West Bromwich Albion 4 - West Ham United 0

oshawabaggie:

I forget who said 'a week is a long time in politics', but it is surely true in football too. After serving up a stinker against Burnley 7 days ago, we built on a very good performance over Swansea with a sublime victory today. Equally stunning is the turnaround in Brown Ideye. Anyone arriving from Mars a week ago would be gob-smacked to learn that we were actually trying to sell him and replace him with Carlton Cole, a West Ham sub. In a great team performance Brown Ideye was the standout. I didn't think he could repeat his effort against Swansea, but if anything he was even better. I have been critical of TP's experimenting at fullback, but I have to tip my hat and say that, based on today's showing, both Brunt and Dawson look like our best options. Brunt's passing in particular was much better and Dawson did well in laying on the first goal.

In 4 days we've managed to make two decent teams look very ineffective. You can see the confidence building in players like Mozza (great goal) and Yacob, not to mention BI of course. Shame Gardner's screamer didn't go in, he deserves one. Brilliant strike by Berahino, but otherwise he looked a little sloppy today. TP, Keep a recording of this game and play it for the team before every game. It doesn't get much better. Bring on Sunderland!

Didcot Baggie:

Well I have no Ideye how Pulis does it, but he's turned a championship-bound team into a decent battling side. Talking of Ideye, what a turnaround - looks stronger, tricky and took his goals well. Basically like a new signing for us in the January window. He would be my Man of the Match (hands up who thought they'd ever see than said....). Close behind him comes Mozza who had an excellent all action game and scored the pick of the goals. The defence looked solid protected by Claudio. Brunt at left back looks like a good move from Pulis - certainly worked in this game.

Not going to say we were perfect, but its nice to come away from The Hawthorns with a smile on my face. Lets hope we get a good draw - I can almost smell the Hot Dogs at Wembley...

Kev Buckley:

After the disappointment of having spent the afternoon and evening watching England's cricket team being humbled by Australia for the second game in a row, I wasn't sure that staying up until 2am to watch the Albion live was a good idea, and the intial signs, no less than five defenders on the bench to cover for our two non-fullbacks and a surprisingly unfull stadium, were not good. Surely things, as that song suggests, can only get better.

ESPN's commentary team, their ex-pro being ex-WHU player Dean Ashton, informed me that Pulis, having found a systen he likes, would then stick to it, and so would be playing a 4231, with Gardener and Yacob as the two, with Morrison in between Berhino and Sees, the three behind Ideye. Ashton would go on to mention our three man midfield a number of times, despite the fact that anyone watching the game would have discerned Gardener starting on the right of, and Sess on the left of, a four man line-up. So much for ex-pro pundits!

Given that the commentary team mentioned the link between WHU's Carlton Cole (on the bench) not coming to the Albion being the reason Ideye was still here, it seems worth adding some more grist to that mill, by pointing out that today's standout MoM was, let's not forget, someone who, on arrival at the club, so local newspaper reports told us, so poor that he had our senior pros questioning who the new kid from the youth team who had joined their training was, yet today he displayed every quality you could wish for in a modern centre-forward: pace and skill on the ball when facing the goal, strength, awareness and touch with back to it.

With around ten minutes gone, ESPN's pundit was suggesting that WHU had started to look comfortable but by then there had already been signs of what was to come, firstly when right-non-full-back Dawson got well forwards as part of a move that saw a half shout for a penalty and then when left-non-full-back Brunt reprised his all but forgotten winger role in setting up Gardner, who had drifted in from the right, with a great pull back from the bye-line, the latter just failing to find the target with a crisp left-foot volley, as the applause for Astle rang out.

Similarly, throughout those early stages, the defensive midfield pairing of Yacob and Morrison had hardly let WHU's diamond geezer midfield make any telling impact near the edge of our box, though, around the quarter-hour mark we saw Morrison giving away the kind of needless free-kick there, that usually has those on here who tell that that Yacob is surplus to requirements frothing at the mouth.

Nothing would come of it.

Shortly after that incident would come the change, one that seemingly went un-noticed by the ESPN team, that would change the game, as Sess and Gardener switched to the right and left wings respectively, the positions they would maintain until both were subbed late on.

