NEWSNOWMerson says Zola has it all Wrong
Paul Merson has spoke out and said Gianfranco Zola’s style of football is what is making West Ham slide 1 point from the relegation zone.
Merson said this on SkySports:
What’s the point of playing nice passing football if it doesn’t win you anything? They won the first FA Cup final I can remember in 1975 and they won it again in 1980, but since then they haven’t won anything. They’ve clung to this way of playing since the 1960s when they had top players like Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters but I don’t understand why they keep doing it if it doesn’t achieve anything.
Merson who admitted that he suffers from addictions such as cocaine, alcohol and gambling was once a manager himself but failed miserably after the team he managed Walsall slipped from Div 1 to Div 2 and in Div 2 Walsall went out of all cup competitions against lower league teams, and it was reported that Merson had had a rift with his wife, and had started drinking and gambling again.
So should Zola take advice from Paul Merson? on how to ruin your life i agree he should but as a pundit or manager then you make your own mind up, i am sure if Merson asked the West Ham supporters how we feel about Zola and his style of play, the fans would say Zola needs time, after all, Zola bases his style on the team that Merson once played for and that is Arsenal.
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Some very funny moments with Merson as a SkySports pundit.
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Oh come on, what the hell does Paul Merson know about anything. The guy is a complete loser. I’d pay more attention to what my dog thought.Jog on Merson….
I think the “Tags” to this post says it all:1960s, addict, addictions, advice from…”
Well first of all the headline for the article has it all wrong. If you read the quote Merson is not just referring to Zola and his tactics but to the whole ethos of West Ham as a football club dating back to the 1960’s.
If you follow the ‘logic’ of what he is saying, unless you can play attacking football so well that you are able to play teams off the pitch and win the vast majority of games (presumably he has in mind Arsenal and what they have been able to do from time to time under Wenger) then it’s not worth bothering and you may as well start kicking it up in the air.The problem with this is that it isn’t logical at all and in fact is nonsense. The way our leagues are set up and the money is shared, it is only a few clubs who are in a position to win anything anyway. The ones that are succesful have tended to play attacking football. Some sides have done ok with a ‘direct’ style of play but they certainly don’t do any better compared with clubs of a similar size who try to get the ball down and play good football. If the West Ham ethos needed any justification in the long run just have a look at the number of players developed at the Hammers who played in last year’s champions league final. Is that not winning football?
I would much rather watch us lose 3-2 the Zola way than win 1-0 the (yawn) Curbishley way. As long, of course, as we didn’t get relegated.Â
Ironside, when have we ever played nice football in the last 4 years until Zola came to town? and i agree with mmaison.
Agree with mmaison on this. I think the pieces will fit into place, and we are getting a fully fit squad back aswell.
Guys, I am all for us playing great football but only if it brings results, which is what this is all about, ie winning, which then breeds winning and which actually might win us something. Nice football and losing to me is a recipe for disaster. I am sure Zola will get it right but he has to be meaner and mix the good football up a bit with winning football. COYI
Zola style > Mourinio style theres nothing defeatist about playing good football at the cost of winning. Thankfully the culture of the permiership has completely changed in the last 4 seasons where teams employ an attacking style and the majority of good results go to the more attacking teams. Playing for a 1-0 win is a redundant format of football in the premiership. Its simply more entertaining. To rely on long balls and set pieces is a losers mentality, totally boring football that encourages the oppositions to attack you. As long as we stay up we should always aspire to entertain the crowds. COYI!
Merson was a great player but whenever he mentions West Ham it’s to slag us off. When he’s on Sky watching our games he never has anything good to say about us, he just doesn’t like West Ham for some reason. Well, that’s ok he thinks we’re no good, we’re never going to win anything, play football the wrong way…that’s his opinion and he’s entitled to it. I think he’s a prick.