West Ham Utd 2-0 Huddersfield Town (11/09/17)

[Ludeksgloves]

Special mentions to zabaleta, Antonio, Ginge and Fonte (yes! Him!) who had really good games. Antonio is a handful when he plays like that. Carroll did his thing very well, and will only improve the more game time he gets. Ayew once again popped up at the right moment. He may not be a world beater, but he does score more often than people think on here. Hart did't have much to do, but pulled off a good save from Billing. The clean sheet will do him and the defense wonders. I like when we play Kouyate and Obiang in the middle, it makes us really look organised

I know this is "only" Huddersfield, but this was a very very important win. With Arnautovic and Lanzini coming back it seems the manager has something of a luxury problem...

[wildkard]

I thought we played ok. Positive, pressing, attacking football. Yes, a bit of quality may have been lacking, but it wasn't exactly one of those Big Sam teams with no actual forward by a long stretch.

No idea how we can accommodate all of our players, but that's not my concern. We looked much better without Fernandez and Ogbonna, who I consider our weakest first teamers. Noble not far behind them either.

I thought Hernandez looked thoroughly pissed off when he left the pitch at half time, then when he took to the pitch in the second half, and finally when he was subbed. Maybe he just looks pissed off permanently, I dunno.

Fully expect us to lose our next three games though.

[bbhammer]

100% better performance ,Antonio was superb and we look so much safer when Winston plays ,Fonte was the best i've seen him,like most just didn't get Hernandez out wide ,having said that Huddersfield were very poor ,looking forward to West Brom now will be really interesting to see how we line up there .

[AA1969]

Saw Barry Fry and his right hand aid Joan Hill I wonder what Mr Werther was rabbiting about.

Sadly not - Joan Hill passed away 4 years ago

[HighWycombeHammer]

A much needed result and it was m ore important than the missing flair.

Without Lanzini and Arny who are our only real flair players we were going to play with speed and strength. I thought the formation looked organised and we were never under any threat of losing the game. It was always down to when we were going to score.

The back three looked very comfortable but were never really pressured.

Ob and Ko looked very strong and moved very well. Cres and Zab did there jobs very well by adding to the defence and attack.

Antonio and Hernandez were allowed to roam and Antonio seemed to have got faster and stronger...

Carroll - If he could play 3/4 of a season our win ratio would be completely different.

Ayew and Sakho - All you can ask from your subs is to go on and make a difference. They did this.

Slav - A big decision to take Hernandez off but well done for doing it. He made changes when the game was doing quiet and there was a reaction.

Team spirit - They are a close unit which is very visible. All work hard for each other.

Let's look forward now.

Interesting to work out what the formation will be when Lanzini, Arny and Noble are fit.... Or are we waiting for the next injury to allow them to come in.

[Upminster Hammer]

Anyone thy booed the sub last night is a ****.

It does nothing for the players confidence comming on and is just pointless and immature.

If you want to go somewhere to boo and hiss go to a pantomime or go watch billericay.

[wildkard]

Anyone thy booed the sub last night is a ****.

It does nothing for the players confidence comming on and is just pointless and immature.

If you want to go somewhere to boo and hiss go to a pantomime or go watch billericay.

Probably a discussion for another time, but totally agree. People who boo their own players should be banned for life, from everywhere.

[Blind Bigot]

Okay a Terriers view!

Firstly, well done on a throughly deserved 3pts. As David Wagner said post-match, you were better than us in every area. Clearly your plan was to press us all over the pitch which we seemed to expect but couldn't cope with so it turned into one of our less adventurous approaches to a game. I think our plan was to contain and frustrate and to a degree that worked in the first 45. Andy Carroll is a bettering ram and we struggled to deal with his strength and power. However, we survived to the interval but containment is always a dangerous game to play and lady luck favoured us throughout to be honest. Your first goal had a huge slice of luck about it too obviously but scoring so quick after that setback (for us) the game was affectively over.

As a group of players we're still learning and we'll continue to do so but at times I thought we were bullied by your lads (helped by what looked like a ref the favoured the home side ) and that doesn't normally happen. Obviously getting the win meant a lot to your lads and manager and on the night I think that was the major difference. In that mood we had to be on form to come away with anything and clearly we weren't.

On that evidence you have enough quality in your squad to pull well clear of trouble so Good Luck from now on!!!!

