ARSENAL (A) MON DEC 26TH

MIAHammer

Lukerz said:

Kehrer is just not a good enough player. We may as well release Ogbonna if he can’t start PL games anymore.

I’ve said right from day one that I didn’t see him as a improvement over Diop.

chicagohammer

To be fair, I do not think that was all bad on our part, but there is no denying that Arsenal were good for the win and the result was a fair reflection of the gulf between us

OutcastLondoner

Arsenal are good and it didn't ever look like we would win, imo. Defending deep doesn't work much when you can't mount a coherent counter attack. But it's really annoying that we've let in some really poor goals here - Coufal is so far off the rest of the defensive line, Fabianski should do better near post and while the third goal is a good one, Kehrer's been caught being rash once again.

We really need to do better against Brentford or I think the crowd reaction is going to be bad.

Lukerz

Why can’t Moyes give the following front 6 a go…

Fornals - Rice - Paqueta
Bowen - Antonio - Benrahma

Why won’t he give it a go?

Pengeman

We are back to the pre world cup form - losing again. Kehrer and Cresswell didn't play well. We didn't carry much attacking threat and midfield was slow and pondrous. Pacqueta had a good WC but something not right in the WHU shirt. How long before directors are forced to change the manager?

Hamstew

Lukerz said:

Why can’t Moyes give the following front 6 a go…

Fornals - Rice - Paqueta
Bowen - Antonio - Benrahma

Why won’t he give it a go?

Because he's stubborn.
The European campaigns have covered up a lot imo. We've been bad for a long long time with the odd performance here and there.

EXETERHAMMER

I never thought we would get anything today, even at 1-0 up at half time. Arsenal are very good and we are disjointed and unbalanced.
I fear for us now.

alderz

The frustrating thing for me is that the players are not bad players, there just doesn’t appear to be any kind of game plan. For me, the manager needs to change the approach he’s taking, or we need a new manager. (Sorry slacker)

Hamstew

alderz

Hamstew said:

That’s a nice chart.
This momentum chart tells much the same.

Lukerz

What’s disappointing is the effort is there. Certainly until the first goal went in, the players are clearly giving what they can. It’s just frustrating that we can’t offer more than what we currently are, in terms of imposing ourselves on the game.

The talking has to stop from the players. We’re nearly half way through the season & we’ve won 4 games. That’s awful.

Yeoldhammer

It's actually depressing, I saw the Brentford v Spurs game and the Villa v Liverpool game and both Brentford and Villa teams could have walked away with wins if they were more clinical up front. I watch West Ham and its literally just watching paint dry. Don't press. Don't pass, just hoof and watch your team get battered at the back for 90 minutes.

My personal opinion is that the Manager needs to go I'm afraid. He isn't changing anything and I genuinely think he has lost the dressing room. They don't look like a team who want to play for him or bust a gut.

I think the board give him till our last game in Jan before giving the boot.

thornburyiron

2022 has been one of the worst years I’ve experienced as a hammer, up there with the years we were relegated.

BubblesNeverDies

Yeoldhammer said:

It's actually depressing, I saw the Brentford v Spurs game and the Villa v Liverpool game and both Brentford and Villa teams could have walked away with wins if they were more clinical up front. I watch West Ham and its literally just watching paint dry. Don't press. Don't pass, just hoof and watch your team get battered at the back for 90 minutes.

My personal opinion is that the Manager needs to go I'm afraid. He isn't changing anything and I genuinely think he has lost the dressing room. They don't look like a team who want to play for him or bust a gut.

I think the board give him till our last game in Jan before giving the boot.

I think the decision will be made one way or the other after the game on Friday against Brentford. If we win, he stays.

Kuchinghammer

Kehrer makes a big mistake every game. A CB can't afford to do that. Ogbonna is slower but better with his positioning, and a more logical choice in a game like this. Johnson would have been a logical choice, because he's good defensively. And Soucek is now best as a sub, to add something to defence or attack. Good choice to have Benrahma taking pens though...

ASLEFshrugged

Arsenal were simply the better team.

At the Emirates they have won 7 out of 7, scored 22 and conceded 8 so on average Arsenal win 3-1 at home

It seems we were average and lost to a very good side

alderz

ASLEFshrugged said:

Arsenal were simply the better team.

