What We Learned – Manchester City 2 West Ham United 0

What We Learned – Manchester City 2 West Ham United 0 [VIDEO]

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It was a match that required an eagle eye to take anything of meaning away from it. Two teams, whose end-of-season ambitions – for West Ham, a top six finish, and for City, the title – have long been scuppered.

The match played out much like it was expected to, a waxen, half-asleep contest in which even the dominant team (and City were utterly in control) did not seem too concerned about giving the scoreline the magnitude it deserved. 2-0 it finished, but it should have been more, such was West Ham’s sluggishness.

West Ham not only on the beach, but with their heads in the sand

The Hammers stumbled around the pitch in the opening half like the lifeless damned, a collection of undead, apparently unconcerned with the duties of accurate passing or urgency, on or off the ball. In the opening 15 minutes, five separate Hammers were seen simply giving possession away, either by dawdling horribly on the ball, or via a bungled pass. One hopes that a game plan of sorts had been drawn up by Allardyce, and one assumes that that game plan was counter-attacking in nature, such was the depth that West Ham’s midfield took up against City. A team that looks to break against superior opposition must be alert and focused at all times, looking to profit on what are sure to be only meagre pickings. West Ham’s torpidity was totally incompatible with such an approach.

If fortune favours the bold, the opposite must also be true

It was not just carelessness in possession that betrayed West Ham’s slackness. You create, as they say, your own luck, so you must also attract your own bad luck too. James Collin’s calamitous own-goal that gifted City the lead came not just from a moment of bad luck, but one forged by his own languid haze. A cross from Jesus Navas, whipped in with no exceptional pace or dip on it, swooped in to the Welshman’s feet, in about the perfect spot to clear. Collins, however, was still lazily sorting his feet out when the ball arrived and, under no pressure from any City attacker, he twanged a sublime chip over his own keeper. It was simply a tangible example of what can happen when you sleepwalk into a match, and City, beleaguered and on a run of four losses in their last six matches, were happy to take anything they could get.

City’s woes start and end at the back

City are now the highest scoring team in the league. When the post-mortem begins for this shuddering, meek season of theirs (a process likely for the benefit of Manuel Pellegrini’s replacement, not the Chilean himself) the defence will likely emerge the culprit above all others. Yes, failing to score against Burnley is an indictment of the attack, but when Sergio Aguero registers 20 goals for the season, as he did with City’s second against the Hammers, then he can hardly be held responsible for City’s predicament. No, the recent form of Vincent Kompany (sitting out against West Ham with injury) is surely the bigger factor, and the good play of his replacement in this match, Mangala, merely highlighted how rare this sort of defensive solidity has been of late. Even then, Mangala was seen being manhandled by Carlton Cole in the first half here. One wonders just how long Aguero, now 26, will wait for City to take the next step in Europe, before he moves on to a club who compete well against Europe’s best, not just a listless West Ham.

Song in a strop coming off

Next season’s to-do list for most West Ham fans is likely headed by these three things:

1. Find a replacement manager for the dead-man-walking, Sam Allardyce.

2. Avoid relegation at all costs, the year before the move to the Olympic stadium.

3. If possible, secure the on-loan talent that has flourished in this 14/15 season.

That third point, already far from assured, is key. Alex Song and Carl Jenkinson have been crucial this term, and Song was probably the best Hammer on the park against City (not that this was difficult). So it was a surprise when Allardyce took the midfielder off with half an hour remaining. For Song, it was less of a surprise and more of a caustic annoyance, as he completely ignored Matt Jarvis, who was replacing him, and Allardyce, on his way off the field. He walked straight down the tunnel, snorting and ashen-faced. With this scene, a second season in East London for Song felt a little less likely.

Silva is a precious talent, and his presence is good for English football

When David Silva caught an errant Cheikhou Kouyate elbow, he crumpled immediately to the ground. The Etihad Stadium gasped as one, as you would expect, with Silva being one of its best and most beloved. But more than this, the wider football-watching public will have felt a pang of worry for the Spanish magician, because his is a resplendent existence; he is a shining midfield jewel, and to lose such a virtuoso would be a stinging wound on the entirety of the Premier League. Silva, to the relief of City, has been cleared of serious injury, but the incident that caused the match to accrue nine minutes of injury time made us all realise how we should treasure our league’s gossamer geniuses.

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