West Bromwich Albion 0-0 West Ham Utd (16/09/17)

[Nesticles]

Does Arnautovic deserve to go straight back in to the starting XI given his self imposed exclusion from the last 3 matches ?

No chance

I suspect he might, but he doesn't deserve to

[frankiemac]

last season we had been well beaten at man city, followed by the drubbing at home to watford....we then got smashed by west brom and southampton at home...we were in turmoil when we arrived at the hawthorns...hopefully this season we are over it, and have turned a corner

as bad as our start is we have 3 points from 4...we had 3 points from 6 last season

psychologically we must be in a better place going into this fixture, and with arnautovic back, we will be even stronger...we have selection problems this time, in terms of what is the best combination due to an embarrassment of riches....last season was very different

i say dont change too much, keep the same formation, with the quality we have we will create chances

west brom 1 - west ham 3

[Jumby]

Pressing an average team into making mistakes would be the way to go here, they're not a team of speed merchants so they wouldn't be able to counter attack easily, I say get up and at them, technically we have better players.

[HighWycombeHammer]

last season we had been well beaten at man city, followed by the drubbing at home to watford....we then got smashed by west brom and southampton at home...we were in turmoil when we arrived at the hawthorns...hopefully this season we are over it, and have turned a corner

as bad as our start is we have 3 points from 4...we had 3 points from 6 last season

psychologically we must be in a better place going into this fixture, and with arnautovic back, we will be even stronger...we have selection problems this time, in terms of what is the best combination due to an embarrassment of riches....last season was very different

i say dont change too much, keep the same formation, with the quality we have we will create chances

west brom 1 - west ham 3

I did not know the figures but it does ask the question of our pre-season planning that we start so badly......

[Danny's Dyer Acting]

We played a **** ton of long balls against Huddersfield, whether people want to believe it or not and if we do the same against WBA it will be the dullest football game in history.

Honestly, would you rather we went and played like we did on Monday and nicked a 0-0 (not that I'm saying that result should be the height of our ambitions) or we try to play like we did last time we won there?

Because doing the latter without peak Payet, Noble in the form of his life, Kouyate playing like a 2010 vintage Yaya Toure and the rest of the squad dragging up their levels to match is a recipe for disaster. See our first half capitulation there last season for proof.

[Patito]

Arnautovic's suspension has ended. Noble and/or Lanzini could make the bench. I wonder who won't even make the bench, Sakho perhaps?

[Puff Daddy]

I did not know the figures but it does ask the question of our pre-season planning that we start so badly......

Something that I have frequently asked myself. It is the same thing every year, take the players overseas (normally either Austria, or Germany), on a 2 week frolic, no proper preparation, just gentle warms up, the usual, 5 a side rubbish and jogging and then a few warm up games, when usually, a few players will pick up knocks, side lining them for the season proper when it gets under way. It will be the same next year and the year after that and the year after that too, when really, what we should be doing is concentrating getting the players in tip top condition in order for them to be properly conditioned for the season ahead. Personally, I think it is high time we took a step back from this usual schedule and asked ourselves is this really the best preparation we can make for the season ahead? Might we be better staying at home , because I don't see any benefit at all in taking the players abroad ?

[kitthehammer]

I'd maybe start with chicarito instead of Carroll and arnautovic in his place on the left for the first half then see Carroll and Ayew on second half for those two, subs permitting.
The rest i'd keep the same as Huddersfield.

[fjthegrey]

Something that I have frequently asked myself. It is the same thing every year, take the players overseas (normally either Austria, or Germany), on a 2 week frolic, no proper preparation, just gentle warms up, the usual, 5 a side rubbish and jogging and then a few warm up games, when usually, a few players will pick up knocks, side lining them for the season proper when it gets under way. It will be the same next year and the year after that and the year after that too, when really, what we should be doing is concentrating getting the players in tip top condition in order for them to be properly conditioned for the season ahead. Personally, I think it is high time we took a step back from this usual schedule and asked ourselves is this really the best preparation we can make for the season ahead? Might we be better staying at home , because I don't see any benefit at all in taking the players abroad ?

A two week frolic? It's at absolute worst a 2 week intensive fitness and pre season training where the players do multiple discipline sessions 2 or 3 times a day.

The benefits of going abroad are, firstly to integrate new squad members in an environment where they will much more closely bond. Not going home after training etc and spending all their time with one another. Secondly, to control their diet in it's entirety, measure their condition at all points of the day and so they can do sustained fitness work across the full day.

