Carroll and Nolan will have a field day against G*llas. Dawson should play instead, he wins more aerial duels than most. West Ham will do nothing from open play. Defend set pieces and you'll be ok, easier said than done though. Defoe needs to have a blinder.
i Agree with D/L on Dawson,or Caulker and Vertongan in the center,if Benny is fit.Although i don't rate Benny,i would rather have him now,than Gallas
I'm looking forward to this one massively. As much as I hate West Ham, I can honestly say I missed the atmosphere at WHL last season of our typically fierce London derby. I'm feeling confident about this one, just have a feeling there'll be back lash from the Arsenal result. Mousa is supposedly back for Lazio Thursday, I'm hoping he gets about 20 minutes out there and then starts Sunday. Team I'd like: Lloris, Naughton, Dawson, Caulker (if fit), Vertonghen Sandro, Dembele (if fit) Lennon, Carroll, Bale Defoe If Caulker's not fit then Gallas. If Dembele's not fit then drop Carroll deeper and then I suppose we'd have to have Dempsey/ Sigurdsson in the CAM, though I'd love it to see Falque given a shot. Subs: Friedel, Walker, Gallas, Huddlestone, Dempsey, Sigurdsson, Falque Think we can get a 3-1 possibly even 3-0 with that providing we start Daws & Caulks to deal with their long balls, otherwise we could be in trouble. The battle between Sandro and Diame will be interesting, both have been in good form.
Love the lineup SOS if Dembele and Caulker are back, that's exactly what I'd like to see too. (or walker at RB. as he's bigger and stronger than naughton.) Dawson starting for the height advantage is a very good shout, but my only concern is that he'll keep playing the 60yard diagonal balls. I don't know if this will work against west ham. playing them at that sort of game with players like Defoe and Lennon is far from ideal. we need to play football, keep possession and not let west ham play their game. - if we don't, we're going to struggle. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a 442 against them to be honest, with Dempsey and Defoe up front. It will all depend on who's fit, IMO. I think AVB's now seen enough for the time being of the 4231 for various reasons, hence why we've started differently on a couple of occasions recently. The performances in a 4231 have generally been poor, and we've not looked like a threat, or even controlled the game like we should when playing that formation. Perhaps Dempsey might work better in the role alongside Defoe. I think AVB will be acutely aware of that, based on his previous poor performances.
Good point in Dawson's long balls, hopefully IF he does get the start, he'll try and restrict them and just allow Dembele to deal with the creative business. If AVB goes 4-4-2 I'll be more than happy, I love 4-4-2 and would have it all day long unless you can play a 4-5-1 with the right players (Luka/ Rafa etc). Just hope if Dempsey starts, he does stick as a striker and doesn't drift back much, he's been pretty useless so far at trying to link play so I'd rather he just stay up top and use his predatory instincts which we all know he has. I said Naughton because a) Walker has just been p*ss poor and b) He could do with a confidence booster after being run ragged by Walcott on the left hand side. We've still yet to see Naughton play a full shift at RB this season and I think he deserves a chance. I know overall Walker is a far superior player when on form but his poor performances so far have been a hinderance on the team, I'm all for giving players a few games to pick themselves up and give them confidence but Walker's had 12 league games now and looked poor in about 8 of them. Anyway, regardless of the line up, we just desperately need the 3 points, for pride, confidence and league standing.
I fear you may be right. Especially if you score early. However, If we can keep it level until half time though, I would fancy us to hold out for the draw as our defence seems to grow and grow in the tough games.
We often struggle against "tougher" sides though, Trixter. we seem to have problems breaking them down. With the amount of injuries we have, and now a suspension to Adebayor, I'm struggling to work out where/who the "Backlash" is going to come from, despite previously thinking it was possible. I guess it all comes down to who's back for us. We don't have much spark at the moment.
To be honest mate, we are probably in a similar situation. Benayoun, Jarvis and Vaz Te are all missing - probably our three most creative players. Without those three against stoke last night we had very little invention so in the main I expect to see lots of balls launched up to Carrol/Nolan With the occasional attack from the wings.
Yeah the first goal is going to be key, hopefully JD will be fired up as it's against his old club. I think with Dembele (hopefully) back and as I mentioned about JD facing his former side, they should both have positive effects on the out come and the way we go about this fixture. Whenever Mousa's played we've looked a lot better and JD's been in good form this season, the extra incentive of scoring against the Hammers should give him a bit more tenacity - just as long as doesn't do an Adebayor vs Arsenal!!!
Lloris Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Naughton Sandro, Dembele Lennon, Dempsey, Bale Defoe For me, that's still enough big men to counter their aerial threat.
I like the lineup too. Just want to say one thing about Dawson's long balls. He is actually very good at them, and height is neither here nor there. They aren't designed to be won in the air, they are to give forwards a bit of space through getting the ball up early to them and stretching the defence. Having said that, I don't want us to play that way. Build carefully through Dembele is the right way, but had to defend Dawson's skill level. They are not hit up to Carroll for him to win in the air type balls.
- and that could be our biggest problem, the long balls. If AVB persists with Gallas, we're going to be in trouble, especially if that's going to be your predominant method of attack. We desperately need Dembele. Just gotta hope he can play to the best of his ability in his first game back from injury. it's a lot to ask, but we are in dire need of him to be at his best, get the win and restorea bit of confidence. COYS!
I agree SD, it's quite amazing how good they are to be honest, especially for a defender. His accuracy is something that many midfielders would love to have in their locker. i just think that West ham will be aware of it and will deal with it. Hopefully, I'm proven wrong.
The only problem is I doubt we'll get the chance to find out. For some reason he just can't get a start under AVB despite the fact that many would agree he'd be very useful in this game. AVB is starting to play formations I like so I'll definitely praise him for taking more risks/ being more attack minded, I just hope he can go a bit further and get Dawson in the team.
What a superb signing Dembele is for you. No disrespect to you but I am amazed Man Utd or any other elite club didnt move for him. I hope he isn't passed fit before the weekend.
Believe me we know it! I'm amazed it took us so late in the window to try and wrap the deal up. I never thought it'd be easy to replace Luka and although both are quite different in how they play, Mousa has made Luka's loss a lot more easier to take. It's just a shame we haven't replaced Rafa with any adequate replacement (thought we had at first, but Dempsey and Sigurdsson have been let downs).
United tried to bully Fulham into selling him by offering £5mill and hoping Dembele forced his way out. We were more respectful and came in with his release clause in full despite him only having one year left on his deal. Quality player but he'd be wasted in Fergie's rotation policy.
he's got to SOS, gallas has been woeful. There's hope. None of us thought he'd switch to a 442, but he did. he must have recognised Gallas' poor performances. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dawson on thurs, as well as on sunday.
Well you signed a superb player. All I meant was I am surprised you didn't have a bit more competition for his signature. Diame on a free is even better value though
