West Ham United (A) | PL | Post Match Thread

Blue Mist said:
I wasn't going to come on and post but......
The first twenty minutes were about control but by fuck were they boring. Not one shot on goal.
Maybe it was a tactic to wear them down but our first shot..... was it or did Bernie get lucky ?
And of course their first proper threat led to a goal, same old problem.
There was no excitement and no intensity throughout the match, it was stale and thats on Pep. He has over coached the team, they are frightened.
Why is Cherki on the bench again ? The one flair player but clearly not a Pep player.
I am dreading Wednesday and the League Cup Final
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Don't forget Tuesday.
 
chickaroon said:
Well, I think we played well without any luck around their box. West Ham did not touch us. Their goal was a goalkeeping error.
We just needed one ball to full kindly for us in the box. Also, their goalie had a great game.
I know this goes against the view of most on here, but it's the way I saw it.
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I can't fault the effort or the desire to win the game. I think it's obvious that we lack that genuine class player like a KDB, who can unlock a packed defence. Cherki is the nearest we currently have and he needs to be starting games.
 
Lovebitesandeveryfing said:
Look, this is not the kind of place to be philosophical, but I'm going to be, briefly, and perhaps I'll get pelters, but I truly don't care.
At the start of the season, with the team being rebuilt, if you'd said to me “Second at the end of the season”, I would have taken it in a heartbeat. If you'd added to it being in both domestic cups in March, with the possibility of winning one, I'd have said you were dreaming. Yes, we may not end up second — although I'd be truly astonished — we may lose next weekend — I won't be astonished, but I'll be surprised, in fact — and we may go no further than the next round of the F.A. Cup.
You notice I'm leaving the CL out of the equation entirely. Barring the kind of performance that we've never turned in at any stage this season — we're out.

This is not happy clapping, just being soberly realistic. I think we've got the makings of a good team, maybe a very good one, next season. Whoever's in charge. It's young, and there's a lot of skill there.
Tonight, we played against a team who played exactly the way 80% of teams have played against us for the past three years, at least. Let me say this very clearly, and let's have it right once and for all — we're not the boring ones. It's all the other fuckers, who play low block, even at their own stadium, eleven men in the box, four or five of them on the line, for most of the match. Some of the time, it works, and everyone's frustrated. Arsenal would probably have won that game tonight, because with fifteen corners, they would have bullied at least one of them into the net. That is something they know how to do much better than us.
By the way, if anyone imagines Arsenal will play any other way to all those others when they come to the Etihad — I'll have some of the strong stuff you're having.
And to the Liverpool team in the Klopp years, I will give them this: they were one of the very rare teams that did not play that way against us, but went gung-ho, toe to toe, played hundred-miles-an-hour football. Sometimes it worked for them, sometimes for us. (We know who won more titles, no need to linger on that). It was bloody good football, for both sets of fans, and for the neutral, and we haven't honestly seen anything vaguely like it this season from anyone whatsoever.
Poor week for us? Unquestionably. Poor season? Could have been better. Could have been much, much worse.
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Interesting and considered post. I agree that we are a team in transition and that expecting tile wins is a bit of a stretch. We no longer have majority of players with "Pep's City" DNA such as KdB, Dave or Gundo. Rodri, Bernado and Stones are in that category but have declined from their peaks and other players do not seem to be on their wavelengths.
The style of player we have bought has changed and maybe only Cherki of recent purchases would slot into the Centurions team seamlessly.
There are some disappointments and frustrations, like Phil not making the expected leap to be the KdB replacement, but I am excited to see how the team will develop. I do thinks there are big gaps in central midfield and they will be challenging to fill.
I am hopeful for next weekend - hopefully we will win the trophy and things will look better.
 
Our rebuild needs a rebuild!

There is no flair or creativity in this team. We are still relying on the old guard who are slowly leaving us. The replacements aren’t up to the quality we’ve had.

For example, the player our chairman laided all the plaudits on pre season is a million miles away from replacing players like KDB and we have nothing else.

There are also too many average players, be it by performance or ability.

One thing that gives me some hope is that we are second, and we’ve been so poor by our standards.

What does that say for the rest of the league.
 
Here's where the title was lost. Stupid points thrown away, all from winning positions.

City have lost just one of their last 18 league games but have dropped 10 points from winning positions in that run, through draws with Chelsea, Brighton, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and now West Ham.

If they had held onto those leads, they would be top.
 
I didn't mind the line up beforehand, but playing with no width in that first half was dire to watch. Two big chances missed again, and Donnarumma dropping another clanger, it's all too familiar.
 
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