Less t’ think about? (Leicester H match thread Friday 24/11)

TheMadcapLaughs

One quick question, when Antonio is fit, who would you sacrifice from last nights line up, if anyone?????

TwistandShout

TheMadcapLaughs said:

One quick question, when Antonio is fit, who would you sacrifice from last nights line up, if anyone?????

Masuaku or Carroll ;ok

baracks_a_hammer

Playing devils advocate for one moment, we pretty much played better for one half of the game??

In other words exactly as was often the case under slav. Leicester could have put the game to bed before we equalised

Whilst it is clearly better to play better more positively and confidently (for which we are all I am sure happy), it remains to be seen whether we can do it for all or most of a game and furthermore convert to three points

Sorry, but one point not enough yesterday and for me relegation is still far more likely than not

MrsGrey

alderz said:

Masuaku was... I’m not sure. He was involved a lot, but he didn’t really produce anything like quality.

Although, that could apply to a number of players ;wink

grey_til_I_dye

Madcap

I think the lapse was due to the fact he felt he needed one more touch to allow players to get in to the box.

TheMadcapLaughs

Twist ;ok

Grey, don`t disagree, but what a touch.................... ;nonono

jay_in_cpt

TheMadcapLaughs said:

One quick question, when Antonio is fit, who would you sacrifice from last nights line up, if anyone?????

If Antonio is to come straight back in I'd move Arnie to his preferred left, So Arthur IMO

Lukerz

TheMadcapLaughs said:

One quick question, when Antonio is fit, who would you sacrifice from last nights line up, if anyone?????

Someone on the bench, ideally

Yeoldhammer

Performance was still some way off to say we can get the wins needed to stay up.

TheMadcapLaughs

Jay ;ok Arthur looks the obvious choice, but perhaps he shouldn`t walk straight back in, we keep the same 11, a bit of continuity, and he takes Quinas or Fernandes place on the bench. Luke ;ok

Lukerz

It’s not going to change overnight. We need to use the next 6 games to get to the standard we want to be at and then we attack the second half of the season from a fresh slate. We play everybody again.

Make no mistake we have seen improvements. To be honest, outside the top 6 I’d say the two sides you don’t want to play next are Watford and Leicester. They are dangerous, quick sides. They weren’t easy games. Moyes had to start against them and the next 4 are no easier.

Arnie is looking much better. The back four had a good second half after a shaky first. The side played as a cohesive unit during the second 45 and we got a goal. First goal, first point and first reasonable atmosphere in the ground, under Moyes. It doesn’t just change overnight.

I felt Lanzini was good yesterday. It didn’t all come off but he wasn’t hiding. I thought the entire 11 was a lot braver in what they did. Masuaku, although ;hmm , didn’t go into his shell after several ‘nearly’ moments. He kept going. The back four will get better as they consistently play together.

Carroll was good. Very little service but was tidy in his hold up when he had the chance.

Once the side gains that confidence in the management, the crowd and themselves, points will come. If we can go to Everton and get a win, this season will start to show signs of hope. But we have to build on this. It can’t be a one-off reasonable performance. We make the LS a fortress and we won’t go down.

People need to calm down a bit. We’ve made a similar start to last season (12 points from 13 last season) and were 9th by February. It can change very quickly and the league is very congested this year. 6 points off 9th.

grey_til_I_dye

Madcap

I agree.

For me, it is important that players earn the shirt.

I like an Antonio, but (possibly because of his hammy) he has been less effective recently.

Keep the same players unless they need to be dropped due to form or injury, give those coming back 20 minutes or so to show why they should be the starter.

Cuz1

I agree with most posts ref last night game thort the players were up for it more and at least heads didn’t drop, thort arnie played well but still expect creativity than that a lot of his crosses never got much off the ground to clear the defenders, but as I said an improved performance

Bazshuayi

Perhaps to try and address us only looking ok for half a game, the players should be made aware that they're expected to put in a proper shift from start to about 60th minute initially with those not contributing enough being replaced by the likes of Ayew, Sakho, Hernandez, Antonio and Byram (plus Collins and Fonte) when fit. A reminder that we need an intensity for 90 minutes until everyone has sufficient fitness levels to do it and then its about the best performers keeping their place. Does that sound too obvious though and what should've been in the players heads anyway?

