West Ham v Wolves. Sunday 27th September 2020. 7.00pm

ASLEFshrugged

Hamstew said:

How good was Rocky today.

He looked far more comfortable playing as part of a back 3 than a back 4 but he was looking a bit tired by the end of the 90 mins. I'd start him against Leicester rather than Diop who has looked a bit shaky recently.

claretandbluesky said:

Masuaku is a bit of an enigma as he can look a real top quality player and a liability the next week. Playing this way really suits him and hopefully he can find the consistency in a role that suits his natural abilities rather than calls upon his weaknesses.

Both he and Cresswell benefited from playing together in a 3-4-3 rather than as full backs in a 4-2-3-1. Between them they frustrated Traore who was Wolves biggest threat.

claretandbluesky said:

I feel you could push Bowen in more centrally as will prove a good finisher and compliment Haller.

Bowen scored two today playing in his natural wide right position and you want him to play him out of position more centrally? Sometimes I despair...

Fortuneseeker said:

OCS, he needs to play with another striker but will David Moyes do that?

Not at the moment. Playing two strikers means either losing a midfielder or losing a defender. Moyes might play two up front against lower league teams but in the Premier League its going to leave us took weak in midfield or defence.

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

Don't think we create all those chances with Haller on the pitch, nor do I think we look that good defensively

Fornals was very deep on the left, if we play Haller and Antonio, we shift Antonio wide left, and his drive as a lone man is imo a lot better than Hallers who lacks the mobility to do the lone role

That or we sacrifice Bowen for a more central midfielder like Noble and go 3-5-2

claretandbluesky

Aslef, no need to despair. The comment regard Bowen coming more central was when speaking of playing with Haller who doesn't seem to do well being on his own. Should Antonio be injured.

I am looking forward to seeing how Haller does against Everton in the cup, as he has been good against Charlton and Hull but he will get a full match against premiership opposition now which will hopefully allow us to see if he has turned a corner from last season in which it just didn't happen for whatever reason.

MIAHammer

Hamstew said:

How good was Rocky today.

I found him much more assuring than Diop. When Diop is running back towards our goal and the ball comes towards him I'm always afraid.

MIAHammer

I can't help feeling that if we had Haller there in the first half he would have mopped up one of those rebounds. There were plenty of instances where we broke down the flanks but there was no one to aim for in the center.
I know it sounds strange with a 4-0 scoreline but we need to take more of our chances.

Expat_Hammer

WOW, top half of the table with a positive GD

I think I need my meds

Slacker

Really really enjoyed that. Special praise for the much maligned Cresswell and Arthur,I thought they were both excellent . Like most I was dreading watching Traore tear past them and whip those crosses in but they handled him so well that he was eventually subbed.
Great performance all round. Antonio MOM for me, he was immense.

Pearces_Left_Foot

I think the change in formation is a credit to Moyes, getting the best out of the players we have got. Still needs to do his subs earlier must have been a dodgy signal at the London Stadium :-)

jay_in_cpt

Great result and team performance, I have not been impressed with Fornals and have been critical as to why he remains in the startin 11, but credit where it's due, he put in a great shift, quick thinking for the goal ( somewhat lucky Atkinson allowed it to happen as was not where foul took place ) and a poor miss just b4 half time, but well played for an IMO improved all round performance from him..
Thought Rocky was fab, and like said by Slacker, Cresswell/Arthur were also excellent.
There really wasn't 1 player I could say had a poor game..
Well done and perhaps Moyes should manage from home more often!.

thornburyiron

Jay hardly any free kicks are taken where the foul took place unless you have a very pedantic ref. In the Spurs game there was an offside just outside the area and the kick was taken from just inside the half.

OldCastleSwift

Yesterday also shows how much good fortune plays a part. We were lucky that the ref let Fornals take the quick free kick as the ball was moving. Another ref on another day would have pulled that back.

Fornals shot for the second was an inch away from hitting the wrong side of the post and going out for a goal kick, and if Soucek's header didn't hit Jimenez then it's probably a comfortable save for the 'keeper.

I suspect every fan feels their team gets more bad luck than others, but I do think West Ham fans have a genuine reason to believe that. Last night it seemed to go our way at the right times, which made a nice change.

