West Ham Utd 0-3 Brighton & Hove Albion (20/10/17)

[costa75]

I was so positive that we would get the win, and a good performance tonight. I should have known better!

What makes it even more depressing is the fact that it was our strongest line-up. Personally I would go with three at the back, and leave Kouyate on the bench, but other than that, it's as good a team as we can field, but we were still absolute sh**e.

As for Bilic, I like the man, but if he was sacked tonight I couldn't argue against it. I don't think that's going to happen though.

[Humbug]

So what are we going to do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGTWmrnPdgk

[bubbles1966]

I can't understand why Antonio stayed on

he was clearly injured

Is it possible that he just blows out of his arse after 25 minutes of every game?

[simon1982]

The players look scared, the manager looks clueless. Hernandez needs a partner up front. tonight it should have been Antonio. The manager shows how clueless he is because Tonight more than any game that I can remember we have thrown cross after cross in with 2 little midgets in the box. Surely as the manager you look around the pitch to see what influence you can make for the benefit of the team and think to himself that i'll put our biggest aerial threat in the middle in the absence of Carroll. Gary neville said on the opening day of the season before we even kicked a ball that hernandez needs to play with someone.

He saw Fernandez as a sub to affect the game. What we needed was pace on the flanks to make runs inside and outside the full backs. Byram is good at this but we leave him on the bench. He also dropped a massive clanger in not putting Martinez on the bench. Even if it gives our other forwards a kick up the backside. However I think the respect for the manager has gone and the players are far to comfortable especially the so called big names.

Now onto the players, irrespective of the above that performance was a shambles. No responsibility, no discipline and that's something that had a hand in brightons second. (Albeit a great finish by the player). We lost the ball twice in the lead up and tried to be clever. See the half out with no more mistakes, take your medicine and go in at one down. Regroup and push in the second half. That goal killed the game and I'm sure the player knew it. We know they're cApable, so do they. Something just isn't clicking, are they fit? Probably but none of us see the training so that's an outright guess. You watch every other team and they have an identity and a way of playing apArt from us and Arsenal who look like they're told to go out and do whatever the hell they like.

Ultimately it's a shame we've reached this point. The club needs change and we all know the owners won't be the ones to vacate. It has to be billic as we're sleep walking towards relegation. I don't blame him for not resigning, maybe this is a bit of a f*** you to Sullivan. I'm sure billic has personal pride and respect for himself and the fans but maybe his relationship with Sullivan is at the point of no return and is almost saying to him sack me if you have the balls.

[DDHammer]

Such a shame, Reid's comments about this being a must win game and we put in that performance, that was literally a full strength team that most people would say on paper is a top 9 group of players individually.

I sit west upper on the halfway line so could see everything, looking at our backline was excruciating at times, there was absolutely zero shape, players were all over the place, my biggest frustration first half was I constantly saw Masuaku completely unmarked out on the left wing and instead of laying it off to him we played a ball into a tight spot and tried to Barcelona our way past them. Does no one have a left foot? it's the only reason I can think off that no one passed the ball to him which would have put him one on one with a defender.

Lots of talk about Martinez not making the bench but he would have had nothing today like Hernandez didn't, felt sorry for him running around, Zaba was probably my man of the match for us, shows so much intelligence in the tackle and has a real passion for the game.

Arnautovic showed absolutely nothing, just like Ayew, there's something seriously wrong when 2 players with that skill set can't look even mildly effective.

I'd get rid of Slav tomorrow, i like the bloke and would love him to go on a real run of results but why waste time when his contract won't be renewed in the summer? Give a new bloke the January window to bring in players with the £30m we saved on Carvalho, give the players a reason to play for the manager, let's have a fresh training regime, fresh ideas. I'd go all in for Rafa purely because I don't think he'd take any **** from Sullivan and would talk straight to the press.

We keep hearing rumours about how hard Slav has it, the Martinez story from Chalks today is another level, Rafa would call that stuff out in press conferences, he's a bigger name than Sullivan, there is absolutely zero point in keeping Slav at the helm right now apart from saving money.

[Wilko1304]

I would.. zabaleta

I love Zab already, but got to be his worst performance.

[Doc H Ball]

I don't blame him for not resigning, maybe this is a bit of a f*** you to Sullivan. I'm sure billic has personal pride and respect for himself and the fans but maybe his relationship with Sullivan is at the point of no return and is almost saying to him sack me if you have the balls.

I reckon that's where we're at.

The problem for Sullivan is it isn't just Slav. What's he going to do, keep all the back room staff and put the youth team manager is as caretaker? Go out mid season and find either a complete new team or someone willing to work with Slav's lot.

[Het-Field]

Brighton came for a point and walked away with a 3 goal win. We fashioned one chance even though Brighton let us play for long periods at a time. Hernandez was lost up front as they flooded the defence and our wingers couldn't beat the first man. Brighton will play better this season and get less.

Too many of our players look out of sorts. Lanzini isn't the talisman we need him to be. Chicharito isn't getting the chances he needs. Antonio looks to be suffering from injury. Our captain is being left on the bench. Our record signings are just not at the races. Aaron Creswell has gone from our most dependable player to a bench warmerOur manager seems devoid of ideas, and a few fluky results have papered over some serious cracks which have been showing since last season.

Even with the summer clear out, the signing of some excellent players, on paper, and a renewed hope we are in our worst position since 2010, and anybody who retains any optimism after tonight is misplaced. Right now, there is not a single player in the squad that I would be dismayed if we sold, and I believe Biloc's time is up.