BB (HTFC)

[fmgod]

Lovely to finally get a win, definitely thought we were heading for a 0-0, they will without a doubt go down absolute devoid of quality, one of the worst sides I've seen in recent years.

Antonio has to be in the England squad, monster performance, love the bloke, his like a really good version of Carlton, should a model to any younger players. always plays the game the right way, has a smile on his face, great ambassador for the club.

Badly missed Lanznini for the creative spark, Kouyate's technique last night was something else, like he was wearing a pair of crocs

I still don't get how people don't rate Ayew, he is an intelligent player that goal last night he read the play and reacted quickest, he is a bit Hernadez light in the way he reads the game and poaches.

Hernadez on the wing is a big no for me, he lost the ball countless times, his not that great of player but a brilliant in the box

[bristolhammerfc]

I think it was a medicinal performance from a team low on confidence and who have been hiding following the on and off the pitch disappointment.

People will point to Carroll for the direct play we saw but i think that's a red herring. For me its Collins who engineers that style through his no nonsense, old school defending. His natural instinct is to clear his lines and that often involves putting a foot through it and sending it long.

Both Reid and Fonte like to bring the ball out from the back and play the simple pass, but Collins played as the deep centre back and dictated the style.

People were slating the substitution, but Chico was ineffective in picking up the knockdowns from a deeper role and Ayew is better than him in that role. Chico is a great poacher but not so good at tracking back and tackling.

Antonio still needs to get his head up at times and look at where he is passing. It will take him to the next level.

I stated at the beginning of the season that i felt Kouyate should be sold as I don't see where he fits and I stick by that. He was poor yesterday and watched the game for large periods of time without influencing it.

If that's how we are going to play, Noble better get used to warming the bench. He hasn't got the legs or discipline to play in that system.

A 6 out of 10 performance and a fair result.

[Crouchend_Hammer]

Kouyate didn't have a great game but if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have got the first goal.

In the cold light of day it is 3 points, but if (if) we set up like that all season, it will be a tough watch, regardless Ov the end result. Playing only 3 attacking players is not my cup of tea

Huddersfield are as I expected, a side who will very likely get relegated. Mooy was class, Mounie looked a handful, and tbf they played the better football, but weren't great

Antonio was superb. Should be the first name on team sheet and everyone else fit round him

[Paddy O'Hammer]

There's no lost dressing room.

Park that bus for a while lads.

[Blind Bigot]

Lovely to finally get a win, definitely thought we were heading for a 0-0, they will without a doubt go down absolute devoid of quality, one of the worst sides I've seen in recent years.

Very insightful! I watched your pervious efforts on TV and I could have said the same about you in fact! We had a very poor off game last night! NO excuses for us, you wanted and probably needed it more than we did. We always knew there isn't an easy game at this level but give it ten/twelve matches before you judge us. Don't forget you've had the benefit of life in the financial rich stream for years and it shows. Surprise surprise!

But...I agree we have to do better than that - and believe we will!

[Patito]

(helped by what looked like a ref the favoured the home side )

No chance!

Fair summary apart from that though and I hope your lot stay up.

[fmgod]

Very insightful! I watched your pervious efforts on TV and I could have said the same about you in fact! We had a very poor off game last night! NO excuses for us, you wanted and probably needed it more than we did. We always knew there isn't an easy game at this level but give it ten/twelve matches before you judge us. Don't forget you've had the benefit of life in the financial rich stream for years and it shows. Surprise surprise!

But...I agree we have to do better than that - and believe we will!

The difference is we've been poor but there quality is there.

You're solid Wagner deserves massive credit for that but there is no Premier League quality players in that side who can make a difference, you badly could've done with one or two bits of quality just to turn them 0-0's into 1-0

[scottyboy71]

The result was positive and hopefully will lift some of the pressure.

The positives:
Zabaleta: Warrior, leader and the only man in the box on occasion.
Antonio: He plays like he's never seen a football before, but runs like a loon and creates havoc
Carroll: He does make us a bit one dimensional at times, but he creates bedlam for the opposition defence
Collins: Solid at the back; can't play a long pass to save his life though.

Attitude: Kept going and trying, which is a massive improvement on similar games last season

Negatives:
Hernandez: On the wing?! WTF? The man that's scored all his goals in the box plays on the wing. Beyond baffled.
Kayoute: Blowing out of his arse after 20 mins and that swipe at the ball was embarrassing

Fitness: We still look unfit to me. Zabaleta looked the fittest of ours.

