West Ham United were back in training this Tuesday fresh from a spirited display at Crystal Palace when their poised passing performance should have earned more than the single point.

Speaking after the match, the Palace manager had said: “Two teams, playing two different ways; very much a physical powerful team in West Ham, knocking a lot of balls into your box, against the team that we had with the guile, the sharpness and the interchange to play and try to create chances.”

However, the Hammers had 366 passes in play compared to the home side’s 224. They completed nearly 80 per cent of these while Palace’s success rate was just 72 per cent. The visitors also carried the ball into the final third of the pitch on 93 occasions as opposed to the Eagles’ 68 times.

Speaking to whufc.com, Big Sam said: “We had more than 4,000 travelling fans at Selhurst Park. That is fantastic support again and they all saw another exciting team performance to go with the big wins we had at Watford and Nottingham Forest.

“We dominated the Palace game and outplayed the home side so it disappoints me to hear a young manager talking in the way that he did about my team. Just to get the facts straight, we were on top in terms of passing and possession and should have won the game with the chances we created.”

I am liking the statistics we are getting from WHUFC now! Shows the depth Sam Allardyce and his team go into to make sure they are fully prepared for every game, and of course analyse every performance. Feels a much more professional outfit than in the past.