Palace win in stereotypical Pulis fashion

Tony Pulis picked up his first home win as Crystal Palace eked out a 1-0 win over West Ham in a match lacking quality from both sides. West Ham were wasteful in front of goal and need to find goals quickly if they're to avoid a relegation battle. The goalless defeat means they've now failed to score in 8 of 14 league games.

The win pulled Palace out of the bottom spot in the table but was hardly a performance that should assure fans better days are forthcoming. They lacked composure and technical ability on the ball and created too few chances.

Sam Allardyce opted for a 4-3-3 shape with Mark Noble sitting in front of the back four and Ravel Morrison and Kevin Nolan in more advanced areas. Mohamed Diame was used wide on the left and Carlton Cole was given the start as the lone striker.

Pulis set Palace out in a 4-4-2. Cameron Jerome and Marouane Chamakh were partnered up front with Chamakh playing slightly withdrawn.

From the opening whistle West Ham used their man advantage in midfield to control possession. Palace sat in deep and looked to play outlet passes to Chamakh on the break. There were a few occasions when the counter was on for the home side but their first half passing was woeful.

Palace were arguably playing too deep. Carlton Cole is a striker that is most dangerous when he's able to play in and around the penalty box, winning headers and knocking the ball down for Nolan. His mediocre pace means he's not much of a threat running in behind the center backs. The deep defensive line meant he was allowed to position himself around the box where West Ham were able to hit in crosses. With Nolan and Diame both playing in advanced positions for the Hammers as well, Allardyce's side were a real threat on crosses. Diame should have hit the target with a first half header and twice Nolan got on the end of dangerous crosses at the back post only to be flagged for offside.

By defending higher up the pitch, Palace would have pushed Nolan and Cole further from goal where they are far less of a threat. With Cole, Diame and Downing playing the three forward positions, the only real threat in behind would have been Morrison bursting forward from the midfield.

In the end Palace got the 3 points so it's probably unfair to be too critical of the system. Still, aside from the first half goal that came entirely against the run of play from a rare Palace corner and a second half missed breakaway from Jerome, they created almost nothing and were dreadfully poor in possession. They benefited from West Ham's wastefulness and lack of a goal scorer but it's hard to see how they'll avoid relegation if they don't find a way to be more threatening in the attack. West Ham are 13th in the Premier League in average possession with 46.4% yet had 62% of the ball as the away side at Selhurst Park this evening. Possession of course doesn't guarantee wins but with Palace second from bottom Pulis's knack for collecting draws may not be enough to ensure survival. One would think they'll eventually need to be more proactive in looking to win games.

Then again Pulis has never been relegated despite his sides consistently clawing their way to ugly points in the manner Palace did today. If they manage to stay up playing like they did today it will be the most Tony Pulis-like campaign Tony Pulis has ever led.

What's behind Big Sam's bizarre Arsenal squad selection?

Those associated with West Ham United will be keen to dismiss Wednesday night's heavy 5-1 defeat to Arsenal as a bad day at the office against a team that, when at their best, can produce some sublime football. To a certain extent it would be fair for Sam Allardyce's side not to look too deeply into this one. After taking a first half lead, the Hammers found themselves trailing 2-1 early in the second half to two very good goals from Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud. From there their midfielders were forced to become more adventurous going forward, leaving the back four exposed to Arsenal counterattacks. The Gunners took full advantage, scoring three goals, all assisted by Lukas Podolski, in the span of four minutes.

However, the result could be rather more ominous than Hammers fans would like to believe as West Ham fight to retain their top flight status in the final 15 games of the league. Allardyce's side have won just 1 of their last 8 league games. Only Aston Villa and Norwich have collected fewer points over the last 6 games.

Allardyce surprisingly left Mohamed Diame, Matthew Jarvis and Joe Cole out of the starting eleven. Diame's exclusion was particularly surprising. He scored a fantastic goal against Arsenal in the reverse fixture and was dominant in West Ham's 3-1 win over Chelsea where he used his physical strength to overpower Chelsea's technically gifted yet diminutive attacking midfielders. Against an Arsenal midfield comprised of Jack Wilsere, Santi Cazorla, and Aaron Ramsey, all players under 155 lbs, his physical strength and powerful running could have caused similar problems. His exclusion led to speculation he was on his way to Arsenal but Allardyce has since said he'll stay in East London.

Segments of West Ham supporters have suggested Allardyce didn't expect his side to get anything out of this game, regardless of who he started, and therefore opted to protect his best players from injury to ensure their availability for more winnable upcoming fixtures against Fulham, Swansea and Villa. Whether or not there is any validity in this claim I'm unsure- Allardyce would certainly never admit to taking up this strategy. But few would argue Allardyce put out 11 players best equipped to get a result at the Emirates. If this was indeed a well-calculated long-run strategic move by Allardyce to reduce his chances of winning one very difficult game in order to improve chances of collecting future vital points, I can sympathize. He doesn't have the deepest squad and it's far more important his side retain their top flight status than compete well in one league match in January.

However, Arsenal was hardly the only difficult fixture remaining for West Ham. The Hammers still have 6 of the league's current top 7 teams left to play. Four of those game are on the road- Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Everton. They also have Manchester United and Tottenham at home. They can ill-afford to collect just a point or two from those six contests if they wish to avoid a nervy last few weeks of the season. Big Sam will certainly have to contest those games with a stronger side than the one he field Wednesday night.

If instead Allardyce's reasons for sitting Diame, Joe Cole and Jarvis were tactical, I'd be curious to hear how he would have ideally expected the game to go. While you can understand his decision to defend deep with a midfield bank of 5 in front of the back four from a defensive sense, it's difficult to determine what he expected his side to do when they won the ball back. Normally teams that sit back look to break quickly on the counter when they retain possession (West Brom have done this well most of the season). West Ham however are not a counterattacking side. According to whoscored.com, they've yet to score on the counter this season. With ten players in their own defensive third of the pitch it was easy for Arsenal to press when West Ham won the ball back. The Hammers only option was to lump the ball forward to Cole, who was completely isolated up front. Arsenal inevitably got the ball back quickly and put West Ham on the back foot again. The Gunners finished the game with 69% possession and 36% of the game took place in West Ham's defensive third.

What two months ago looked would be a comfortable league campaign for West Ham now appears anything but. If they're to ensure a second consecutive year in the top flight, it'll be important Allardyce gets his squad rotation right. Consecutive wins over Fulham, Swansea and Villa and no one will remember Big Sam's bizarre squad selection Wednesday evening.