WBA (H) 4th Rnd FA Cup 3pm Saturday 25 Jan - the return of the beard

ASLEFshrugged

A brief respite from the woes of league football for both teams.

WBA may be top of the Championship but apart from beating Charlton in the cup they've not won since beating Birmingham away on 14th December, the same match that Grady Diangana first got injured. He's injured again (out for at least a month) and Matheus Pereira, joint top for assists in the Champo (10) is suspended for violent conduct.

This is going to be our best chance to get something positive out of this season, fingers crossed Antonio is fit enough to start.

OldCastleSwift

I think their priorities are elsewhere, so this is a good opportunity to get a win and a bit of confidence back.

I'd be tempted to go full strength, then give our key players a rest on Wednesday and have them fresh for Brighton. We're going to lose to Liverpool irrespective of what team we put out, so may as well go all out for West Brom and Brighton.

Fab
Zab Diop Oggy Cresswell
Fornals Rice Noble Masuaku
Haller Antonio

Martin, Reid, Cardoso, Ngakia, Sanchez, Lanzini, Ajeti

Huttonhammer

Totally meaningless game with the squad we have . There is now no point in fielding our better players , I won’t say a strong team because West Ham don’t have a strong side. We have so many injuries (not sure they are all injured just the players can’t be bothered to make the effort to play in this team, it’s been happening for years).
Just lose the game and try and put in a few better performances in the league before we go down. As we won’t get the players we need to save us in the transfer window .
This is one of the worst , unmotivated squads we have had for years and that is saying something.

Hamstew

I get what you are saying Hutton. However from my point of view this game is one of the most important of my life. I'm taking my youngest and he'll be desperate to see our first team and for them to put a show on. Considering the fact the last game my eldest went to was that Burnley game which put him off football. This is hugely important.

Expat_Hammer

Hamstew said:

I'm taking my youngest and he'll be desperate to see our first team and for them to put a show on.

My grandsons first trip to see the mighty Irons

COYI COYI COYI

Adam

Huttonhammer said:

Just lose the game and try and put in a few better performances in the league before we go down.

That’s the spirit! Nothing like ‘just lose the game’ to get our confidence going.

Huttonhammer

Adam

Beating West Brom will do nothing for this team.

Confidence comes from having good players playing well and trying for each other and the supporters.

Unless we get a few new decent players in this window the confidence will not improve . A scrappy win against a West Brom side that has been struggling recently and have the league to think about will just hide how utterly rubbish and gutless this current West Ham side is and do nothing to improve our chances in the league.
Even if we did beat West Brom as soon as we come up against a decent side who put in a bit of effort we will be out so why prolong the agony.

alderz

Ok, so, the fans are the club, as far as I'm concerned. People can go on about the owners killing the club all they want, but when fans are saying we may as well lose, may as well not try, then IMO that's what kills the club.

I can't stand the owners, I can't stand the way we play football a lot of the time. But there hasn't been a game this season (or ever, actually) that I haven't thought to myself at least for a moment that we might nick something here.

West Ham have been rubbish for pretty much my whole life, pretty much all of our entire lives. The owners aren't what make me not want to log onto this forum or check the transfer rumours every day, it's the gloom among fans. Where's the gallows humour? Where's the support?

Sometimes it reads from some posters that people would rather we lost just so it proves their point that we are rubbish.

Yeoldhammer

Got a feeling we are going to see a bunch of kids tossed to the wolves Forest style.

Might be a competition between the U23 and First team this week to see who concedes more U23s vs West Brom or First team vs Liverpool.

Hamstew

We don't really have any bar the few we have on the bench. They've been loaned out.

IronHerb

Bang in Alderz. We get more posts when we lose which goes some way to
prove your point. Well said. :ok:

OldCastleSwift

IronHerb said:

Bang in Alderz. We get more posts when we lose which goes some way to
prove your point. Well said. :ok:

Maybe because people want to vent. I could do it at home but my other half doesn't follow football and my 14-month old has other, more pressing concerns. Mostly around Wotsits.

I actually prefer venting on here because it doesn't get overly aggressive or personal like other platforms, but if people are being driven away from the site maybe I'll vent elsewhere.

alderz, I think we generally have a very good history of gallows humour on here, but maybe even that has had the life sucked out of it for a lot of us for what's happening at the club.

jay_in_cpt

Alderz, IMO every poster is allowed to feel however they do, whether it's the same as your view or not.
One part of your post does intrigue me, where you said that you feel we could nick something from any game, Iv'e been a fan longer than you, I know that because I'm older than you.. I have felt that few and far between, mainly recently during Slav's 1st season, but apart from that, can't agree..
I am pleased the way you feel, good for you, but if others want to post and it might be negative, that is their choice...You don't have to agree, you don't have to read it, moaning on here does not mean that posters who attend games moan when they are there, just my opinion, just like you have yours :ok:

and re the more important issue...COYI...I really hope we beat WBA ( even tho I'd prefer we had Bilic back as manager rather than Moyes !! )..