But that's not to take anything away from the performance. The manager, the coaches and the players got everything right.

baracks_a_hammer

We also did hit the woodwork a couple of times before going behind v Newcastle. On another day we take the lead and go on to win the game

Yesterday we fully merited at least 4-0

OutcastLondoner

I think on balance, since the post-lockdown resumption, this has been the best Moyes has had us in either spell. It hasn’t just been off games but there looks to be signs that we know what to do as a team. Newcastle was hopefully just a blip.

whupathman

OutcastLondoner said:

I think on balance, since the post-lockdown resumption, this has been the best Moyes has had us in either spell. It hasn’t just been off games but there looks to be signs that we know what to do as a team. Newcastle was hopefully just a blip.

I have been disenfranchised, but Moyes seems to have stubbled on a set up that looks effective, we had a lot less of the ball than Wolves but did a lot more of the possession we did have. I am now cautiously optimistic, nurse

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

Agree, Outcast.

If you include the cup games, we've played 5 times this season and 4 of them have been strong performances. I'd take that kind of consistency any day of the week.

Such a shame we were so dismal against Newcastle, really, as they look such a poor team.

buffybegood

whupathman said:

I have been disenfranchised, but Moyes seems to have stubbled on a set up that looks effective, we had a lot less of the ball than Wolves but did a lot more of the possession we did have. I am now cautiously optimistic, nurse

If memory serves Moyes had us playing a back 3 at times in his first spell in charge, and, despite it seeming to work better for us, he still kept reverting to a back 4. Maybe he'll admit that it really does work better than a back 4 with the players we've got and a back 3 will be our default formation this season?

Brother_Sledge

Expat_Hammer said:

ASLEFshrugged said:

Well that was a disappointment...

Start the cup one now.

Aslef , please do be my guest. If we beat Everton you should do the Leicester match thread too.

OutcastLondoner

buffybegood said:

whupathman said:

I have been disenfranchised, but Moyes seems to have stubbled on a set up that looks effective, we had a lot less of the ball than Wolves but did a lot more of the possession we did have. I am now cautiously optimistic, nurse

If memory serves Moyes had us playing a back 3 at times in his first spell in charge, and, despite it seeming to work better for us, he still kept reverting to a back 4. Maybe he'll admit that it really does work better than a back 4 with the players we've got and a back 3 will be our default formation this season?

It just works so well for us. It's quite a flexible formation. It can be a back 3, or it becomes a back 5, as it was at one point after our 3rd goal, with Masuaku very deep (and the only point he made some mistakes). Often, in possession, it's essentially a back 4 with Masuaku pushed up high and Cresswell performing normal full-back duties, like the very good cross that almost reached Antonio or one play where he overlapped on the outside. It also means you can easily try different set-ups at the top, like a two up top, if needed, or a three that got closer to the striker.

I think having both Rice and Soucek makes it a lot stronger now, though.

Kuchinghammer

Well that was brilliant. Especially enjoyed the last 20 minutes when the team were playing as well as the Snake year. Reading the comments on the BBC site, neutrals and Wolves supporters thought the same. Moyes has earned a lot of respect with that game

ASLEFshrugged

From whufc.com

Ryan Fredericks has sustained a low-grade muscle injury to his left hamstring...we hope Ryan will be available for selection again after the October international break

So he'll miss Everton and Leicester, back for Spurs.

ScotHammer

Not a single West Ham player made Garth Crooks team of the week!

ASLEFshrugged

Kuchinghammer

Scothammer: Crooks also included two Man U players and ignored the Brighton team which had outplayed them. Had Masuaku at LB, and Bowen and Antonio in MF. Wombat of the week.

baracks_a_hammer

Interesting that Bruno Fernandes made his team of the week for scoring a last gasp penalty to earn scarcely deserved points and yet Callum Wilson doesn’t make it for doing exactly the same thing.

Hamstew

Just on here for the team of the week. Absolutely incredible from Garth. He's outdone himself this week.

IronHerb

Surprised Dier never made the team for being soooo unlucky.

OutcastLondoner

baracks_a_hammer said:

Interesting that Bruno Fernandes made his team of the week for scoring a last gasp penalty to earn scarcely deserved points and yet Callum Wilson doesn’t make it for doing exactly the same thing.

To be fair, Fernandes played a very good pass to assist Rashford and another great free kick that created their first goal. Without him, Man U wouldn’t have even scored.

IronHerb

But being good in a poor team isn't really player of the week material.

ASLEFshrugged

I can't believe we're even bothered about who Garth Crooks picks for his team of the week. The man makes Robbie Savage look knowledgeable and astute

OutcastLondoner

IronHerb said:

But being good in a poor team isn't really player of the week material.

Maybe. But scoring up a penalty and creating two goals isn’t the same as Wilson.

I’m just surprised they still run the Garth Crooks team of the week.