Stop making things up in your head. It's not a two week holiday with a little bit of five a side football. They go to training camps in the middle of nowhere and do a full pre season. They are there because it is the easiest and must efficient way of getting them into top physical condition. Away from agents, away from the media, away from things that will take their focus off the job.

[EastleighHammer16]

Lanzini is back in training so definitely a chance he could be on the bench.

[Beavis Danzig]

lanzini was outstanding against them at the bowl last season. we sent him on half baked at the toon and it was a bit of a disaster, his silky touches and neat passing were reduced to being a complete liability.

bench is the right place for him if possible, but i would only use him if we need a lock pick. bolton will be the perfect opportunity for him to get a few minutes to find his touch again before spurs.

[HammerMan2004]

Lanzini is back in training so definitely a chance he could be on the bench.

Nowhere near "definitely a chance" of making the bench. He's just started running and kicking a ball again. Bilic says he's still two weeks away.

Noble still out.

[bowltorious]

Wouldn't change much:

--------------------------Hart
--------Fonte--------Collins-------Reid
Zabaleta------Obiang-----Kouyate-----Cresswell
----------------Antonio---------Arnautovic
----------------------Hernandez

Adrian, Byram, Ogbonna, Ayew, Carroll, Sakho, Masuaku

Fernandez, Lanzini, Noble all out so we have no centre midfielders to make the bench, classic West Ham, only four games in :lol:

[brothernero]

Hard game this one as they all are when coming up against a Tony Pulis side. Would be more than happy with a draw.

Fancy Antonio to bag a goal and a nice 2-2 draw.

[EastleighHammer16]

Nowhere near "definitely a chance" of making the bench. He's just started running and kicking a ball again. Bilic says he's still two weeks away.

Noble still out.

I wrote that before Bilic had his press conference so wasn't to know he was still out for another 1-2 weeks.

[HammerMan2004]

I wrote that before Bilic had his press conference so wasn't to know he was still out for another 1-2 weeks.

Shouldn't have assumed based on a picture of him in a training kit then

[Hammertapp]

im surprised how many have Fonte in their lineups

Had his best game for us on Monday, In my opinion.

Might not be saying much, but he should be rewarded for playing well by keeping his place in the team.

[Colours never run]

Yep, Fonte deserved to keep his place after that performance. He had a very good game (for once).

The beauty of playing three Centre Halves at the back is it can mask a multitude of sins be it lack of pace, awareness, positional play, there's always an extra body to come over to cover and that's why I've long liked it with the set of centre halves we currently have who aren't quite so good as just a 2 where pace will be found out more. Another reason I like it is it'll be slightly easier to set the off side trap as there's 1 less player in a back 4 that might switch off and leave a player onside. That showed well on Monday when Huddersfield tried to burst through only to be called offside.

[frankiemac]

last season we had been well beaten at man city, followed by the drubbing at home to watford....we then got smashed by west brom and southampton at home...we were in turmoil when we arrived at the hawthorns...hopefully this season we are over it, and have turned a corner

as bad as our start is we have 3 points from 4...we had 3 points from 6 last season

psychologically we must be in a better place going into this fixture, and with arnautovic back, we will be even stronger...we have selection problems this time, in terms of what is the best combination due to an embarrassment of riches....last season was very different

i say dont change too much, keep the same formation, with the quality we have we will create chances

west brom 1 - west ham 3

I did not know the figures but it does ask the question of our pre-season planning that we start so badly......

our preseason prep is abysmal

the slow start proves that, but also, the fact that the manager tinkers as much as he does...4 or 5 changes after man united? more changes after southampton and then a completely different system v huddersfield

after pre season the manager should know his best system and best players...dropping a player after one game is not right...a bad performance doesnt mean he should be benched, and he did this after man u

the first few games you want points on the board...use friendlies to establish a team understanding and try out your players...

[HighWycombeHammer]

our preseason prep is abysmal

the slow start proves that, but also, the fact that the manager tinkers as much as he does...4 or 5 changes after man united? more changes after southampton and then a completely different system v huddersfield

after pre season the manager should know his best system and best players...dropping a player after one game is not right...a bad performance doesnt mean he should be benched, and he did this after man u

the first few games you want points on the board...use friendlies to establish a team understanding and try out your players...[/quote]

I could not agree more. Maybe they should go back at the start of June because the start of July is too late...