Rory Fitzgerald

The 5 subs gives him huge scope. I cant see any of Henderson/Wijnaldum/Thiago and Mane/Salah/Firmino getting the full 90mins. Jones Henderson Milner ==> HT ==> Jones Thiago Wijnaldum Salah Firmino Jota ==> HT ==> Shaqiri Origi Mane ......or something like that

Just seen the Mane one back from the 1st half in the highlight package, Cresswell catches him with an elbow to the jaw when jumping across his line. I was amazed the ref didn't give a foul as the ball the only thing that changed trajectory was Mane hitting the floor - the ball never changed.

Stepped up and took responsibility 15mins either side of half time by taking balls in tight areas and trying to create rather than playing it safe. Thought alot of players did it, incl Jones just after half time, but thought Wijnaldum took the lead late in the first half and showed some example before the manager got in their ear and told them to do what they do best and play fast-snappy football and trust each other in tight areas.

Moyes

Carra praising the foot across from Creswell but he didnt win the ball and it was the contact that felled Mane. Bizarre !

https://navscore.app/generated?i=1WnJ2YfJTQgSJX7fh1cCLgzfOUn13&c=3 ive generated that from NavScore which is usually reliable

Ah well, you can take the credit for the 5 mins that it was rumoured to be true

Good call @Hightown Phil on Henderson CB

A few clips of West Ham's midfield running across the front post at set pieces - might be an area they hit. Before Van Dijk was injured, he'd take the middle of the goal and we have Robertson & Wijnaldum at the near post when they start so not surprising other teams in the past went shorter at corners than back post.

The focus is understandable I think, he's a lightening rod for them lately thats been getting them goals and also up the pitch. They're in a kinda warm bubble at the moment, they've hit on some consecutive performances and results to get 8 points from 4 games that wasn't looking too realistic after getting nothing from Newcastle and Arsenal. The attention on him, I think, is not so much "we're fecked" rather its "he's their big threat so what can we expect" Losing him will tell Moyes alot about his players and the recent run. If they can slot in Haller and not get beaten, it'll be a big result. If the ball gets played up to Haller and can't keep it for more than 5 seconds so Fornals and Bowen can get forward and support him then they might lose some of that optimism that they have at the moment. No harm having him out - if Haller doesn't start well it could impact the rest of the team - maybe by increasing the percentage of short/sideways passes in their 3rd and reducing the percentage of balls to Haller that they might have otherwise backed Antonio to make something out of. I dont know, little things like that. The match will still be similar to alot of other matches, irrespective of Antonio, Moyes is not coming to pick a fight so his team can have 50% of the ball. We'll be in areas of the pitch with the ball and Haller will be in the semi circle near the half way line whilst we're 35 yards from goal. Its up to us to unpick that 5 man back line and whats likely to be a flat 4 spread across midfield - if we click and put away chances, we will wonder what the fuss was about. EDIT - Why have I posted this in the Transfer Thread ?!?

Not been on the net all day so don’t know if this is news but Echo saying Fab has been pulled out of Brazil squad so therefore misses our games over the next 9 days - WH/Atalanta/City

Its getting to that stage were we're looking at the options to see what will be least surprising. The options are (A) playing an established player like Henderson out of position, (B) playing an inexperienced player in his correct position like Williams, (C) moving a full back into centre half or (D) changing shape to a back 3 with a full back in there. I think its a toss up between A & B. I dont see the other 2 as likely. I dont see the full backs as being centre half material, also they are too good to shift. And the shape, it could change for a one-off but even then its unlikely.

A female Irish DJ I follow on Twitter said he’s the most Irish looking Portuguese lad she’s seen.

