Last season, West Ham ruined our new year celebratations with a 2-0 win at Emirates. We had 75% possessions, 8 shots on target to theirs 3, a much better pass accuracy, lots of misses and 3 drop points. We took the revenge in reverse leg beating them 6-0 at London Stadium with 2 goals from Bukayo, both our CBs on the scoresheet, Trossard and Declan Rice scoring the other two goals. However, we can’t afford to be complacent today by keeping in mind the last visit and not the 2-0 loss at home. They aren’t doing good this season so far, but under Mikel, it’s the minions that has brought us damages.
We are playing well since Odegaard is back. Against Forest and Sporting, we looked in control, the right side looks refreshed and Saka gets all the help he needs to create chaos in the opposition half. That kid is going to be one of the best in the world. Martinelli is still not what we need from him, and that’s the reason we didn’t see him against Sporting. Hopefully he will pick up his last season’s form soon enough, we need that same level of chaos on the left as well.
We need to win today. And hope Pep do not loses tomorrow against Liverpool.
Team News
With Odegaard back into fold, we look much better. Mikel has his best options available. Timber and Calafiori are fit to start on either side, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice, Jorginho, Odegaard, Merino – all are available for the midfield and there’s no injury on the front.
If you ask me, I would stick to the back 4 of Timber (RB), Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; a midfield of Odegaard, Thomas and Rice and a front 3 of Saka, Havertz and Martinelli. I am tempted to give Nwaneri a start but it’s a very important game to do so. Gabriel may be a doubt after he was limping against Sporting but he is tough lad and he should make it. If not, I see one of Ben White or Tomiyasu making into the team today.
Expectations?
We need couple of early goals to not put ourselves under pressure. A 2-0 scoreline at half time will also put us in a condition to rotate, as we are going to play 8 games in a month (counting today’s and 01st Jan). Partey is in some form this season and we clearly see a lot of improvements in the midfield. Marti did score one against Sporting but he is still far off from his best days and if he gets to start today, I would love to see him build up his confidence on that goal in our last game.
2-0 to Arsenal, Marts and Saka on the scoresheet is what I am expecting.
Title challenge is getting crazier!
Liverpool are doing great under the Dutch manager. They have accumulated 31 points out of the 36 they have played in Premier League and have won all 5 of their Champions League games so far. Arne Slot is doing better than what everybody expected after Klopp’s departure. I don’t buy the ‘easy games’ narrative now since almost 1/3rd of the season is over and we are already in December (almost). Now, why am I talking about it? We are way behind the bin dippers and so does everyone else. We need to catch up and they need to drop points, and it’s one of those weeks where it ‘can’ happen.
A win today for us against Hammers will move us to 25 points, and there’s a City v Liverpool tomorrow. A 6 point difference will suit both us and City, I won’t mind if they both drop points as it will turn out to be a 3-team fight at minimum. Leave aside Liverpool, and there are 7 teams within 4 point difference and everyone’s going to make each other life’s miserable at some point.
Right, so to keep it simple, we need to win and hope Liverpool don’t.
Wrapping it up now. Happy Thanksgiving, and stay warm. Winter is here.
Oh, and I did get a chance to watch a West Ham game at London Stadium on 19th Sep 2021. CR7 started for Man United and since I was sitting in the West Ham stand, I was allowed to call them cunt through out the 90 min. Felt good.
Surely this is a good time for youngsters to get a run out? 60-65th minute we need a Nwaneri appearance
Zinchenko for Calafiori. Kiwior in the middle for Gabriel.
We should still be confident enough to bring in Nwaneri. Scoreline’s enough to win, and Odegaard could do with some rest.
Crap, Saka slipping and getting a bit. We don’t want him injured, not at this moment, not any other time.
Saka twisted leg just before the shot. Might have affected the knee
Jesus and Sterling for Odegaard and Saka.. So, no Nwaneri today.
Trossard has a good game today overall except for the West Ham’s 2nd goal where he lost track of Wan Bisaka.
Nwaneri should be played regularly and that’s how he will get better, not by sitting on bench or playing lower levels. If the manager cannot or doesn’t want to bring in Nwaneri when we are leading 5-2 then when he will bring him on. Clearly there is no one challenging MA. Per as academy boss surely have to have a say. Cannot understand this.
KP Micheal holding book is about his conversation with various black players in sport. There is chapter with Thierry Henry as well. Haven’t yet gotten to this chapter yet. But seems to a fascinating book to learn their struggles due to race.
Nwaneri finally ON for 10 minutes.
Arteta for very good reasons suffers from imposter syndrome – he’s too negative, too scared and just not good enough when it comes to thinking on his feet.
Back to 2nd place, lets see if Pep can beat Arne tomorrow and make it a bit easier for us. Saka player of the match for his performance.
If you check that counter (on the right on desktop, at the bottom on mobile devices), Saka is the joint top scorer for us in Premier League with 5 goals, and assisted 10 till now (best in whole of Premier League). He is there in the top 4 Goals and Assists player in Champions League.
