Arsenal away 25th Aug, the battle at the bottom, can we keep it below 5?

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Comments

  • ASLEFshruggedASLEFshrugged
    Rice is the first player our Academy has produced that has looked to be top class since Collison made his debut in October 2008 (and I'm including Stanislas). Apart from Collison only Noble and Tomkins could be regarded as successful graduates since Glen Johnson in 2003.

    Four players in 15 years is not a great production line.
  • YeoldhammerYeoldhammer
    edited August 2018
    Noble is the last connection to the old West Ham "Pre-Olympic Stadium" once he goes that's pretty much it.

    At the same time Noble is bang average as a footballer. Its going to be similar to Gerrard leaving Anfield (Minus all the England caps and Trophies), the time was right for him to leave for the club to progress forward.
  • LukerzLukerz
    edited August 2018
    Can we not just play him as a DM & tell him to sit deep in front of the back two central defenders? How hard can it be to tell him to sit half-way in his half & not go forward under any circumstances? He gets caught by the ball in behind him & can't get back.

    Just get Obiang & Wilshere to flank him & he sits deep.

    Or at the base or side of a diamond?

    Fabianski
    Fredericks - Diop - Rice - Masuaku
    Sanchez
    Noble - Obiang
    Anderson
    Arnautovic - Perez

    ;hmm
  • IronHerbIronHerb
    No.
  • LukerzLukerz
    edited August 2018
    Thing is when he doesn't play, we generally get beat convincingly. He obviously offers something. Pards, Curbs, Zola, Grant, Sam, Bilic, Moyes & Pelle all selected him immediately. ;hmm
  • IronHerbIronHerb
    And all good things come to an end.
  • PrestonHammerPrestonHammer
    We get beat convincingly even when he is in the team. I obviously don't mean we get beat convincingly all the time. Until we can play a system where we don't get steamrollered in the middle of the park, then we are always going to be in trouble.
  • baracks_a_hammerbaracks_a_hammer
    edited August 2018
    Need to play a system with specific roles and select the best for those roles. More likely than not there would be better candidates for all the midfield roles than Noble.

    Crazy to shoe-horn Nobes into the team and then somehow build some sort of a system around him.
  • EXETERHAMMEREXETERHAMMER
    Noble passes well and links up with gotop attacking midfield plyers around him e.g Payet and Lanzini.

    However he lacks pace and always has done. This has been exposed especially in away games when teams are on the front foot against us.

    His greatest asset now is his attitude and getting the team going. I remember him against Chelsea at home in the Caribou cup turning the game after one tackle and shout at the rest of the team

    I too think he could play a holding role if we stick to Pellegrini's favoured 442. Burt he needs players close to him with bags of energy and skill. Perhaps Wilshire and Obiang in front of him could work.

  • MarkNobleLocalHeroMarkNobleLocalHero
    I just can't believe some of the stuff I'm reading here ;nonono and will not dignify it with a comment.....whoops ;doh
  • SuzanneClaretSuzanneClaret
    Can we not play Masuaku and then go from there.....
  • HammerwombatHammerwombat
    Apart from Noble and Zab, I don’t think anyone else put a proper try to get the ball tackle in. If we are to play Pelles position football, we need to get it back and hold onto it. We won’t be doing that with many of the players who started on Saturday.
  • IronHerbIronHerb
    If you're talking about the first goal Noble never got close enough to get a tackle in. ;hmm
  • HammerwombatHammerwombat
    The goal scorer beat 5 players, it seems unfair to single out noble as the only offender.
  • IronHerbIronHerb
    I'm not. You mentioned Noble.
  • HammerwombatHammerwombat
    IronHerb said:

    If you're talking about the first goal Noble never got close enough to get a tackle in. ;hmm

    I believe you mentioned Noble regarding the first goal. I was looking at his whole time on the pitch. No5hing to write home about but he was ok in the first half.
  • LukerzLukerz
    edited August 2018
    Snodgrass, Balbuena, Zab were at fault for goal one.

    The only mistake Noble made was to be in a position on the pitch where he expected his team-mate to find a claret shirt when completely unopposed and with time on the ball.

