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.
fjthegrey wrote:One things for sure, I'd definitely take Wilshere after seeing him play a full 90 yesterday.
Almost forgot why he was so highly rated it's been so long since I saw him play properly.
The talent has never been the issue, the boy is top notch. It is how many 90 minutes you get out of him which is the problem. Gets fouled three or four times a match and that will inevitably mean another injury at some point.
But hey, if it wasn’t for that then we’d have no chance of signing him.
It's like when you're not sure which turn to take in your car and as you slow one motorist behind will give you time to think and another will sound the horn and shout 'f***ing idiot' out of the window."
ironstu wrote:
0-0 against Arsenal in the position we are at the moment is a result that you shouldn't be turning your nose up at. Take the point, move on to the next game. We look 10x more organised than we have in the last 3 years and it's refreshing to see. Yes we are going to have to change our approach in the next few games but I don't see why with some time on the training pitch we wouldn't be able to keep our shape while letting our attacking players do their thing.
We are doing well. Moyes is doing well. Everyone moaning needs to quit with their agendas and get behind a team that is now finally performing. On to Stoke, come on the boys!
StackerJJ wrote:I think you're both kind of right in my opinion. This is how I saw, it look like he'd been told to channel his running and not just run around like a head chicken to minimise his burn out like Chelsea game. He certainly wasn't lazy yesterday but definitely looked lethargic. Too heavy in my opinion, definitely fast when going but seems to have lost a yard from the get go which was pretty much his game. I hope Hernandez starts against stoke ahead of Antonio he looks like he needs a rest.
The problem with Antonio is that he's not a striker. He doesn't have the same instincts as a striker, has limited football intelligence, and his off the ball movement is all wrong. Has he had a shot at goal in the last two games? He's a strong, fast athlete that gets the ball up the pitch fast, and the crowd off their seats at times. For the moment, that's about it. His crossing is poor, as is his link up play, and he doesn't create as many chances as he should be doing.
I doubt there is a West Ham fan on the planet that would not have taken 4 points from Chelsea and Arsenal before saturday morning's kick off. I thought we played very well last night and it was a commited team effort with several shouts for MOTM - Ogbonna, Arnautovic, Cresswell, Zabaleta, Reid all played their part but I'd pick our Club Legend, Mark Noble who ran his socks off last night and put in a proper Captain's performance.
From the Bobby Moore Upper it was difficult to see whether or not Arnautovic was on or offside but watching the briefest of highlights on MOTD this morning it was very tight but the correct decision. Shame, because we were celebrating like mad before the ball had even hit the back of the net!
Arsenal huffed and puffed but were never going to blow our house down last night and Adrian only had one save of note to make from a free kick - and yet he was MOTM? We have had some bizarre choices as MOTM but that was a strange one.
Lot of people commenting on Antonio's fitness level being less than ideal. Currently he hasn't got 90 minutes in him and when he runs out of gas it's like a car running out of petrol - he simply just stops. I think he was brought back from injury too soon and would benefit from an early xmas break. I wouldn't pick Hernandez in front of him though as others have suggested, Ayew would be my preferred option. Other than that, same again on Saturday please.
Good atmosphere again and maybe we are turning a corner - big test will be at the Brittania, or bet365 Stadium as it's now known. We've raised our levels against 3 of the Champions League regulars City, Chelsea and Arsenal, the question is can we carry it on at the less glamorous locations like Stoke - orrible town, orrible fans and often as not, a nasty atmosphere. A win on saturday would have me believing Moyes might just be the man to keep us up - who'd have thought that a few weeks ago?!
Antonio summed up his technique perfectly with that pathetic long range effort near the end :lol:
He is definitely a useful player but a few mentioned it on here about the size of him, maybe he does need to shave a bit of muscle off. His unpredictable, unorthodox style is what makes him an asset but it is concerning that he is only lasting an hour, possibly not fully fit yet but we have seen this before from him. Or maybe we just have to accept that his explosive style only works for 60 minutes.
Lilyhammer wrote:Thought Moyes might have brought Carroll on near the end, we got into some good positions and just needed a big lump up front to cross too,
I thought about this at the time, but how many decent crosses were we actually putting in?
Carroll coming on would have required a change in formation, always a gamble in my eyes.
The Gibbins wrote:Or maybe we just have to accept that his explosive style only works for 60 minutes.
As always was and always will be, he has always coasted through games (at some stage in the match), just that you dont notice it so much if either he has scored a goal or are are winning. Having said that I thought he lasted a lot better last night then on Saturday, I assume that he was told specifically to pace himself better and not to run himself to near death in the first 45.
I appreciate that muscle is heavy and people believe it will weigh players down thus slowing them down, however, there is no such thing as 'non-functional' muscle. If you think Antonio is too built to run fast I refer you to the likes of Maurice Greene and Bryan Habana.
Patito wrote:I appreciate that muscle is heavy and people believe it will weigh players down thus slowing them down, however, there is no such thing as 'non-functional' muscle. If you think Antonio is too built to run fast I refer you to the likes of Maurice Greene and Bryan Habana.
irving boleyn wrote:Agree Burnley, Wing back would seem a fine option for him. Pity he wasnt enthusiastic about that move.
Apart from the fact that due to a lack of a defensive brain, his positioning is awful, meaning that putting him anywhere near the defence is an invitation for him to be on the wrong side of the attacker -again.
I would have him nowhere near the right back position..
Patito wrote:I appreciate that muscle is heavy and people believe it will weigh players down thus slowing them down, however, there is no such thing as 'non-functional' muscle. If you think Antonio is too built to run fast I refer you to the likes of Maurice Greene and Bryan Habana.
I don't think it has anything to do with speed, in fact it probably enhances it the way sprinters are built. Its more to do with stamina and lactic acid build up.
Patito wrote:I appreciate that muscle is heavy and people believe it will weigh players down thus slowing them down, however, there is no such thing as 'non-functional' muscle. If you think Antonio is too built to run fast I refer you to the likes of Maurice Greene and Bryan Habana.
He is built like a sprinter, sprinters run 100 meters flat out once or twice a day.
Antonio is asked to run in 50 meter bursts throughout 90 minutes.
Greene, Bolt or whoever wouldn't be able to do that.
Actually he is built like one of the doorman that used run the doors at Oscars back in the day, I would like to see them run up and down all day long at full pelt.
Patito wrote:I appreciate that muscle is heavy and people believe it will weigh players down thus slowing them down, however, there is no such thing as 'non-functional' muscle. If you think Antonio is too built to run fast I refer you to the likes of Maurice Greene and Bryan Habana.
essexguy wrote:
Plus Usain Bolt and Linford Christie.
Both quite right but they run for 10 seconds in their field. They are not required to run for 90 minutes. Give me the name of a muscly long distance runner and i'll stand corrected.
mushy wrote:
He is built like a sprinter, sprinters run 100 meters flat out once or twice a day.
Antonio is asked to run in 50 meter bursts throughout 90 minutes.
Greene, Bolt or whoever wouldn't be able to do that.
StackerJJ wrote:
Both quite right but they run for 10 seconds in their field. They are not required to run for 90 minutes. Give me the name of a muscly long distance runner and i'll stand corrected.