Thanks Macca. Synopsis: Settled team/formation that has got good results recently. They have a week to prepare with that “feel good factor”. Antonio is carrying an underlying knock it seems and doesn’t track back a lot, West Ham will leave him up the pitch to manage his mileage when they are defending deep. It also allows him to be a great outlet when they clear the ball. Whilst the rest of the team will be compact, there will be a lot of distance between him and the midfield when they are defending. Also, when he receives the ball and the likes of Fornals, Bowen, Soucek are running to support him, he has been fouled but taken quick frees to capitalize on the forward momentum of supporting players whilst the opposition slowdown/switch-off. With high spirits, good results and a week to prepare, we should see a team with a lot of energy executing a specific game plan, one that has seen 11 goals scored in the last 4 games. Team / Formation: After starting the season with Noble in a 4-3-3, West Ham have been playing a stable team with a back 3, 2 wingbacks, 2 CMs, Antonio upfront and Fornals & Bowen outwide. Call it a 5-4-1 in defence and 3-4-3 in attack. Noble has not featured recently. Fabianski (1) Coufal (5) Balbuena (4) Ogbonna (21) Cresswell (3) Massuaku (26) Bowen (20) Soucek (28) Rice (41) Fornals (18) Antonio (30) Recent Form: Spirits are high in the camp, after 2 defeats in their first 2 games, West Ham then beat Wolves 4-0, Leicester 3-0 and then got 2 draws with Spurs (3-3) and Man City (1-1). Sound Bite – General Form: “At the moment, we’re in as good a form as many clubs, so we’ve got good players and if we can get them playing, we can do well” Sound Bite – Midfield: “The boys in the middle of the park have been very good and we’re getting better in all the other areas and the big thing is we’ve got competition” Sound Bite – Up Front: Michail Antonio has been 1st sub in the last 2 games, on 77mins vs Spurs and 52mins vs City – “He came off against Spurs with something similar. He didn’t miss training so we hope it’s not much. He is so important to us. He couldn’t decide if he was cramping up or not. We will get him scanned and see how he is. Obviously, it’s worrying me that it’s two games in a row that he’s felt it. He’s really important to us so we’re going to have to do the right thing and try and look after him when we can and it might be the odd time we’re not able to use him” Sound Bite – Energy: “The first thing I had to get when I came back to the Club was energy, players who could run and players who could compete and know their jobs. From there, we would see what the players bring us and, for example, Tomas Soucek has brought us something different, Jarrod Bowen has come into the team and we’ve still got Said Benrahma to join us in the coming weeks” Sound Bite – Liverpool: “The plan is to go to Liverpool next Saturday and make it five games [unbeaten] in the Premier League. We’ve been on a really tough run of games so I don’t think many people would have thought we’d take the points that we have, but that’s two good victories and two good draws back-to-back and we want to build on it”. Goals Scored: Quick Free Kicks: The opening goals against Wolves and Leicester were scored by winning the ball back on the edge of their box, hitting Antonio on the half way line who gets fouled by a defender but on both occasions they take a quick free kick and score. The 2nd goal against Wolves was also an out-ball to Antonio who shrugged off Coady and got them up the field with Soucek scoring. Left side delivery: 2 goals against Wolves and 2 goals against Spurs came from left sided deliveries. Cresswell corner for near post header by Soucek, Massuaku cross to back post for Haller, Cresswell free kick to back post for Balbuena and Cresswell free kick to near post that Spurs cleared and Lanzini fired in from outside the box. Near Post: West Ham scored near post against us at a corner last season and Everton did this season. Soucek and Rice at times look to arc a run as a free/corner is being taken and get across the first defender. Goals Conceded: Looking at some of the highlights of the recent games, more chances seem to come down the right side between Coufal (RB) and Balbuena (RCB). If we are on that side and crossing the ball, then whilst we are not the tallest, Creswell (5’7) would be defending the far post on the opposite side. Soucek tends to get forward more than Rice and Soucek typically covers the right side of the central midfield. So there might be a bit more space there when the game breaks down and quickly release Mane. Here is the example of how far Antonio has been from the defence to offer an outlet, win the free kicks and then take the quick free kicks which have led to the opening goals against Wolves and Leicester WestHamQuickFreeKicks.mp4

Maximum points with alot of rotation is great for the first team - shame though that Minamino & Origi are not showing more to give confidence of starting in the league.

Looks like this sub was pre-planned with each to have 45mins.

I had a quick look mate, more so at the positions where the full backs received the ball in the Arsenal game vs Sheffield United game. There wasn't a big difference so I haven't pulled out those images. But here is the average position. Very hard to read anything meaningful into it except that Jota and Salah were receiving the ball alot on the right, Firmino wasnt doing anything hugely different from the Arsenal game in terms of where he received it. Mane had 5 of his 59 (8%) touches in his own half vs Arsenal but against Sheff Utd it was 12 of 49 (24%), so getting it a bit deeper. Firmino had 8 touches in his own half in each game. Touches in the box: Mane - 11 vs Arsenal, 10 vs Sheff Utd (21 in total) Firmino - 3 vs Arsenal, 6 vs Sheff Utd (9 in total) Salah - 8 vs Arsenal, 14 vs Sheff Utd (22 in total) I wasnt paying too much attention to the game in terms of tactics/shape etc but I'll definitely be paying more attention to see how we play when all 4 attackers are on the pitch and the propensity of Jota/Salah to receive on the right.

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The Wolves boss was asked about home advantage earlier and he dismissed it - said something like that without the passion of the fans then its a game of football between 2 sides and that the stadium doesn’t count (something like that) Its been a huge question in football about how much home advantage is a factor - I wonder if somehow this period can be used to shine a light on the impact. Seasoned players like Milner, Azpiliceuta, Luiz, Walker, Alderwireld, Vardy - players that spent the majority of their careers in full stadiums and competing at a high level. Can they, or similar players, tell us what the drop off is like ?

I don't believe that VAR can see contact between Fabinho and McBurnie. They can see Fabinho kick the ball. If VAR was to make a call just on the pictures, then its not a foul. However, because VAR also cant see that there is definitely not contact between Fabinho & McBurnie, they just go with Dean. If its to determine a penalty then go to the monitor.

Yeah, Dean knows what he gave the foul for. I wonder if he tells VAR what he thought he saw or if VAR just looks at the incident itself. If Dean looked at the monitor, then he can see if the pictures marry up with the picture he saw at the time.

You lost me at the last part Earl

That’s brilliant It is entirely possible the contact was on a part that was outside the box. I’m glad we won so we can discuss this with 3pts in the bag and City dropped points.

That was brilliant how much was raised. Works out at about 5,000-6,000 people donating £15, brilliant coordinated effort to raise that much money from one event (or non-event).

How much were Bein charging