9th February, 2008

KB: KUMB; HM Hammers Mad; ST Sunday Times; SE Sunday Express; SM Sunday Mirror; OB Observer;
DM Daily Mirror; GU Guardian; TM Times; HD Hammers Diary; SK Sky; DE Daily Express

Sky Sports: West Ham controlled much of the opening exchanges and it came as no surprise when they took the lead inside seven minutes. George McCartney's long throw from the left was flicked on by Carlton Cole and Freddie Ljungberg ghosted in at the back post to bundle the ball home from close range. Birmingham were level though just nine minutes later when Lucas Neill's clumsy challenge on James McFadden resulted in referee Mark Clattenburg pointing to the spot. McFadden picked himself up to confidently dispatch the penalty himself, placing his kick to perfection past the despairing dive of Hammers keeper Robert Green who had gone the right way. The second-half produced few clear cut chances for either side as the game drifted towards a draw. McFadden should have done better when allowed to shoot from the edge of the box midway through the second period, while Dean Ashton wasted a number of opportunities for the Hammers. With time almost up Lee Bowyer was then dismissed for West Ham following a wild lunge on Damien Johnson. The midfielder made no contact with the Blues' captain, but he went in with his studs showing and virtually ended any hopes the Hammers had of grabbing a winner.

BBC Sport: The Londoners looked bright and inventive while the Blues appeared sluggish and defensively disorganised, and it was no surprise when the home side took the lead. Cole showed great strength at the front post to flick on George McCartney's long throw and Ljungberg reacted quickly to fire the ball into the roof of the net. It was no more than West Ham deserved, and they had chances to extend their lead. Bowyer, back in the side for the rested Mark Noble, stroked a shot narrowly wide after some superb one-touch passing and Cole then dragged a tricky right-foot volley across goal.... But the home side spurned several good chances to extend that lead and McFadden's penalty levelled the scores after he was felled by Lucas Neill.

Hammers Mad: While Alex McLeish left the East End insisting that City "still had every chance of staying in the Premier League", it proved to be a disappointing afternoon for West Ham United, who failed to beat a bottom-three side for the second week running... With Signor Capello looking on, Dean Ashton almost got West Ham off to a dream start with an acrobatic kick that Maik Taylor fielded but that was about as good as it got for the England hopeful. Even so, the Hammers did not have to wait long to break the deadlock. On seven minutes, George McCartney picked out Carlton Cole's head with a long-throw into the penalty area and, when the towering striker nodded the ball towards the far post, the unmarked Ljungberg stole in to fire the ball into the roof of the net.

KUMB: Things needed livening up and, on the hour, Faubert replaced Cole. Neither of the two strikers had seemed particularly on form. Cole had put himself about but had got into few scoring positions whilst Ashton had got into a few scoring positions but hadn’t put himself about much. Either way some sections of the crowd were disappointed at the switch. The change led to Freddie pushing up to play alongside or just behind Ashton with Faubert moving to the right... This was a disappointing afternoon for a number of reasons. Yet again we suffered from not being to break down a side with no real attacking intention. Whilst I appreciate the fact that many of the players signed in the summer haven’t been fit, this was another match that exposed the lack of creativity in midfield. We have nobody able to take a player on, to unlock a defence, to do something different. For me anyway, the big disappointment about this winter’s transfer window was that we didn’t take the opportunity to rectify the situation.

Daily Telegraph: It was, though, a dismal match, suitably culminating in the dismissal of Lee Bowyer for a mildly over-the-top challenge on Johnson. In the brave new world envisaged by the Premier League's Richard Scudamore, it might have been played in Dubai or Beijing, which would have had my sympathy. Goodness knows what Capello made of it. Any encouragement he may have taken from Alan Curbishley's selection of eight English starters for West Ham would soon have dissipated as he watched defenders such as Matthew Upson and Anton Ferdinand send long balls soaring towards the big strikers, Carlton Cole and Dean Ashton. As a satire on English football, it worked. But it created few openings. (Patrick Barclay, 11th February, 2008)

Daily Mirror: Dean Ashton left Upton Park in his new West Ham whistle - but probably won't be getting measured up for an England suit any time soon. West Ham boss Alan Curbishley has taken a leaf out of England's hardline manager Fabio Capello's book by insisting that all of his players smarten up their act and turn up to games wearing club suits. Ashton was left upset at his omission from Capello's first squad but cannot have too many complaints after his performance in front of the watching England boss on Saturday. The Hammers striker is still struggling for form and fitness. It has even reached a point where the West Ham fans who used to idolise him are losing patience with his slow recovery and the groans are gradually turning into boos. Mind you, West Ham's fans did jeer a lot during a frustrating afternoon. They did not like Curbishley's rather negative substitutions when they were trying to chase the win and they made their feelings plain at the final whistle. Ashton is still West Ham's six goal top scorer and yet there is no escaping the fact that he still looks heavy and doesn't carry the same threat as when he first burst on to the scene. It is clearly a big frustration for Curbishley who is already without injured strikers Craig Bellamy and Bobby Zamora and the partnership between Ashton and Carlton Cole simply did not work against Birmingham. (John Cross, 11th February, 2008)

The Times: Robert Green had “England’s No 6” stitched on to his gloves, self-mocking his position in the country’s goalkeeping pecking order, but Fabio Capello’s early impressions about the shortcomings of the outfield players would only have been crystallised on the evidence of this encounter. The warm welcome afforded to the England manager soon plummeted into a cold chill as he left Upton Park on Saturday evening. Capello was able to scrub out nine players from the starting line-ups not at his disposal as he took his seat. Only Green and Matthew Upson, the brightest of the West Ham United players, could have been circled for further interest. Had Capello woken from his slumber, he would have been fidgeting uneasily as first touches hoofed the ball upfield, control became a one-two with an opponent and possession was surrendered like a hot potato. No wonder Japan are not keen to stage competitive Premier League matches, as was proposed last week. The afternoon seemed complete when, with the scores level, Alan Curbishley hauled off Carlton Cole, the forward, to be replaced by Julien Faubert, a midfield player who barely touched the ball. The West Ham manager’s decision was greeted by boos, which grew louder when Dean Ashton, Cole’s strike partner, was taken off and louder still at the final whistle. (Gary Jacob, 11th February, 2008)

The Guardian: There were 13 England-qualified players on show and this match represented most of what is bad with the domestic game - poor technique and too much long ball - without the usual compensations of excitement and physicality. At least Birmingham have something to play for. West Ham are beckoned neither by Europe nor the Championship and it showed. They were abject. So many of their players are injury prone. Bobby Zamora, Kieron Dyer, Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker are all but airbrushed from memory. Their best player on Saturday was Freddie Ljungberg, their biggest disappointment Dean Ashton, once seen as a natural successor to Alan Shearer. He might have been one of Capello's targets but did not look match fit. West Ham went ahead in the seventh minute. A huge throw from the left was flicked on to set up Ljungberg on the far post for his first goal for the club. James McFadden equalised nine minutes later from a soft penalty after he was judged to have been pulled back by Lucas Neill. At least it was not a dirty game, though Lee Bowyer, a little unluckily, was sent off. (Paul Weaver, 11th February, 2008).

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