Sigurdsson, whose cross is too deep.
20 min: West Ham haven’t looked as sure at the back as they have done in recent outings. Swansea can sense it too. They’re constantly looking for pockets of space in the final third, dragging play across from one side to the other in the hope of drawing West Ham’s defence out of their comfort zone.
18 min: Zarate is left in a heap after Cork wins the ball but follows through. The greasy surface doesn’t help him continue his slide. There’s no free-kick, though. And Zarate is soon back up on his feet.
16 min: Swansea are playing as though they feel liberated. I suppose Curtis has probably just told them to have a go. They probably quite like him. He seems a cuddly type. Ayew almost plays in Gomis with a little stabbed pass from midway inside West Ham’s half but it’s just overhit.
14 min: West Ham go on the hunt down the right wing. The ball is finally worked towards Zarate, who scurries here and there in the final third looking for a bit of space to play the ball into but Swansea’s defence is closely-knit. He finally has a pop from 20 yards. It’s struck sweetly but straight down the throat of Fabianski, who gathers comfortably.
11 min: Swansea aren’t hanging around today. They’re getting the ball forwards quickly, not keeping possession for possession’s sake and just hoping an opportunity presents itself as they have done in recent months. Sigurdsson almost finds Ayew’s noggin with a cross from deep on the right but it’s just a couple of inches too high. The Swansea fans are enjoying what they’re seeing. West Ham need to stay tight.
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9 min: It’s still all Swansea. Ayew heads a foot over the bar after Taylor was sprung into space on the right flank. He takes a touch and plays his cross in early, whipping it in with pace. It’s filthy in Swansea. Driving rain that will make the ball as greasy as a cheap fry-up.
7 min: The Corner is cleared but Swansea’s blood is pumping. They keep the pressure on in the final third and force another corner. It’s a decent delivery from Sigurdsson but West Ham are dominant in the air and clear once more.
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6 min: Gomis swivels and turns away from Collins sharply. He plays a quick one-two and slides the ball out to Sigurdsson on the right wing. He swings a ball into the box, where Gomis is galloping in to get on the end of it, but West Ham clear for a corner. Better from Swansea.
4 min: Swansea have their first spell of extended possession but Rangel’s loose pass puts an end to it. Gomis has a go. It’s not much of a go. Well wide in fact.
2 min: The Hammers have started like the team that is eighth in the table, which is handy, because they are the team that are eighth in the table. They’ve been strong on and off the ball thus far.
1 min: Peep! West Ham make a swift start, probing down the right and winning a throw-in. Tompkins lifts a cross into the area but it is cleared and Swansea finally get a touch.
The teams emerge from the tunnel to a guttural roar around the Liberty Stadium. Swansea in all white, of course. West Ham in claret and sky blue. We’re almost ready for some football. 2 Unlimited’s Get Ready For This is pumping out around the stadium. It’s not even started and already it can only get better.
“Hey Gregg! As a West Ham fan, finishing top half this season would be fantastic. We have our entire front line injured and Andy Carroll may as well retire if he can’t even play in his annual Swansea demolition,” writes Colt Kennedy, who sounds like a heroic child cowboy in a 1950s American comic book. “Having not won in six and still being ahead of Liverpool and four points/game in hand behind Man Utd, this should be a fantastic season. Circumstances as they are, I don’t think many other fans would say we’re expecting to get to Europe, but maybe everyone else will be just that bad?” Indeed Colt.
West Ham quite like this fixture …
3 - West Ham have won three and lost none of their last five Premier League games against Swansea. Iron.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 20, 2015
Hammers fans, what are your expectations this season? A win today and West Ham are two points off the Champions League spots, despite ropey form of late. If the physios do a decent job and get the squad healthy for the new year, it could look very promising couldn’t it? Swansea today, followed by Aston Villa and Southampton. Not the worst run of games while the squad is depleted.
James Collins is turning up with a swanky boot bag here. Maybe he got his Christmas present early. Aaron Cresswell’s looks a bit more conventional.
This is how I remember them looking; cheap, functional. Is anyone expecting a boot bag for Christmas?
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Watford have just beaten Liverpool 3-0. Weren’t the Premier League underdogs supposed to be doing this after the next TV cash bonanza, not before it? What a season.
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So with Carroll nursing whatever his latest injury is, and Valencia still trying to regain full fitness, Jelavic gets a first start for West Ham. Most Hammers assumed he was just bulking up the squad – like adding more mashed potato to fish pie leftovers – when he joined, but here he is spearheading the attack in December. He’s not the master of much but he’s handy when hitting a first-time shot off a knockdown. But who is going to provide that knockdown?
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Teams
Swansea: Fabianski, Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Ki, Britton, Cork, Sigurdsson, Gomis, Ayew. Subs: Amat, Shelvey, Emnes, Nordfeldt, Montero, Naughton, Barrow.
West Ham: Adrian, Tomkins, Collins, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Song, Antonio, Kouyate, Noble, Zarate, Jelavic. Subs: Randolph, Valencia, Jenkinson, Obiang, Oxford, Cullen, Hendrie.
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)
Hello. This match doesn’t have the feel of two sides meeting with similar form. Swansea are still managerless and sat just inside the relegation zone, whereas West Ham are up in the top half of the table with the Champions League places just a handful of points away. But, the reality is, both are without a win in six games. For West Ham, the mounting injury list hasn’t helped Slaven Bilic, particularly the absence of Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini, both of whom are key to getting the side’s creative juices flowing. West Ham have drawn four of their past six matches, though, the last two ending nil-nil, so the hard work that Bilic preaches is still keeping his team in games and making wins possible. Swansea, meanwhile, have sunk to where they are by being anything but obdurate: too obliging at the back and susceptible to counterattacks. That said, they still keep possession well enough, as evidenced at the Etihad last weekend. There is hope for them while they are capable of doing that. The ability to change gear now and then would be handy as would better concentration when they suddenly find themselves under the cosh in games. I don’t believe it’s all doom and gloom, though. As good as West Ham have been on the road, I think they may be cautious today. Bilic has hinted at that: “The key to beating Swansea? I watched their last five games … in some of those games they didn’t play the best, in some of them they were unlucky and in some of them they showed really top quality up the front, but they were very open at the back. We have to be as compact and as good at the back and as patient as them to stop them, and then we have the quality to beat them. We have to show more quality in the final third and I’m sure we are going to show that in this game.” I’d agree with Bilic when he talks about a lack of luck in a few of Swansea’s games. At Liverpool and Manchester City they were worth a point in each game, at the very least. Perhaps today will be their day. I’m going to stick my neck out and say the incredibly Welsh Alan Curtis will oversee a victory and give Marcelo Bielsa a tidy platform to build upon … should the Woody Allen of football choose to bring his eccentricity to the Gower peninsula.
Prediction: Swansea City 2-1 West Ham United
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