Green bottles, then saves

When the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic failed to advance past the second round to the semifinals, there was quite a bit of handwringing in America. There was a lot of criticism of overpaid American players not caring enough about the competition. There were questions about why Americans couldn't win at the game we invented. And a few weeks later, no one seemed to care. (A caller to Fox Football Fone-in made the point that the England failure reminded him of USA Basketball -- good point.) Something tells me that English football fans will still care come the week before Christmas that England didn't qualify for the 2008 European Championship. During every game that I watched this weekend -- four of them -- everything was related back to England's failure to qualify. Fans booed English internationals on the visiting teams. Announcers sympathized about what a tough week it's been for them. Sunday's West Ham-Tottenham match particularly exhibited these qualities, what with England's former No. 1 Paul Robinson in goal for Spurs and one of his potential replacements at the other end in Robert Green. The match also featured nearly a dozen potential English internationals.

I made my first Sunday morning trip to the Globe to watch. TMG was in London visiting her sister, so I went by myself. I walked in about 7:10 a.m. and sat at the bar, a stool down from another fan sitting by himself. I didn't recognize him as a Hammers fan till later. I exchanged pleasntries with him after a West Ham win last spring -- possibly the 3-0 win away to Wigan -- but we never introduced ourselves that day or Sunday. I wondered how things worked with the alcohol, because I knew that Chicago ordinance restricted sales on Sunday mornings. Well, now I know: 10 a.m. is the magic hour. In the meantime, I had a pot of tea and ordered a Western omelette (hold the cheese). By game time, another Hammers fan showed up -- he was meeting the gentleman two spots to my right -- and we three claret and blue supporters faced about 10 or 12 Tottenham fans. They appeared to be a supporters group, as they were handing out T-shirts (or maybe they were fleeces -- it was damn early in the morning) that they had ordered.

I didn't like the start to the game for the Hammers. They were trying to make a lot of longer passes and not holding possession. Tottenham, as usual, were strong on the attack and had the better of the play for the first 15 minutes or so. They nearly had a goal in the eighth minute, but Aaron Lennon was ruled offsides. It took a mistake in the 20th minute by Younes Kaboul to get West Ham going. Luis Boa Morte, playing upfront with Carlton Cole again, pounced on Kaboul as he bobbled while trying to clear. Boa Morte blocked his clearance, controlled the ball and got it on the right side to Nolberto Solano, who slid a pass across to Cole for a tap-in goal. For most of the rest of the half, I liked the way the Hammers were playing: shorter passing and a lot of possession. Tottenham had a chance that was the most controversial call of the day. Just a few minutes before halftime, Robbie Keane ran under a ball into the box and Robert Green came out to play it. Keane chipped it over Green, hit the ground and then popped up screaming for a penalty kick, which also would have resulted in a red card for Green. The Independent said the play was inconclusive even after video replays. The Guardian repeated Curbishley's "mischevious" suggestion that Keane reacted to the contact after he saw the ball was going wide. Watching the replays several times, Green's trailing leg appeared to nick Keane, but I think it would have been a harsh result to call for a penalty kick there. Keane appeared to be going to ground on his own anyway. The Tottenham fans at the Globe echoed Keane's screaming.

The second half bought a tactical change by Spurs manager Juande Ramos -- Kaboul was removed in the 55th minute for striker Darren Bent. Tottenham played three at the back for most of the second half, with Dimitar Berbatov dropping a little deeper -- maybe 3-4-1-2 best describes the formation, but then, what do I know? Hammers manager Alan Curbishley acknowledged after the match that he didn't understand what Ramos did, and the Times suggested that perhaps it's good that Curbishley doesn't want the England job. The Telegraph suggested that Curbishley wasn't the only one who didn't understand what Ramos wanted: for at least 10 minutes, neither did Spurs. I thought Curbishley eventually made the right move when he brough Dean Ashton on for Boa Morte, but I question why it took about 17 minutes after Spurs started playing with three at the back. Perhaps it was because of Ashton's fitness after nearly two months out of action, but putting pressure on that back three seems to my inexperienced eyes to have been the proper tactical response.

I've never played organized football, and I know little about being a goalkeeper, but one thing that I have learned: If you come off your line, you have to get to the ball. Even I could tell that Green was making a mistake when he came for the free kick by Jermaine Jenas in the 66th minute. The ball was coming in at least 12 yards ahead of the goal line, and there was a cluster of players between Green and the ball. He didn't get close to punching the ball, and instead, Michael Dawson headed the equaliser. If Green has a weakness, it's his decision-making on balls in that 10-12 yard area of the box. He looked very uncertain of himself throughout the second half against Bolton, as the Wanderers continued to pop high balls into the top side of the box.

From there, the Irons had some good chances. Robinson made diving saves to his left on Scott Parker and Ashton, in both cases with Cole being instrumental in the set up. The Guardian named Cole its Man of the Match, and I have to agree that he was excellent. He and Ashton looked very good together. The final good chance went to Tottenham, of course. Lucas Neill was whistled for a penalty for tugging mightily on the shirt of Jermain Defoe in the penalty area just into stoppage time. The TV analyst thought it was a bit harsh, but when you practically pull the opponent's shirt over his head and give him a good shove while you're at it, it's tough to complain about being called for a penalty. Defoe had replaced Keane, so Spurs were lacking their usual penalty taker. I was relieved that Defoe had a go instead of Berbatov. Much like the Portsmouth draw on the south coast, the penalty was taken by no better than the second-best penalty taker on the pitch for the opponent -- Benjani instead of Niko Kranjcar in that earlier case. That said, Defoe's try was better than Benjani's and Green did well just to deflect it onto his left post. When he collected the ball a moment later, he turned to the away supporters located behind him and showed them his club crest, tugging on it with his left while the ball was in his right. The Guardian noted the irony that Green's spot-kick save overshadowed both his error on Jenas's free kick and Robinson's solid play.

After the match, as we had a pint, I chatted with the fan to my right. He asked how I came to root for West Ham, and I told him about my friend Phil getting me watching, and last year's Manchester United fixture at Upton Park getting me hooked. He told me that he grew up in the area and has long rooted for the Irons. I said that I enjoyed going to a match last year, even though it was a terrible game, losing to Watford, and then we talked about how much the neighborhood had changed since he lived there. The pleasant conversation and a pint of Beamish (the Globe no longer carries Guinness) were nice cappers to an entertaining derby draw. The day would only get better, as TMG returned from London that evening.