Last time I went and did the match day thread was Ralph's first game in charge and we won, and also played well. Thought it would be a good omen to do this one too. Call me naive, or completely blind, but I genuinely can see us kicking on from Wednesday and winning handy tomorrow. I'm going for a win by two goals. 2-0 or 3-1.
I honestly can't gauge it at all. On the one hand, that win against Brentford will have lifted the team and given them some belief. Had we won against Villa and then Brentford, I'd be much more confident. But we always give away goals even when we're leading. Add to that we still struggle to create chances against teams that are well organised at the back, and look more and more vulnerable at the back as the game goes on. Does Elanga start? Does Greenwood? Or will he go with Rashford (who scored after a long time) and Sancho? Will it be McFred in midfield again?
Chief, didn’t you make Villa match day thread? Why u tryna bamboozle us, brav? I will be watching this match. I’ve been away for two weeks, so no football matches for me in that period. It should help me to see if there’s been a difference in how we collective work as a team over individualism. I am also glad that Dalot and Telles are both back in the starting lineup and I hope they do again for this match. AWB and Shaw offer nothing going forward. And if we are going to have two holding midfielders, you might as well have Dalot and Telles to offer help driving forward.
I’m certainly not a fan of Shaw. When I watch him play, he is hard rooted. He is not dynamic. I see why Jose had such a problem with him. Overall, the input from our fullbacks over the years has been way below par. And Shaw is a fundamental part of that challenge with AWB just not good at all in the final third.
I admire your optimism. Like trebs has said earlier, our form has been patchy at best. We would have had more confidence if we hadn’t just squandered 2 points against Villa. We simply don’t know which team will turn up? The dynamic one of the Brentford second half or the turgid one of the Brentford (and many) first half. West Ham sit in top 4 or 5 yet they are hardly pulling any trees. Big test of our current situation. If we struggle against them, it will surely indicate that we are nowhere where we should be at this stage, with the talent we’ve got.
Just about to set off. Keep an eye out, am next to the West Ham bench! Deffo win this with Chief in situ.
Tbf we did win last time Chief attended. I think the result all depends if we see him in the stands though!
Genuinely happy for Rashford. Such a celebration by the whole team. That was a great moment. Cavani is such a legend, not only with his feet but mostly with his amazing spirit.
The Whammers must be gutted to go back to London empty handed. They played enough to at least get a point. With a bit of luck they could have got all 3. Rangnick got rewarded for going all out for the win but yet again the play wasn't dynamic enough and players were wasting opportunities by skying the ball from 40 yards.
We played expansive attacking football and I enjoyed watching it. If we'd finished 0-0 I would've been gutted not to get the win but I wouldn't have criticised the tactics and performance. Since Rangnick switched to a 4-3-3 something's clicked and HIS approach seems to have come to life. So much more effective and the players look to be buying into it. Fcking pissed off there's an international break now
Yes I am gutted at the performance of the team for 92 minutes. Of course elated at the last gasp winner which used to be our trade mark. But however good that win feels , we just can’t ignore how mediocre the team played during the match. With the talent we have and at home with such huge crowd support we should have the match sown up by 90 minutes against an average side. We really shouldn’t need the last kick. We need to improve our attacking play as well as our midfield. West Ham constantly cut through us on the counter. Greenwood seems to have gone backwards with regularly choosing the wrong option. Maguire at least didn’t make his usual fatal error. We are not there yet and there is still plenty of improvement potential.
This isn't true, I don't think they even had a shot. They got what they deserved, which was to lose. Their fans are caricature ****ers as well.
The attacking play definitely needs to get better. The midfield struggles to create clear cut chances. But we still need some perspective that this is the same team that was losing every other game three months ago. Also, West Ham is a solid team this season. If we can at least limit goals conceded, then we have something to build on creatively to drive better attacking performances and results. Shame that there is now a long break before the next league match.
So folks, gooners and spuds along with the hammers all dropping points. And so currently we sit Top 4 albeit having played more. Not a bad week in the end.