He is phenomenal.
I watched the game with a Hammers-supporting mate. The outcome was pretty inevitable even when they scored their second. Dominant display which was more straightforward than I’d expected. I agreed with him that neither pen was clear cut – Flappy was only a split second late catching Gabriel on the side of the head but he did catch him. The other one was very minimal contact by Paqueta who had a terrible game. Our generally good record against them continues.
LF – welcome mate. I think I speak for everyone in here in saying Nwaneri should be given more time, but at least competition is properly fierce these days.
Caught the game this morning and happy we are 3 for 3 with 9 points, at the 3rd of the way through the 9 games we need to win to bag 27 points.
What can you say from a very poor Hammers team who still managed to net 3 with one disallowed, against the 2nd best defense in the PL?
Partey was missed for me, Rice still can’t take corners and Ode & Saka were too unprotected by Taylor. I can see Ode’s ankle going again the amount of kicks and raked studs his ankles have to endure. Ditto Saka who takes too much punishment that has to weaken the ankles.
We were never in any danger of dropping points, but it wasn’t the emphatic victory we enjoyed against Forest. 2 pens and a set piece formed the bulk of our goals, where Trossard’s and Havertz’s tap ins were well crafted by Ode and Saka a tighter defense would have likely stopped. It was training ground too easy.
Ethan should have started instead of Jorginho who is better suited in cup games, and Marts should have had the chance to add to add goals to add confidence for the tougher games he needs to be clinical in.
We went through the gears often too slowly throughout the game. If this had been at the run in, you’d easily think West Ham were thinking of beaches and their impending holidays, so insipid was their performance with and off the ball.
I’m going to make a bold prediction that all the home teams today will win their respective 3 points. Chavs will beat Villa, Manure will make hard work of beating Everton, and Spuds will get a home win against Fulham, but I’d love ESR to nick it for Fulham if the script plays out differently.
That leaves Slot vs Pep. What a game to round off the weekend’s football? I think Pool will get the points with City looking so bad of late, but you can’t write Pep off from using this game to mount a resurgent challenge, and what a statement that would be!
I’ve nailed my colours to Slot’s impressive start to the season, and this is where Arne can say “catch us if you can” with taking 3 home points from City. Anfield will be up for it where the game could go 2 ways: a cagy chess game snuffing each other out or what I’m hoping for in an end to end mesmeric game of football that ultimately ends in a draw, so a win win for us.
A great line up of games to savor today.
A mouth watering game we’d prefer a draw, as it dents pep’s chances further and allows us to get 2 points closer to Liverpool.
I’ll be up for that one as it’s 11pm and a landmark fixture.
Our next fixture is Manure at the Emirates Wednesday evening game, which kind of makes their game against Everton one to watch to see how Ruben Amorim is changing things up?
tbh it was sort of a mixed bag affair
the home side was rather dire for much of the match and the lopsided scoreline reflected that indisputable fact…it’s clear that Lupe’s attempt to flip their former manager’s tactical script on it’s head has failed miserably and if they continue to struggle he’ll invariably be sacked in short order
as for the good guys, we looked rather pedestrian for extended stretches, but there were some moments of “brilliance”, which shouldn’t be understated…thus far, even against the lesser lights, we’ve relied heavily on a lot of set piece coin tossers and the mistakes of others, whereas today we displayed a bit of the craft and ingenuity that had gone missing ever since MA had opted for more of a bull in a china shop approach
there was Tross’s pass that led to Havertz’s tally, even though he was helped immeasurably by a shocking defensive whiff, the interplay in the box that provided Tross with a silver platter sitter and even some of Saka’s footwork in tight spaces, which resulted in a penalty…so even though it wasn’t a thing of beauty, it did provide me with a little hope, in that maybe Ode’s return to the fold came at the perfect time, as we’ve been questioning MA’s final third plans and Ode appears to have provided some of the answers
his mere presence on the right, along with Timber’s varied attacks, have unlocked Saka a bit, which has likewise enabled those on the left to roam into open spaces on the backside of the play…in a perfect world we should be looking to create this advantageous scenario on both sides of the pitch, but it’s always baby steps with our tactically stunted manager
this is why I so wish Ethan would be deployed opposite Ode, which could potentially provide us with two dominant trios, especially if Marts and Cala joined our 17 year old phenom on the left…talk about a win-win, Ethan gets the minutes he so desperately requires and deserves, from a developmental standpoint, and we finally get the kind of balance we’ve so desperately craved
I’m not exactly sure what to expect in our next encounter against United, but their outing against Everton will provide some much-needed insight, as Amorim will invariably tweak some things following his first outing which saw them settle for a rather disappointing draw
so looking forward to see how Slot sets up against a fragile yet still dangerous City side who will be looking to get off the schneid…all in all it should be an interesting Sunday of football on both sides of the Atlantic
Good routine win puts us second in the table. Chelsea can catch us if they beat villa so can city if they beat pool. It’s all close at the top of the table. Brighton as well are 2 points behind us.