Also, what's up with those smoky bubbles?

Did anyone see the steward angrily confiscate the inflatable penis that was being waved around in the East Stand?

[prophet:marginal]

Huddersfield played in a manner similar to Bournemouth (at our ground) last year and its difficult to realistically draw too many conclusions from the game, because of that.

Of our outfield players, half were signed before Slav joined and the others arrived after that point.

Of the 'old skool' 5, much as I hope its a one off, I thought Kouyate looked the least useful. I agree with some, who would have him in the back line, instead of midfield.

Ginge, Reid and Cresswell could have been selected by Allardyce, of course. They played with concentration and strength, but were rarely tested in the way you'd expect from even lesser lights who are established in this league, such as Stoke, Leicester or Southampton. So, well played on the night, but I am unsure how far forward we will go with both Ginge and Fonte in the team.

Carroll is easily at his most effective as the flag pole up top and I was pleasantly surprised to see him last nearly the whole match. Again, however, the type of play we adopted to see off Huddersfield will be more ruthlessly countered by more cluey teams. It would be churlish to complain about having a look at a different set up, even if a system with Hernandez poaching in the box seems to be much more sensible going forward.

So, of the 5 'Slav signings', the biggest surprise for me was the sight of Zabaleta yet again getting past the ball, into the other team's half. Yesterday, this arose without too much need for breathless scrabbling back. He looked as if he wanted to succeed in our shirt, which goes against the grain of the 'last gig before retirement' views that some have. I still expect this wandering spirit to get exploited, tbh, by better teams.

Obiang and Antonio both played well. Just a few tweaks to their respective games and they will be undroppable, imo. As much as he needs to pick his head up when running, Iron Mike is perhaps our only transitional player; the one who can win it (back) in midfield and actually change the shape of the game, running with the ball at his feet.

Hernandez's time will come. In the middle, with the ball at his feet, basically. He will be far more effective against teams in the part of the league to which we aspire to reach. There's a certain irony that the goals didn't arrive until we made the change up, but I am not blaming our lack of goals on a player moved out to the wing, to accommodate Andy Carroll.

This leaves us with 3 players to make their ways back into contention (Noble, Lanzini and Arnautovic) and a handful watching on, awaiting a bigger chance (Ayew, Sakho, Masuaku, Byram, Rice and Fernandes).

Not the biggest or widest selection, all told. We were kind of handed the chance to take the three points yesterday. I'd only say we'd embarked on a proper recovery if we drew or won at WBA and continued with a victory over Bolton.

Spurs will be such a different gravy...a big stress test for what is an oldish defence.

[DasNutNock]

I thought we were great yesterday and really enjoyed that match. There was enough in both halves to feel that we're better than our recent results suggest.

[YorksHammer]

A good result, but overall not a very good performance to get it in my opinion. Our back five all had good games, notably the two wing backs, and Carroll made a huge difference up front. Man of the match was Obiang, who showed his real class in midfield.

I thought both Hernandez and Antonio were poor - lots of huff and puff but very little end product from either of them, aside from Hernandez knocking that one aginst the bar. Antonio couldn't keep hold of the ball at all and was constantly being dispossessed - I counted at least four times he lost the ball in the final third, and there was one which was dangerously in front of our own area. The game seemed to go on around those two for long stretches.

We were appalling - absolutely appalling - at passing the ball around last night. Only Obiang really seemed to have his head up and play the ball to a teammate regularly. and it shows why we miss Noble when he's not available, and also Lanzini, because none of the passing had any real penetration throughout the game. If we pass the ball like that against other teams we'll get rinsed.

Hopefully this one gets a monkey off our back and we can improve from here.

[seaside hammer]

Apart from the 3 points there isn't many positives to take from the game.

Huddersfield played decent football with lots of possession but no end product. Mooy was a class act his movement, touch and passing was a joy to watch something we lacked and without Lanzini we have no one who is comfortable on the ball.

- Lumping it forward to Carroll was painful to watch

- The biggest disappointment was Chico playing on the wing. This guy is a top class striker not a winger. Hasn't Slav learnt after the Antonio RB saga. The guy is totally wasted out there better

- Antonio was our best player. A real monster with power and pace something I think England lack. If he could keep his head up more and have a bit more composure I think he can really take his game to another level