Just shy of twenty minutes, Albion would move the ball away from their right back area, starting with an imperious turn by MacAuley, over to the left-side in the WHU half where Gardener, drifting inside, switches the play with a delightful crossfield ball that Dawson, looking every inch a galloping over-lapping full back, would collect before delivering a sliderule pass to Ideye whose positioning saw him merely need to ease the ball over line.

That seemed to really spark the Albion, first with Gardener setting up Morrison to test the keeper from 22 yards, at the edge of the "D", and then as Ideye, showing Regis like qualities on the halfway line, dummied to collect Gardener's pass out of defence, before driving powerfully forwards towards and into the WHU box, although ending up advancing too far ahead of the support.

Gardener's influence on the left reached it's peak when, after Berhaino kept posession near the corner flag and set him up, he thundered a drive against the bar, with the keeper beaten, causing Ashton to comment that "you won't see a better struck ball than that", though the ESPN pundit would not have to wait long to see that comment made redundant as, in the wake of the TV audience being told of Allardyce's exit from the Cup during his time at the Albion, as part of the Woking debacle, Morrison glided out of a lunging tackle just outside the centre circle, advanced ten yards and, from somwhere between 25 and 30 yards, struck a ball so much better that, despite the keeper getting a touch on his shot, it screamed into the far side of the netting and, to all intents and purposes, consigned Allardyce to another exit from the FA Cup in a game at the Hawthorns.

Big Sam's halftime teamtalk didn't serve to generate any sparkle from his diamond and indeed Albion could have closed the lid on its display setting box when Morrison's first-time through ball to Berhaino, the latter putting in a really great shift throughout the game, both in front of the midfield four and when linking it up to Ideye, just failed to get the touch that would have seen him in on goal, five or so minutes after the break.

Ten minutes after it though, Albion were all but in the quarters, as Brunt, getting forwards with more effect from full-back than he has for a long long time as the nominal wide-left-mid, followed up a one-two with Morrsion that saw the "wand" deliver a sublime ball across the penalty spot that the incoming Ideye just failed to poke home, however, Sessengon was far enough advanced on the right to keep the move alive and his cross saw our almost discarded striker generate enought neck muscle power from his standing start header to see it's deflection take it past the keeper.

Shortly after Foster's reflexes made his first (only) real save for him, the game all but ended when a prone Almalfitano, now on for the East End Iron, took enough exception to having Brunt stand over him showering his ex-team mate with "Nor'n Ir'n" expletives, and saw his raised hand, looking to silence Brunt at the source, met with the rasied hand of the ref showing him the red card. I doubt Almalfitano was fully down the tunnel as Ideye linked with Gardener to play in Berhaino, who thumped the fourth home, beating the keeper at the near post.

It's a shame that Ideye's stock could not have been pushed even higher when yet another deft flick around the edge of the box to Berhaino, saw his partner play in McManamam, whose cross then just failed find the run of initiator of the move who would have notched a Cup hat-trick. We might even have seen Dawson on the scoresheet, when, as our furthest advanced player on the right, he showed nice footwork at the corner of the box to create the space for another piledriver that the WHU keeper could merely parry to safety.

With the game over and the clock now heading towards four in the morning, I should really have looked to sleep but suffice to say that the euphoria of the win saw me starting to watch the delights of Blackburn v Stoke, although I finally fell asleep during that, which means I missed a real bogey side for us exiting the competition at the hands of their lower league opponents.

I guess all we need now is a favourable draw!

AllenKevanHogg:

What? No players to berate? Hey, that was fun to watch. Play like that and we get 50 points not 40. But the Cup is different, so not too many jaded teams in Premiership matches like WHU in that cup-tie. Nevertheless from front to back, an accomplished performance and all four goals at least well taken and at most superb. After all, "Bobby's" first one would have gone over the bar a few weeks ago.

Robin Martin:

Stunning how a team can turn round! Two games ago I was despairing at the dire football we played, at Everton and burnley. In between we got stuffed by Spurs, and I guess I was not alone in believing that Pulis' methods were to be as desperate as many of us feared. How wrong can you be! How did that happen?

