Fulham (A); Saturday 15th December, 17:30

IronHerb

Cuz, CUZ....

Cuz1

Not sure but somebody said if we win sat we will be 6th for half hour or so at least as Man U kick off half five and the others play Sunday and Monday who’d have thought after first four games

Cuz1

Sky bet offering 11/1 to finish above Man Utd

Cuz1

But be better off backing West Ham top six because they giving 20/1 for that and 6 I believe best Man Utd could hope for

claretandbluesky

20's certainly worth a fun bet but likely we may drop a few points once our fixtures get harder again, however I think we are nailed on for top 10 this season, and with the quality of the football at times what it is that can be considered a massive leap in the right direction. And next season could be anything !!!!

MIAHammer

I'm starting to believe!

Kuchinghammer

I'm delighted by the quality of goals we're scoring from open play. They often start from deep in our half and really flow. Gone are the days of praying for a corner or free kick as the only way to score.
Oh, and apologies to Mr Dean: you are a gentleman, and never dish out unwarranted yellows and reds to the Claret and Blue ;wink

MarkNobleLocalHero

I'm delighted by the quality of goals we're scoring from open play. They often start from deep in our half and really flow.

Kuching...Absolutely!!! ;ok

So many of our goals have this flowing quality about them as they develop from somewhere far from the target and rapidly move in until the onion bag bulges. Tis the West Ham way or even Pelle's Way and I'm loving it. What's more it is still in development and I believe it will get better!!!

I was resenting having to go to home games last season (but "have to" I did, a terrible compulsion) but now I can't wait to go again. Pelles's delightful football. ;clap

Previously if we had a decent run I would always have the sneaking idea that it was a flash in the pan and would soon end (and it did! ;weep ). Now I don't feel that way. Pelle has a plan and that is clear to see in the performances. ;wahoo ;scarf

IronHerb

Vorselaarhammer

Interesting little tactical insight for the boss, at least for me... I tend to think about players dealing with whats in front of them.

----
Fabian Balbuena came from South America, but he played for one of the biggest teams in Brazil, so he is used to playing the way I want to play, with his back not so covered and with space behind them.

Lukerz

Vorse ;ok

I read that & found that quite interesting too.

Lukerz

I love the way we almost back ourselves to win the game. We almost accept that we will concede chances, maybe a goal or two, that we will be open, but we almost say "we're better than you & have better quality in key areas, & in the end that will be enough". Refreshing approach. I mean in the last four games we have two clean sheets & three goals conceded. That isn't bad for how open we are, basically playing a 4-4-2. Apart from the first three games of the season our defensive record is pretty decent given how we tend not to play overly defensively. I do think we have been a bit fortunate as we have conceded some big chances in some of our games & left plenty of players unmarked in the box by playing the high line, & we have not been punished, but it is a nice way to watch us play.

IronHerb

I tend to agree with you there Lukerz. ;ok

What should also be taken into account is, as you post, " we have conceded some big chances in some of our games," we have also created some big chances in those games that haven't been taken.

claretandbluesky

MarkNobleLocalHero said:

Previously if we had a decent run I would always have the sneaking idea that it was a flash in the pan and would soon end (and it did! ;weep ). Now I don't feel that way. Pelle has a plan and that is clear to see in the performances. ;wahoo ;scarf

I agree, I think we felt like that when we had Payet also but always knew it was primarily down to him, yet at present we have performances coming from so many players, and to be scoring without Arnie is the most reassuring aspect of our current form.

Vorselaarhammer

What a turn around, I had written him off, never wanted him to play for us again...

Just shows a manager that gives confidence and a system... plus a player willing to put his head down and work...

Colchester_Iron

McMessi ;bowdown

Lukerz

Roberto Snodereci ;bowdown

Lukerz

Watching the game back, we really were pretty rubbish weren't we? Bar the last 20 mins when the game died off completely & we got a grip of it to play the game out, we struggled to get any possession, make more than a couple of passes & defended very loosely. Thought Rice looked a bit off the pace for once but wasn't the only one. Fab really does make crucial, match-defining saves at key times. Great couple of goals, though. Only times we clicked with any certainty & we slotted them away. Not complaining, nice to be clinical & efficient but it wasn't much different to how we played at Huddersfield for the first hour. Great to win though.

Hamstew

If you rearrange the letters in his name it spells Christiano Ronaldo

BubblesNeverDies

Ham, do you know what DNA stands for?

Hamstew

Dinosaurs Never Assume?

MrsGrey

Don't Nutmeg Andy?

grey_til_I_dye

National Dyslexic Association?

Lukerz

After 17 games in Bilic’s 2015/16 season where we finished two wins short of Champions League qualification, we had 25 points. ;hmm

BubblesNeverDies

Grey, correct, well done ;clap

Brother_Sledge

I know what DA stands for as in the haircut - Don't Ask ;wink

Expat_Hammer

Damned Awesome?