Relive every moment of every first team game since the beginning of the 2005/06 season. Our archive of matchday threads originally posted in the General Discussion Forum.
The date of West Ham's replay with Manchester United – in what will be the last Cup tie at Upton Park – will be announced after the second leg of the Old Trafford club's Europa League last-16 tie against Liverpool on Thursday.
It's not just England playing - the international friendlies start on Wednesday 23rd - 10 European countries involved that day, 18 countries on the 24th (including all the other home countries) and 12 countries on the 25th.
I'll probably get some stick for this, but for me Randolph is at fault for their goal.
Of course he is fouled, the goal should never have stood.
But regardless of that, he should NOT be kissing his near post when that ball is wipped in. He was always going to be second best for a cross to the back post. I have seen other GK's who do this. Waiting at the near post, sprinting across desperately to the back post and trying to make the save while you have to hope the defender saves you or the opposition player doesn't aim at the corners.
You can never catch or punch a cross when you're at the near post. He should be a yard behind his near post to boss the aerial battle. If a near post shot or cross comes in, he should have enough to cover his near post by diving to his left or using his feet.
I hope Man Utd won't exploit this in the return fixture. I would be trying to get to the byline and overloading the back post,that's for sure.
Belgian Iron wrote:I'll probably get some stick for this, but for me Randolph is at fault for their goal.
Of course he is fouled, the goal should never have stood.
I say this as someone who thinks Adrian should be playing in these fixtures - I'd always go with my strongest keeper, and especially for the replay where there's a strong possibility of penalties to decide it - but in Randolph's defence, he probably would have got there had he not been bumped, which would suggest he didn't make a particularly bad judgement. And he normally would have had a second centre-half on the pitch rather than a half-fit Sakho to help him out over that side.
Aceface wrote:
I say this as someone who thinks Adrian should be playing in these fixtures - I'd always go with my strongest keeper, and especially for the replay where there's a strong possibility of penalties to decide it - but in Randolph's defence, he probably would have got there had he not been bumped, which would suggest he didn't make a particularly bad judgement. And he normally would have had a second centre-half on the pitch rather than a half-fit Sakho to help him out over that side.
Randolph would have got there in time trying to save it, but no way he would have been in time to punch it or claim it. Therefore making it some sort of gamble. Because if Martial (or any other player in that position) heads it in the bottom corner or heads it back across goal Randolph stands no chance at all, in time or not.
Crossd_Hammrs wrote:EDIT
Watching again, I think it was onside too. But it's certainly very tight.
Robbed!
Just had a look back on this myself. Commentator says something like "Take your pick...three of them [offside]", when actually jus tone was who didn't play the ball.
neil_d wrote:
Just had a look back on this myself. Commentator says something like "Take your pick...three of them [offside]", when actually jus tone was who didn't play the ball.
Just add it to the list, guess.
They didn't show a replay at the time but I knew they'd be on there
Last edited by Mega Ron on Tue Mar 15, 2016 10:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
If you have a right-footer like Payet hitting the FK from his left side of the goal, I'm wondering whether a way to defend it would be to have the GK line up on the same side of the goal (giving the FK taker a direct but limited shot at the goal, direct at the keeper), and line the wall up on the other side (ie opposite to normal setup) - gives FK-taker more of the goal to aim at if he goes over the wall, but the ball is going to be curling towards the keeper instead of away from him, so more chance of scuttling across and saving it.
On the other hand... I'd like to see us vary them a little bit, just to keep the opposition guessing. At the moment, everyone knows Payet is going to hit it, so the GK can edge further and further to his right in the expectation that that's where the ball is going, and the FK needs to keep getting better to beat him. So, just to mix it up, I'd like to see Creswell smash one into the other side, rather than making a very unconvincing dummy run... or Payet trying one of those daisy-cutter shots under the wall.
prophet:marginal wrote:On the other hand... I'd like to see us vary them a little bit, just to keep the opposition guessing.
I was thinking this; Payet's three free-kicks this season (Bournemouth, Blackburn, ManUre) have all swung from the right into the top left (as he looks), from a central/left of centre position
While I disagree with Scholes saying De Gea should've saved it, the GK must've have known it was going there as Payet wasn't going to swing it out right and back into the top right