[Humbug]

I can only assume that what 'looks good on the training ground' (Slavs words) just doesn't translate to the reality of a PL match. Good at what precisely? Passing interplay, dribbling skills, shooting, ball control , crossing, general fitness and stamina? What exactly are we good at that makes the training sessions so positive in the mind of the manager and coaching staff? Whatever the perception, its not working very well.

[Youknowme57]

Let's get someone in who can shake things up. Someone that drills, make people work hard and makes everyone play for the team. Julian ducks assistant coach get him out and all the coaches they are useless. The cowxu Fm and the staff are rubbish. A pochettino please

[Doc H Ball]

Let's get someone in who can shake things up. Someone that drills, make people work hard and makes everyone play for the team. Julian ducks assistant coach get him out and all the coaches they are useless. The cowxu Fm and the staff are rubbish. A pochettino please

Where are you going to get a Pochettino, a new team of coaches and a new cowxu Fm from right now?

[IronworksDave]

The fact that we sign 'rejects' and 'discards' is starting to really show .... at least 9/11 tonight were our 1st choice players ... wow .... 'little pea' demonstrated why he's clueless when he has to create his own space, the midfield all showed why they need half a second more than the EPL allows .... and the defence showed that none of them can concentrate for more than five minutes at a stretch .... teams will just sit back and pick us apart ... Brighton made it look easy ....

This squad is a feckin' disaster ... no leaders, no quality, no spirit ... if we don't have a new boss soon then relegation becomes a real possibility .... we won't recover from that, not with three top London Clubs for 'tourists' to choose from .... it will be the LS with 20,000 and that just won't work ..............

[Clucking Bell]

Is a new manager going to help our players actually find each other with a pass over 5 yards, or mean that the recipient of the pass doesn’t have to check his stride?

Most of our players mostly have an appalling first touch for blokes that apparently play football for a living.
How many times do you see us 'clear' the ball straight back to the opposition? We're all too fond of heading or kicking the ball up the pitch when we've got plenty of time to bring the ball under control or play a cushioned ball to the bloke standing three yards away. We also don't move: it's like we play football under netball rules or are trying to incorporate 'musical statues' into our game.

I'll be the first to admit that I was always a bit **** at football but, when you look at nights like this and think to yourself, 'even at fifty-three I wouldn't have been the worse player on the pitch', you know there's something wrong. Let's be fair: Brighton weren't great. They played OK but, Man City beat them without ever getting out of their metaphorical armchair and, it's only the great charity work by clubs like ours that will stop them going down.

Nevertheless, we made them look like Barcelona.

[HammerInMaryland]

The fact that we sign 'rejects' and 'discards' is starting to really show .... at least 9/11 tonight were our 1st choice players ... wow .... 'little pea' demonstrated why he's clueless when he has to create his own space, the midfield all showed why they need half a second more than the EPL allows .... and the defence showed that none of them can concentrate for more than five minutes at a stretch .... teams will just sit back and pick us apart ... Brighton made it look easy ....

This squad is a feckin' disaster ... no leaders, no quality, no spirit ... if we don't have a new boss soon then relegation becomes a real possibility .... we won't recover from that, not with three top London Clubs for 'tourists' to choose from .... it will be the LS with 20,000 and that just won't work ..............

Really? All I have ever heard is how great Chicarito is in finding space. Maybe he is not getting service, maybe tactics are not good.

[ballantine]

5 at the back, Carroll and Noble may make us look boring and unadventurous. But f*** me, i'll take that over this any day of the week.

[WHU_Del]

Where are you going to get a Pochettino, a new team of coaches and a new cowxu Fm from right now?

Especially ones that want to work for our owners.

[JCA]

Watched this one while still out in Sydney. A bit of a JFK moment....I'll certainly remember place/time!.
Maybe it will be a turning point and I don't mean in terms of results improving. What I mean is a bloody big wake up call for the club from top to bottom that the penny pinching bull**** hype has to stop and things have to seriously change.

[DDHammer]

The fact that we sign 'rejects' and 'discards' is starting to really show

And yet our most consistant player this season is a 33 year old reject from Man City.

That line-up tonight:

Hart - Reject, better than Randolph, alongsidr Adrian
Zabaleta - Carries on will win HotY
Fonte - Southampton captain, turned down contract
Reid - Not a reject.
Masuaku - Young talented attacking full back.
Obiang - Arguably our best player last year
Kouyate - not a reject
Antonio - 14 goals, 14 assists in Champ b4 signed.
Lanzini - Arguably our best player.
Arnautovic - Stokes best player, not worth 24m but still.
Hernandez - Regular starter for a team better than us, not a reject.

Ayew - Swansea's best player and top goalscorer.

How are those discards or rejects?

[kayahammer]

Manu spent most of the match way too deep. And why was our main tactic to sling balls into the box? 33 attempted crosses. I think we won one header. We make average sides look efficient.

Replace Slav? I think we need to do something, but no point replacing him unless it's with a very good manager.

I bet Palace are rubbing their hands

[DDHammer]

Replace Slav? I think we need to do something, but no point replacing him unless it's with a very good manager.

Why not though, it's basically nailed on he won't be here next summer. What happens in January? I doubt Sullivan is going to ask Slav who he wants when he's gone in 5 months.

We're best off getting a new bloke in before Christmas on a 3 year deal and back him in January with £30m.

Running his contract down is doing nothing but hindering us.