At the Emirates they have won 7 out of 7, scored 22 and conceded 8 so on average Arsenal win 3-1 at home

It seems we were average and lost to a very good side

And if you look at it like that, that’s fine. Tbh, there’s no shame in losing to Arsenal - they are top of the league for a reason. But the thing that concerns me is that we have been pretty awful this season (calendar year, really) and we don’t appear to be trying anything new at all. We lack ambition as a side, and we are boring to watch.

Bazshuayi

Not feeling at all negative saying it... Moyes needs to go. Its just how I feel and I've felt it for a while. At this moment I have no confidence the side will do better and we will struggle all season.

I want a new manager whether that struggle changes or not. Someone with a different approach, way of thinking, philosophy (whatever you want to call it).

I do not want someone who focuses solely on trying to be hard to break down whilst hoping we get something countering. That worked until everyone paid attention. Now we are a team that doesnt even counter well! Ex one trick ponies

Lukerz

Once the goal went in (which was a little unlucky) the game was done. We didn’t have enough about us to reset & try & stay in the game, whilst also still trying to give them something to think about. Rice getting shoved off the ball by Saka & Fabianski letting in that shot - two of our more reliable players - summed it up. It’s fine, Arsenal are a good side, but I think we all hope with Rice, Paqueta, Bowen, Benrahma we can offer a little bit more than we do. We are way too deep, though. Maybe that’s just because Arsenal are good & they forced us back. But asking Benrahma & Bowen to try & dribble half-way up the pitch or ask the midfield to ping 4 first time passes together, under pressure, to get us up the pitch. Not really going to happen. Don’t remember Cresswell or Coufal getting forward at all.

Pengeman

I can't help wondering whether off-pitch issues are affecting the team performance. Coufal and Soucek and unhappy with their contracts and have been below par this season. Rice is openly hinting that he does not want to stay at WHU. This must affect team morale and performances have been poor for nearly a year. Team rarely presses, too many square and back passes, little creativity and unable to score from open play. What have the coaches been doing for the last six weeks or so?

Either sell the disenchanted players to make them an offer they can't refuse. Decisive action is needed but the manger is now a lame duck and perhaps only three games away from being sacked. I can't see the Board spending another sackful of money whilst Moyes is in-charge. If we are to survive in EPL, the Board needs to act now.

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

The teams that beat the top 6 are the ones that go positive and attack them

We sit on the edge of the box and don't have good enough defenders to keep then out

Moyes is a dinosaur who doesnt know how to change the pattern of a game, hes seriously under threat

Don't even wanna watch us anymore, there is no excitement or joy in the way we play football

alderz

I don’t think we need to spend money to fix the problems we have, tbh. Our squad is as good as any outside the top 6. We just don’t approach games in anything like a positive way.

ASLEFshrugged

We were playing away against a much better side and Moyes did the fairly obvious thing by "parking the bus with the handbrake off". It worked extremely for the first half and that was the first time this season that Arsenal have gone in at half time losing at home

Second half Arsenal overwhelmed us with quality, Odegaard was sublime and they looked every inch a side that will win the title.

if Moyes goes then obviously Sullivan will want Rafa although whether he'd be interested is another matter.

Slacker

BubblesNeverDies said:

Yeoldhammer said:

It's actually depressing, I saw the Brentford v Spurs game and the Villa v Liverpool game and both Brentford and Villa teams could have walked away with wins if they were more clinical up front. I watch West Ham and its literally just watching paint dry. Don't press. Don't pass, just hoof and watch your team get battered at the back for 90 minutes.

My personal opinion is that the Manager needs to go I'm afraid. He isn't changing anything and I genuinely think he has lost the dressing room. They don't look like a team who want to play for him or bust a gut.

I think the board give him till our last game in Jan before giving the boot.

I think the decision will be made one way or the other after the game on Friday against Brentford. If we win, he stays.

I know that’s the way it is these days but it’s a bit daft innit?
We win a game and the manager is good enough
to stay,we lose a game and he’s not.

Lukerz

I think there is an argument now to completely shake up the side. Moyes has said for a while we’ve gone stale. It’s controversial as you don’t normally make wholesale changes quickly, but we need to start looking to the future. Four consecutive defeats.

Areola
Johnson - Dawson - Aguerd - Emerson
Fornals - Rice - Paqueta
Bowen - Scamacca - Benrahma

Let’s see what that side can do consistently. Zouma back in for Dawson when he returns. We could keep Cresswell in but I don’t rate Kehrer based on what I have seen so far &, whilst Fabianski has been a loyal keeper, he isn’t going to go on forever.