Stoke City 0-0 West Ham Utd (29/04/17)

[ThreeSixes]

Ok Fair enough mate, but I worry about that fat little ****'s left foot. Should I worry about it, or not ? If you tell me not to, I wont

Don't worry about it - he'll either play well or he won't, there's nothing you can do about it, so why worry?

[Chicken Run Supreme]

Calleri has to be taken out.....

Sounds like a line from The Godfather.

[Cockneyboy311]

Another hard earned point. 1-1.

[mushy]

Calleri has to be taken out.

Carroll, Sakho, Fletcher anyone ahead of him.

I think we'll stick with three at the back and build upon the Everton result and may well win narrowly - providing we play a serviceable centre forward.

The problem we have is that if we stick to the system we played on Saturday then chances once again will be at a premium, did Calleri actually miss any?
The system requires a forward with movement, running and one that can hold the ball up.
Sakho is good for 30 minutes, and the odds are that Carroll cant last the pace either.
I have a feeling he may stick with Calleri, at least for the first hour just because nobody else can manage to last that long, which in itself is pretty poor.
Maybe Fletcher will get a chance but I doubt it.
We need to fine tune the system from Saturday in order to be more creative, easier said then done.

[Le Rascal de Boleyn]

Get a point frm this & it'll mean that Swansea will need to win 3 out of there remaining 4 games to finish above us, due to our goal difference.

1-1.

With the current gap at 7pts isn't that already the case. Or am I being a muppet?

[HammerInMaryland]

----------------------------Adrian------------------------
-----------Fonte---------Reid-------Collins---------
Ferndandes---Nordveit---Kouyate---Masuaku
-----------Ayew--------Sakho-------Lanzini--------

Randolph, Snodgrass, Byram, Noble, Carroll, Cresswell, Calleri

This is the squad for me. If the game is tied or we are down we should bring on Carroll around the 60 minute mark for Kouyate with Lanzini slotting back behind Ayew, Sakho, and Carroll. Carroll comes on for Sakho at 60 minute mark if we are winning - which we should. Stoke look a bad side at this point.

[TheHandOfDog]

With the current gap at 7pts isn't that already the case. Or am I being a muppet?

They could win 2 and draw 2 and go above us if we fail to pick up a point.

[the pink palermo]

That heart sinking moment when you realise your next game is a trip to Stoke .

Sigh .

The land that time forgot .

[bowltorious]

----------------------Adrian
--------------Fonte----Collins---Reid
Byram------Noble----Kouyate-----Masuaku
-----------------------Lanzini
----------------Sakho--------Ayew

[MK Hammer 3]

That heart sinking moment when you realise your next game is a trip to Stoke .

Sigh .

The land that time forgot .

Followed by a visit from the Spuds

[Kialos]

That heart sinking moment when you realise your next game is a trip to Stoke .

Sigh .

The land that time forgot .

And driving to the game on a bank holiday weekend. And knowing it will take an hour getting out the car park.

[rigoberts song]

Well come in off the M6 on the A500 and take any of the roads down to the left opposite the stadium you can park for free down there
Walk past the pub full of Stoke fans (smile sweetly at them )and up to the ground.
You can be away quick after the game that's what we always do.

[hammerman11]

Slav will be tempted to play Noble as he is available for this game.

if we go 3-5-2 who makes way ?
Nordsvelt who played his best game
Kouyate driving force and physical presence in the team
Ayew who was poor

adrian
fonte reid collins
fernandez kouyate nordsvelt lanzini masuaka
ayew sakho

subs randolph cresswell rice noble quinna fletcher carroll

2-0 Hammers Sakho ayew

[likemydreams]

Fancy us nicking this and Bilic to go and have his hip op done early

[Sauce!]

Fancy us nicking this and Bilic to go and have his hip op done early

No time for dancing, this is serious.

[Burnley Hammer]

Kouyate driving force and physical presence in the team
Ayew who was poor

I thhought Ayew worked hard and linked up well with Lanzini on several occasions.

Kouyate on the other hand was far from a driving force. Or has the fact that he scored recently erased the memory of him being underwhelming in just about every single match where he's played in midfield this season? His passing is poor, and his passing range is also poor. You'll never see him starting a counter by quickly releasing someone with a clever pass or knocking a 40 yard ball out to the channels. He occasionally tries to start a counter by storming up the pitch with the ball in a straight line, but it usually just results in conceding possession again slightly higher up the pitch. He also puts in a tackle far less than people think. I keep hearing that we need him due to his mobility - but surely you need to have more to your game than being mobile? He can't play atttacking midfield as he's not creative or technically gifted enough. He can't play defensive midfield because he's not disciplined enough and frequently goes walkabout and forgets to track runners. For me, the only real benefit of him playing is his height. He wins more in the air than any other midfielder we have - something that's useful if partnered with Noble as Noble very rarely wins anything in the air. His height also makes him a threat at set pieces. That's about it though. He works hard, I'll give him that - but I think the fact that he's frequently seen storming around the pitch chasing the ball gives the impression he's doing more than he actually is.

I wasn't actually intending to say so much about Kouyate but there you go - it's all out now

[YorksHammer]

Those are all reasons why Kouyate should be at centre back, in my opinion - he'll chase anyone and anything, has the aerial presence to cut out long balls, and he doesn't need to have a huge range of passing to play there.

[Puff Daddy]

I get the distinct impression Mark Hughes doesn't give a toss whether his team wins, loses or draws matches right now

[vietnammer]

Who do you think will get injured? Think it's Lanzini's turn

[mushy]

I thought Ayew worked hard and linked up well with Lanzini on several occasions.

Kouyate on the other hand was far from a driving force.where he's played in midfield this season? His passing is poor, and his passing range is also poor.

he gets in good positions but that final ball is a killer to achieve.
Having said that a couple of his crosses were really awful, looked like he was slicing the ball over the bar like a golfer would do. Would have been easier to wrap his foot around the ball, strange indeed.