More mad refereeing sours important win

Spent most of the game trying to figure out where our players were playing.. very muddled structure to the side. We never really looked on top, even after Cole went off.

As for the red cards. I don't think you can get more consistent refereeing than that. Dodgy and dangerous challenges.

Surely Barkley must get a go now?

Great win, very much needed.

Hope we can successfully appeal Gibsons red.

A massive three points though, but my goodness was the referee poor.

Well done, boys —- an immediate return to pass and move against Wigan please.

Big Vic did a job. Jelly awful. Pienaar excellent.

Both reds very harsh but I think they'll stand. Once they've been given its pretty difficult to rescind on the grounds that they were harsh. The clubs will have to argue they were incorrect - but if they were given for 'dangerous play' then I don't think they can argue that they weren't both dangerous.

I don't know what's happening to Jelly but at least we have one striker who can put the ball away.

There's no chance Gibsons red card will stand so a great result and a good day for me.

Come on The Lilywhites.

But fantastic result, and great to see Pienaar getting assists/goals. Him and Osman will be so crucial in the next two matches. Also nice to see Anichebe return, as he will give us something different when fit.

Jelly's finishing was nothing short of embarrassing.

I think he gets too much protection on here sometimes, I know he works hard but his misses are glaring at times and will come back to haunt us in the end.

I hope that Moyes and Alladyce both get front and centre backing each others claims and with us ( well probabley WHam ) being the main match that the chattering classes of laughingly called pundits get stuck in to the FA

Oh yes and I believe in Santa too

And I know it has said already but Ozzie was awesome today. Also credit to Howard who looked much more commanding in the air than usual.

Crazy refereeing for both red cards, but I'm sure Jonny was delighted to see Cole go off, gave him a torrid time all afternoon.

Anyway, good result.

Four teams on 30 points, it is going to be an exciting fight for that 4th spot. As long as we are in touch after the Newcastle game, we will be in with a great shout.

Jelavic will come good, he is a natural finisher. Let's hope Mirallas can get a run in the side, injuries permitting.

The red cards were harsh but will stand, I'm afraid.

Good three points to start off the Christmas campaign.

www.portablenorthpole

RS, you always get exactly what it says on the tin.

Bench Jelavic, Moyes.

His goals record per minutes on the pitch is very good – look up on Guardian website.

It's very annoying that he is always injured and he is more effective when he comes off the bench but give him a break – he scored.

Anichebe should be starting up front against Wigan. He has been playing much better than Jela.

Fair play to West Ham. When Gibson was sent off they sung "you don't know what you're doing." Hopefully, Cole and Gibson both get their cards revoked.

Thing is, it sounds like he is still trying his utmost and getting into decent positions enough times in most games to make a difference if he rediscovers his touch, which makes me wonder if benching him will solve his (our) problem. A few weeks ago we were all very grateful that he was still on the pitch late on to make the difference.

If he tells the manager he is tired then fair enough, but if not keep starting him to see if he can play through this patch of poor form. A couple of goals and he may shrug off the anxiety that is obviously affecting him. Dropping him may only increase his anxiety and frustration. I trust the manager and player to sort this out between them.

In the meantime, as always, we need other players to chip in with a few goals to help us edge games we might otherwise drop points in. When is Mirallas expected to be available again?

Reading over the post-match reports/comments, I was surprised that most people think we 'edged' it. I thought we were good value for the win. Heitinga had a shocker and should've swapped with Jags (before kick-off!). We looked very shaky at the back.

Jelly had another poor game (he's got to stop missing sitters (he had about two and a half today!)) - but he'll come good.

We really miss our Belgians, not to mention Seamus and Hibbo. Moyes needs to do somehitng about the back four before Wigan.

We deserved to win, no question - but the defence looked worryingly porous. I do feel Gibbo needs to win more ball and assert himself a little more. He sits in a near-vacuum sometimes in front of the back four.

I thought WHU were quite physical and ugly - in a way as does not befit the Academy, but then they are managed by the craft-y but craft-less Allardyce (who was characteristically ungracious after the game).

Based on chances, play etc., the correct score should've been: 2-5.

But I have to disagree with the original poster, I thought Osman's header was rightly ruled out (a) because a 5-foot midget cannot breach the laws of physics by out-jumping a 7-foot lump, lest the Mayan apocalypse be triggered; and (b) Anichebe had his arm around the keeper, he was only there to impede the keeper, and he did. (Other teams do it, too, but that doesn't make it right.)

Re the sendings off, you could argue Cole should have gone for his with his head. Gibson's was more in the contestable zone, however it looked worse. Free kicks at most for mine.

Great win from a strange game and a bizarre team, the worst sleep I have had in decades. Merry Christmas!

Unfortunately we have lost 2 of our last 27 games which sort of drives a coach and horses through such drivel.

Where do they find them from?

If you could have seen them when the team sheet went up me old mucka!!.. Oh when will they learn?

liked the new tactic of getting Baines to put his nose near Cole's boot then getting Gibbo sent off late on as a distraction - marvellous touch.

Well done Ossie, Peanuts and particularly big Vic, in fact all the lads.

(As an aside don't listen to moans about Jeli every touch went in last year it's just balancing out.)

Happy xmas to all, especially our blue family members in foreign climes, ex pat blues our Chilean brothers and those "chosen" who've never been to GP. Keep up the missionary work, heroes one and all.

Don't wanna hear the word "fickle" at all.