Yesterday's match was the best I can remember since Steve Clarke's balmy early days (remember outplaying Chelsea?!). Ideye was a revelation. He clearly needed two things. One, a manager who gave him support. Two, bleeding obviously, a run of games. New country, new league, new colleagues. You need time. I'm not being wise after the event, cos I could see little in him too. Shows how wrong we can all be.

Other highlights for me were our two long serving and often undervalued midfielders, Mozza, who sparkled again in a more forward position, and the terrific Brunty, a bloke who gives everything for the team, wherever he's asked to play.

I'm really looking forward to Sunderland (who, you may be interested to know, I am "scouting" today as they visit my local team in the Cup). Suddenly things are looking up for us fickle football fans!

Brendan Clegg:

What a performance - the kinds that leaves you basking in its glow for the whole weekend. 4-0 didn't flatter us at all, 5 or 6 wouldn't have either. Credit to Pulis for picking a really strong side as that set the tone for taking the game seriously. And I actually think the team was stronger than midweek with Mozza restored to the centre and Sess in for McManaman.

We were brilliant from the off - the main change in our approach from Everton and Burnley 1st half was the relentless aggressive pressing high up the pitch and high tempo. It's the style Pepe Mel wanted but tried and failed to implement supposedly because the senior players in the dressing room wouldn't go along with it.

But across the pitch we were really brave in pushing up and hounding West Ham all over the pitch, like we'd done to Swansea but even harder. West Ham couldn't live with it and the amount of chances we created from quickly winning the ball back in their half gave them all sorts of headaches.

As Pepe would try and say - "This is the way."

Massive credit to McAuley and Lescott - 3 intense games in 6 days at their ages is unbelievable but they were great.

Brunt and Dawson should also take great credit - not just for their bravery and pushing up and (repeatedly) winning the ball or nicking it away deep in West Ham's half; Their distribution was miles better. Dawson especially played intelligent and ambitious long passes through tight gaps into the feet of Berahino, Ideye and Sess who could then turn and run and get at West Ham. I wouldn't have either of them in my starting 11 in those positions but they were both excellent.

Morrison totally ran the show through the middle in his best position, in the centre but pushing on - this style suits him the most and he ran Nolan and Song ragged with bursts of effort.

Ideye and Berahino were also excellent picking up from where they left off on Wednesday - movement, showing for the ball, fighting for everything, setting the example for everyone behind them by pushing high up.

At the risk of being a wee bit churlish - Would we be playing like this if Anichebe hadn't been injured or would Pulis have continued with the more conservative long-ball-to-the-big-man approach? You certainly can't paly this way as effectively with Vic in the team.

I think this performance, with a starting 11 have players here prior to TP's arrival, also in part supports the view that squad he inherited isn't as bad as he was making out. It's possible if he'd had his way that Ideye would be gone and we'd have Carlton Cole in his place.

But whatever - possibly the best we've played in a few years. Let's hope we keep it up.

• Foster - 7 One thing to do all day was a great save.
• Dawson - 8 Defended well, passed it well, got up and down. Very very good.
• G-Mac - 7 How long can he go on for at this level? Brilliant effort.
• Lescott - 7 Another solid and composed performance.
• Brunt - 7 Best game he's had for us in ages. Tackling and strong feet in was excellent and continues to cross way more as a left back than he managed as a winger.
• Sess - 7 Just has that pinch of quality over McManaman although it would be interesting to have them both in the team on either wing. Occupies defenders and makes them worry.
• Yacob - 7 Solid and pressed very high. Sensible with the ball.
• Morrison - 9 There was very little he didn't do and what a goal.
• Gardner - 7 Put a real shift in out of position like he always does - provided great cover to his fullback and unlucky not to score. Style suits him well too.
• Berahino - 8 Has a natural football brain which means he reads things better than others. Worked hard and it was another absolutely brutal finish that fooled everyone expecting the cross but was hit so hard and so accurately that it was difficult to even fault Adrian.
• Ideye - 9 Growing in confidence and starting to show a bit of skill to match the industry that has turned his season around. They couldn't handle him.

• Mcmanaman - 7 Again looked a threat when he came on with his direct running and pace.
• Gamboa - did he touch the ball? I thought the way he ran onto the pitch and high-fived a few players was world class though.