IronHerb

So jay you didn’t think we could get something against Sheffield, Everton, Palace even when we were winning? You expect to lose every game? I find that hard to understand.

jay_in_cpt

No I didn't say that unless you have access to my posts IH , do you??? I just couldn't agree with Alderz saying that he felt we could "nick something for every game he had ever seen"...that I can't get my head around....Is that OK with u Iron Herb?...

chicagohammer

Invariably I go into every game thinking we can get something out of it, even when common sense would indicate otherwise.

Common sense tells me that there is a real chance that Liverpool will knock up a cricket score against us, and yet after 10mins and it is still 0-0, I start thinking that we are holding our own here and could nick it.

I wonder what it is like to support a top team, I have never ever gone into a game thinking that there is a real chance that WE could knock up a cricket score, even against lowly opposition, it is a feeling that I have never had.

COYI

Cuz1

I might be wrong but think alderz meant before kick off he believes we could steal something because having supported the hammers for many a year I’ve always believed more in hope before every game we could get a result, it’s only during the game my belief gets sucked out of me, now not everyone will agree but I’d sooner watch us struggle in the big league than be relegated to the champo because I believe that’s where we belong, I don’t like or want moyes but I really hope he does what he says he does and wins matches because boy do we need them

claretandbluesky

We would be foolish to not play a strong side as I doubt WBA will be full strength as they have a much bigger prize than the FA Cup in their sights. In truth I doubt many of us could make a case for saving our better payers for Wednesday as we do not have a team to compete with Liverpool but we do have a team that can progress to the next round of the cup. If someone needs a rest let them take it on Wednesday.

SuzanneClaret

Yeoldhammer said:

Got a feeling we are going to see a bunch of kids tossed to the wolves Forest style.

Might be a competition between the U23 and First team this week to see who concedes more U23s vs West Brom or First team vs Liverpool.

I don’t believe for a moment Moyes would be that stupid or mean.

IronHerb

jay_in_cpt said:

No I didn't say that unless you have access to my posts IH , do you??? I just couldn't agree with Alderz saying that he felt we could "nick something for every game he had ever seen"...that I can't get my head around....Is that OK with u Iron Herb?...

Why the aggression jay?

Anyway.

"One part of your post does intrigue me, where you said that you feel we could nick something from any game, Iv'e been a fan longer than you, I know that because I'm older than you.. I have felt that few and far between, mainly recently during Slav's 1st season, but apart from that, can't agree.."

So what are you saying?

ASLEFshrugged

I felt we could nick something yesterday while it was 2-1

Once we went 3-1 down I didn't.

Trondheimrob

I think Moyes has a real team selection problem. Do we put out a strong squad on Saturday, risk injury and lessen our chances of qualifying for the Champions League? Or do we put out a junior side and lessen our chances of winning the Cup? Success brings its own problems. But that is the price we pay every year for being Hammers fans. :scarf:

Hamstew

I'm intrigued to know what sort of junior side we would put out.

Fortuneseeker

Ham,

The Under 5's? :biggrin:

yoyo

I have an old ( The Lord ) Bobby Moore shirt that I can squeeze over my stomach. I'm available if called and to be honest Moyes could do a lot worse!

Lukerz

Randolph
Zabaleta - Balbuena - Diop - Cresswell
Snodgrass - Rice - Fornals - Lanzini
Antonio - Haller

Cuz1

Lukerz, that looks decent enough with what we have :ok:

steve

Lukerz :ok: Can zab go another game ,And will snodgers be fit

chicagohammer

I would put Ajeti up top with Haller to see if there is a possibility that they can gel, no need to go all out and put a bunch of youngsters out, but I see no reason why we should not try out something a little different.

Please, just this once

alderz

I’d rather Lukerz played left wing than Lanzini on form, tbh.

Randolph; Zabaleta Balbuena Diop Cresswell; Snodgrass Fornals Rice Antonio
Haller Ajeti

Adam

Antonio has just come back from injury. He has history of getting injured after having recovered. I would have him on the bench again (start Ajeti with Haller).