As for Ossie, did you see that sublime moment in the second half when he received a long ball from the back four? He was surrounded by two Hammers and he brought the ball down and got away from both of them with two touches before setting in motion another attack. When people come on here and tell us Osman is a Championship player and only plays because he's one of DM's favourites, have a look at that and you will see why we should be proud of him.

Thought that Osman and Peinaar were excellent today and controlled mid field. Would have liked to see Barkley put on when Captain Pip was subbed as we were 2-1 up and they were down to 10 men.

Sat directly behind Moyes today and now know why he's called dithering Davie - what a carry on!

You want to expand on the 'dithering Davie' comment? I can't wait...

Pretty brutal refereeing for both red cards and not sure what that bucktooth schoolboy linesman was doing for Oman's goal. Hopefully common sense prevails and both cards rescinded but not sure when a decision will be made on that!

We won and dynamic Dave should get a share of the plaudits -for persevering with Pienaar and Baines down the left, for transforming Ossie in to an England international and for sticking big Vic upfront and not on the flank.

So for today at least (and a bottle of wine later) I say well played David Moyes - a tactical genius

Merry Christmas to all (the lino and mini me Lee Mason ref can both fuck right off)

We didn't really notice the absence of Fellaini today but we did lack any real threat down the right. That was due to injuries more than anything else but just imagine how good we'll be when Coleman and Mirallas get a run together.

I remain hopeful for 2013. We do need some new bodies but with a few players returning, we need not be scared of anybody.

Tony Twist at the start of this trail — "unbelievable Moyes" comment. How can you make comments like that when he sees these guys day-in, day-out. Don't you think he knows something about whether they're ready for action? I think the fact they lasted the game makes your comments "unbelievable"!

Heitinga and Jelly were poor. Gibbo, Ossie and Stevie P were immense and Captain Phil was a steady influence throughout.

Great effort, lads. COYBs.

We could do with more pundits like Savage and Claridge because they are very positive about Everton and Moyes. They are a major improvement on people like Garth Crooks or Andy Townsend who just champion the same predictable rubbish...

But you can hardly use him as a benchmark to promote Savage. On the universal scale of dickheads, they both score high.

Ah, bless... Jelly plays 90 mins each week, and now and then 180, and he's ... 'tired'!?! Oh the poor little love. It's so hard, aint it, pounding up and down the pitch, week-in and week-out... and, lest we forget, those high-amp daily, deary me daily, training stints. Off to bed with ya, Jelly!

What a ridiculous comment, Why does he look tired 'understandably'? What is 'understandable' about his tiredness? He is a high-paid lean professional who works at most for 3 hours each week in public view. But bless, get some zzzzzzzzzzs, Jelly. It's a hard life, ain't it, mate?

I was also watching the Football League Show today, and the Crystal Palace goalie, Speroni, made an awful error... it reminded me of the horrendous error he made against us in the season we finished fourth, when we visited Palace.

For those who don't remember (and if I remember rightly), we were one-nil down and, after losing to Arsenal on the opening day, and with several players having left in the summer, I was actually scared we were going to get relegated that season. We ended up winning 3-1 I think, with two goals from Gravesen and one from Bent, and we just averted a car crash on the way home... turned into a great day.

I know this is extremely irrelevant... but it's weird how certain incidents bring memories back. And there were two today which reminded me of events 7/8 years ago.

I also thought Osman looked very good... him and Pienaar are going to be so crucial in the next few matches. Also, I was pleased to see Anichebe back as, despite his faults, I believe he is our second-best striker, and he gives us something different.

And lastly... I'm really proud at how often we are overturning deficits to take points. I can't recall any season in recent memory of it happening so often... and tbh, aside from Man Utd this season, I can't recall many other teams who have managed it quite so often. Shows a great determination.

And lastly... fair play to Anichebe and Neville today. I was annoyed when both were in the line-up, as I didn't expect they would be fit enough... but I was proved wrong.

We have drawn too many games... but two defeats in twenty-seven? Pretty remarkable! If we get a couple of players in in January, we will take fourth down to the wire.

Does anyone else think that maybe the refs are performing poorly as a way to pressure the governing bodies to introduce technological assitance? Seems like the standard is a lot lower than past seasons.

As for the scrooge reference, I did enjoy the win and I did enjoy the performance of Osman but I have watched him a long time and I know those good performances are few and far between so I won't be getting carried away like a lot on here.

You say you've watched Ossie a long time – maybe that's the problem – we (me too!) can become blind to things because we see them through the lens of previous experience, rather than seeing what's actually happening now. Let's just disagree, then, about how well he's playing this year.

A number of observations regarding the match:

Johnny H's performance confirmed for me that he is NOT up for it as a defensive player; lacking pace and positioning, I see it hard for him to hold a role in our squad. He didn't even get booked today which tells me his heart is not even in it.

Jeli is still miss firing... severely. Time for a tune-up or a sit-down. I would have taken Naisy over him today in a forward role as Jelli gave the linesmen a good ole work out with all his offsides.

I was very pleased with Osman's work rate and looked great on the ball with superb control (he should have had a goal as well). I was pleased with Vic's performance as he played an entire match, got the equalizer and did his best to bully defenders the way we know he can today. I'm glad to see him back on the pitch!

I was pleasantly surprised at Neville's performance yesterday. He looked a bit rough on the touch but, with the back line out of sorts, I think you could see his leadership and coordination of the players on the field at work there.

Questions remain about why Moyesie put Heitinga at CB. Surely Coleman would have been able to sort the wing out with some help from Neville (who was covering for Jags on many occasions during his "runs" up the wing).