IronHerb

'Leicester could have put the game to bed before we equalised'

I'm still trying to think when and how. Not the game I was watching ;hmm

alderz

Grey, MrsGrey ;ok

I’m certainly not saying he was bad, but he was consistently in dangerous positions and his final ball was a big disappointment to me.

It was good to have someone run at defenders, but when Antonio is back I would sacrifice Masuaku for him 100%.

I think that formation with Hernandez and Antonio in for Carroll and Arthur would be my preferred.

thornburyiron

Carroll was also one of our best defenders last night. He cleared several set pieces by bring first yo the ball each times.

thornburyiron

I had to laugh when the ball slipped through Zab's hands as he was about to take a throw in and the linesman flagged it as a foul throw. The ball ran off his bald head.

IronHerb

That was officially the worst throw in I've ever seen. ;clap

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

Feel for Moyes, you can see how he's got his ideas across early and how the team are adapting

The team actually look like they have an identity unlike when Slaven was in charge

But we have such a bad run in, like someone said out of the bottom 14 teams Leicester and Watford who among the better teams and are some of the most athletic

We NEED to beat Everton

EXETERHAMMER

How would eveyone have felt if Slav had been in charge for the last two games and we had only got one point against Watford and Leicester?

grey_til_I_dye

Exeter

I'd like to think I would have been heartened by the change in attitude/effort.

SuzanneClaret

I would.

EXETERHAMMER

I agree that the second half yesterday was a significant improvement. Also that Arnie seemed to be responding to Moyes.

I still feel that the players let Slav down though.

grey_til_I_dye

Exeter

I agree to an extent, but if Moyes could get that out of them then so should Slav.

welovethehammers

grey_til_I_dye said:

Exeter

I agree to an extent, but if Moyes could get that out of them then so should Slav.

Sometimes that's the "new manager" effect. When a new manager steps in, players are eager to impress him as well as follow his instructions carefully. After a while the novelty wears off. When Bilic first arrived he did a tremendous job.

Perhaps Moyes may do well over his 6 month contract but if we had him for 2+ years he'd struggle in the long run. Hypothetically speaking, if this was the case and then Bilic subsequently took over AFTER Moyes, Bilic may have got the same response in the short term taking over Moyes.

Kuchinghammer

When I saw a forward three who have scored zero goals this season, I was expecting anything between disaster and catastrophe. But now I'm a happy Hammer again. Not because of the result, but because the players stepped up after the first goal, and the crowd really pushed them on. At last we have a connect between players and supporters, and the way I saw it was that one guy got to his feet and became a cheerleader, and the rest of the crowd stood up and joined in. If this becomes a regular event, we'll get an extra 10 points by the end of the season

MrsGrey

Kuchinghammer said:

the way I saw it was that one guy got to his feet and became a cheerleader

this guy = part of the solution.

Booing = part of the problem.

imo

Lukerz

I think we do need some consistency in the side.

I think with Antonio and Chicharito missing means the XI we saw Friday is the way to go.

Masuaku gives us pace and directness but he is a bit chaotic. Arnautovic is improving and the back four is the best we’ve got with injuries to 3 other players so let’s just get them playing together regularly.

I think Antonio and Masuaku on the wings is potentially very good but would probably need us to go 3 at the back and use them as wing-backs to also get Arnie and Lanzini in the side. But that’s more longer term. We certainly need more pace.

At the moment 4-4-1-1 is a pretty simple formation to go back to basics. I think only conceding 1 goal against a pretty dangerous counter-attacking side at home, where we have had problems defensively on the break, should give us confidence and I think we need to look to build up an unbeaten run at home.

MrsGrey

Lukerz, do you want this comment on the Everton match thread?