Since West Ham’s hard earned draw against Chelsea critics have been having their say. With the criticism of ‘parking the bus’ being levelled is it right? And should the Hammers care?
Parking the bus has become a common phrase in football over the past few seasons. Clubs that look to just defend and hopefully get away with a point are now said to be ‘parking the bus’. But there’s a difference between that and playing on the counter. And given West Ham’s shape, I’d say they were doing the latter.
I do not push for trying to park the bus, but at times the Hammers will have to play on the defensive. With the attacking creativity some of the big teams have, we have to stifle it. But as long as we have the front three like we did at the weekend, with the addition of Arnautovic, we will still create chances and look to score.
Choosing Style
Pellegrini said after the match he was satisfied with the performance but not happy that he didn’t get the win. And that is why we weren’t parking the bus. Pellegrini is a consummate professional, and always goes for the win. He set up to suck up the space and hit them with Antonio, Yarmolenko and Anderson on the break. And if Antonio and Yarmo had scored their big chances we could have won by 2.
These analytics show that although West Ham played deep, Antonio and Yarmolenko’s average position was in the opposition half. Anderson, Obiang and Noble almost were as well as we took the space from Chelsea as they looked to create. The lack of passes between the midfield three shows how quick we were to get the ball forward.
I really don’t think the Hammers parked the bus, and it’s a criticism levelled by many frustrated fans and coaches if a side dominates possession but doesn’t win. But football is a game of many styles, and different teams are better at different styles. If parking the bus is the way for you to win games and challenge those above you, then do it. Not everyone can play football the same way. There is no ‘right’ way.