    Snodgrass played an abysmal pass which meant Noble was open to the ball behind him.

    Balbuena and Zab then decided to a carry out acts of defending straight out the Sunday park manual.
  • IronHerbIronHerb
    Dazed and confused.
  • OutcastLondonerOutcastLondoner
    Neville talking about Emery but could really apply to West Ham as well.

  • ianbishoplegendianbishoplegend
    Zabaleta should be one of the first names on the team sheet. He is written off because of his age, but has bundles of energy, and is not slow over 10-20 yards. Him and creswell in a back four would balance us right out.
  • alderzalderz
    Fortuneseeker said:

    alderz,

    How many of the Manchester City team last season came through their academy?

    I'm not suggesting that I want a team of academy graduates. What I am saying is that I have read numerous comments on here and other platforms over the past 10 years or so about how much pride people take in having academy graduates in the side.

    Personally, I still think Noble is once of our best two central midfielders. However, I'm not opposed to him dropping out of the first team in favour of Obiang for a little bit more dynamism.

    My issue generally with the Noble bashing is that it goes beyond 'he needs to be out of the starting XI' and moves onto things like 'he should be nowhere near the squad', 'release him' and 'he's only ever had one good season' (all things I've read online in the past few days.

    My frustration with this is that I don't understand why he is the scapegoat for people. The formation on Saturday was NEVER going to work for him. Across the two games, Balbuena and Ogbonna have been abysmal, but I see the comments digging out Noble far, far outweighing any about those two.
  • alderzalderz
    And, not to labour the point too much, but against Bournemouth he had the most passes of any West Ham player (62), over 85% accuracy, set up two shots on goal (2nd highest), and made 3 tackles. I'm not suggesting that he had a 'good' game, but he was more effective than most of our players.
  • MarkNobleLocalHeroMarkNobleLocalHero
    ^^THIS^^

    Go find someone else to scapegoat. ;angry
  • BazshuayiBazshuayi
    Mark-Noble
  • BazshuayiBazshuayi
    download
  • Pearces_Left_FootPearces_Left_Foot
    I would got 3cbs with Fredericks and Masuaka as wing backs play Noble Wilshire Obiang in the middle Anderson just behind Arnartovic up front
  • SuzanneClaretSuzanneClaret
    Masuaka ;nonono

  • LukerzLukerz
    Looking at MNF seems this is going to be a game between two sides with similar issues; high defensive lines, players not suitable/adapted to it, midfield not pressing enough to ensure the high line works, poor defending etc.

    I'm hoping we will click at some point soon & the performance will be chalk & cheese. For now I'll settle for an improved defensive performance & a bit more cohesion all over the pitch.

    A point would be a result to build on. I don't think we should fear Arsenal, who I think are incredibly average compared to their past sides & the rest of the top six, but we tend to concede a lot of goals whenever we play at the Emirates.
  • PrestonHammerPrestonHammer
    Noble is too slow but for me, most of the team don't seem to have a football brain. We are being told they are doing things differently than before. Learning new things in training and the manager has said he will play a better, more attractive brand of football. In reality, the players either don't understand what he is asking of them or start panicking when things don't seem to be working.


    Also from watching some of the other games over the weekend, namely the Brighton v Man Utd game, we seem the lack effort, we are too slow moving the ball about and when we lose possession, we don't look to try and get it back quickly enough or get back into position to help defend.
  • ASLEFshruggedASLEFshrugged
    I hate to be repetitive but...

    Pellegrini has NEVER played three at the back, even as a defensive tactic when facing Real Madrid or Barcelona with Malaga and Villarreal. In the past he has been accused of tactical inflexibility so he might shuffle the shape of the midfield and the forwards but he sticks with four at the back.

    If anyone thinks we should be playing three at the back then we've got the wrong manager.

    Ironically his attacking football at all costs approach is very like Ron Greenwood so we are getting the "West Ham way".

    Noble hasn't been the same player since he picked up that abdominal injury in 2016/17 and I can't help wondering if delaying the surgery in order to carry on playing until we were safe from relegation has caused serious damage that he'll never fully recover from.

    The obvious problem is we drop Noble who replaces him as captain? Zabaletta? Wilshire?
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