You got to admire Brighton for the way they do things and play attractive football as well. PL should do something to encourage such clubs. When you compare it with clubs like Everton who have more resources yet struggle and play dire football Brighton is one of the success of PL. Fulham too under this manager plates good football.
It’s all about the owners and the club’s culture, Madhu.
Everyone connected to the club loves BHA from the owner, Tony Bloom, downwards with all departments work in unison. TB had the foresight to spend a few million on his rough diamond and uncut gem player finder. That’s a very smart owner we could do with and he loves and understands football and winning being a pro poker player – always a plus and he can run the club on player investments games and merchandise. The league finishing position payment is decent, too. When TB wants some case he sells a Casaido or a Mitoma for 80m+ with a few others currently being polished in the £50m+ range.
Our multibillion sterling empire has lost about £200M+ on players by comparison, which is ok by KSE it would appear.
BHA has probably made more than £250m profit from their £3m algorithm in the last 5 years.
Graeme from LG used to support BHA as his local club, as he lived in a seaside village not far from Brighton. His posts and chats with him peaked my interest, and since they’ve been my low budget, family club.
Same as KP with Haverford west county in them valleys, boyo. Except KP is more Islington lingoed colored in, with many brightly nuanced languages hence his immortalised: El Bastardo or EL B for short.
BHA led the way under Potter, and then De Zerbi quietly got into Europe, and now their young upstart, 34 or something, is continuing to confound far more experienced managers taking their scalps and sitting in the top 3rd.
Bournemouth and S’hampton have followed suit and became tough to beat.
United not looking assured against the Toffees who are pushing Manure more.
Manure 4:0 up and cruising, so expect a buoyant United Wednesday night.
Will be a tough game.
Chavs as expected are looking good for 3 points being 2 up with 25 minutes to go.
Only Spuds stuttering being the home team against Fulham at 0:0.
Tony
That is the problem with yesterday’s 2nd half performance. By going tortoise and playing negatively we invited West Ham on to us which does two things – it makes other teams think we can be got at and means we chased the ball more putting more distance into players legs.
No one’s suggesting you should go gungho but PL winning teams can control a match and see it out without looking scared.
Game of the weekend starts soon where Slot has only drawn one and lost one this season.
A draw suits us best but I think Slot gets the home 3 points.
If City don’t get their heads together they’re going to get a thrashing – 1 nil to Liverpool after 11 minutes but its been so one sided.
The goal has been coming with pool dominance with City looking scared.
City need a miracle with Pools tails up and looking menacing.
I wondered if we’d see a different United today, at least from a goalscoring standpoint…not sure how that will impact our mid-week fixture, but they’ll undoubtedly be a more confident side
we might have scored more goals, but Chelsea’s win over Villa was a much better performance than our father/son drubbing…the fact that even Enzo Fernandez has bought in, after a very unsettled and unproductive period, speaks volumes about this first year coach…maybe we got the wrong clone, we should have known because their coach is actually a dead ringer
so far at Anfield it’s been a a one-sided affair…I can’t remember the last time City looked so clearly second best in every capacity…Pool could be up by a couple already…if Slot finds a way to come away with a decisive victory it could provide them with an enormous boost of confidence moving forward
Marc—as you know, I’m not a fan of the whole turtling gig…a world-class manager would see yesterday as a perfect opportunity to prove we’re a serious threat even when we’re sitting behind the ball…maybe you bring on Ethan and Marts, then work on our countering with pace, which has been an almost completely absent tactic since MA arrived on the scene
TRVL
Agree 100%
The only surprise in the Liverpool / City match is its got to half time at 1 nil. Liverpool could easily have been up by 3 after 18 minutes.
KP—looks like Pep snuck into the broadcasting services rooms and got himself a good working over by the makeup crew…not a sign whatsoever that he’s been in self-harming mode for the past 3 or 4 days
one thing I really appreciate about Slot’s managerial approach is that if you perform you’re almost guaranteed to earn another starting gig, minus with Salah of course, who tbf tends to find a way to score even on his off-days…whereas MA seems beholden to a whole host of players regardless of their recent performances, which we’ve seen with Havertz, Jesus, Willian, Zinchenko etc…with this in mind, Marts should have been on the pitch yesterday, as it’s far more imperative that we build up his confidence than trying to appease Tross, but of course MA appears to want to re-up the Belgian so he gets the nod
Marc—Pool definitely left the door open, so I’ll be intrigued to see if Slot gets a bit more conservative in the second half or continues to have a go
City are definitely more threatening but to not even have a shot on target yet seems almost unthinkable…I think that’s the first time that’s happened in some 13-14 years, which was ironically against us
Pool will rue their missed opportunities if City find a way to level things up
on a sidenote, it appears as if VVD has committed himself to Slot for the foreseeable future, whereas Salah’s future is considerably less clear
interesting call, as I think City’s argument was that Salah had made a brief move toward the ball from an offside position, then sat back and let the onside Diaz do his business…Salah has 6 in 6, not too shabby