West Ham Utd 1-1 Stoke City (16/04/18)

[Samba]

I hate Stoke. A **** town in nowhere, with **** drivers and being famous for ****ing nobby china. And their crap ground is next to an incinerator.

That was a message from the 'Visit Stoke-on-Trent, 2018, tourist information board'.

[Billydinho]

Thought we played well and I enjoyed watching it. We were the better side and unlucky not to have 3 points. I personally don't think we were negative at all. Momentum shifts during a game, and when Stoke had it, it would have been stupid not to adopt a more defensive structure and pull players back. We definitely had our fair share of attacking play too.

Really? We had Arnie up top isolated most of the game.

We didn't try to win it and they weren't good enough to.

[Graza]

I can see a draw and a very nervy run in for us.

The glass is always half full for me... Of piss

Sometimes hate it when I'm right...

[Simply Moore]

Weren’t three of those times after he actually put a striker on the pitch?

No, two of them were.

[Graza]

I feel gutted about that result.

First half we played into their hands, launching the ball up and generally not getting in behind or trying to build properly. It made the game too easy for them.

Second half was better but we were screaming out for change almost immediately and failed to make it. 3 ruled out goals, 2 strong penalty shouts and a goal sounds OK, and but for some schoolboy keeping from Hart we could have got all 3.

If we'd won we be 12th 9 points clear of the brown stuff. Lose and we'd have been 16th 4 points clear. So all in the draw wasn't exactly doomsday but the way we lost the points irks and irritates more than even a straight loss to a proper goal(s).

Hart surely is done now.

[Gazzaloz]

David Moyes: “We didn’t need to make subs, we were playing well and in their half, I thought the goal would come and I thought we could score late on. The minute we went a goal down, we had to find a way of doing things differently.”
So in other words, the plan throughout the game was to nick a goal and hope for the best. Next level.

[costa75]

Moyes & Hart cost us a win against Stoke at home. Very poor, but could have been worse.........

[duncanio]

Yeah exactly, we weren't trying to play until they scored. Pathetic really. I don't see Moyes as particularly negative or unentertaining but thought we weren't bothered until we had to be. Infuriating.
I wish Carroll would stop scoring valuable goals, wish he'd just go.

[ChzMff]

No, the plan was to score first and win the game. We were camped outside their box, forcing about 5-6 free kicks along with numerous corners. We had two goals ruled out for offside. But don’t let that get in the way of an opportunity to bash Moyes though.

[Dwight1970]

No issue with the way we lined up and approached the game but just can't get my head around why it takes Moyes so long to roll the dice.

Had we thrown Carroll and Hernandez at the game for at least half an hour I have no doubt we'd have won it.tp

Learnt nothing from the Burnley defeat and we're very lucky to have kept Stoke at arms length in the table.

I don't understand why you would not repeat the tactics and line up we had against Southampton that worked so well especially against a side with a woeful defence and needed 3 points, instead we left Arnautovic isolated and allowed Stoke a foothold in the game that allowed them to eventually take the lead.

Moyes simply is too cautious and it seems circumstances off the field almost forced his hand to be positive in the first half against Southampton as reverted to type in the second half, simply if are not picking a Hernandez or another forward against the 2nd worst team in the Premier League when do you?

I think too many are overlooking the fact we were playing Stoke City tonight not Manchester City and 3 points would have pretty ensured we stayed up and the late 2nd half pressure shouldn't excuse how negative we were in that first half against a side almost certain to be relegated.

[hadleighhammer]

GSB must love the types who think Moyes served up some entertainment tonight. That was utter dross. A ***** Stoke side were the better team for most of the game away from home.

[MD_HM]

David Moyes: “We didn’t need to make subs, we were playing well and in their half, I thought the goal would come and I thought we could score late on. The minute we went a goal down, we had to find a way of doing things differently.”

So in other words, the plan throughout the game was to nick a goal and hope for the best. Next level.

Is that real? I could have wrote that this morning as a parody of Moyes and his tactics

[ChzMff]

I think too many are overlooking the fact we were playing Stoke City tonight not Manchester City and 3 points would have pretty ensured we stayed up and the late 2nd half pressure shouldn't excuse how negative we were in that first half against a side almost certain to be relegated.

And I think you’re overlooking that we are West Ham and not Man City. You mention we’re playing the 2nd worst team in the league. Well guess what, we were the 5th worst team in the league and ain’t particularly great ourselves.

The line up was exactly the same as against Southampton however Stoke did not play with the same naivety nor commit masses of players ahead of the ball early on. To go out, gung-ho, in this fixture, would have been both suicidal and stupid. People don’t like hearing it because they’re wrapped up in this weird notion that we should be blowing these sort of teams away but tonight was about not losing and ensuring a relegation rival (yes, rival!) did not leave with any forward momentum.

[hadleighhammer]

tonight was about not losing and ensuring a relegation rival (yes, rival!) did not leave with any forward momentum.

That probably was Moyes pre-game motivational speech.

"Cmon lads we can avoid losing this one"

[Beavis Danzig]

remember when teams were terrified of giving us fouls outside the box because they were as good as a penalty with dimi in the team?

seems a long time ago now.

[goingunderground]

Thought we played quite well. Rather entertaining despite being goalless for most of the match.

Freak goal and unlucky with three disallowed goals - usually one of them would've been given.

Should've won, but a point is better than a loss. Let's hope confidence levels remain strong and team unity grabs us some much needed points during our gruelling run-in.

Really want to see Arnie/Lanzini and/or Arnie/Chico starting together at some point.

Not all doom and gloom. Still think Moyes needs a full Summer window/season before he can be judged.

[GaryP]

No, the plan was to score first and win the game. We were camped outside their box, forcing about 5-6 free kicks along with numerous corners. We had two goals ruled out for offside. But don’t let that get in the way of an opportunity to bash Moyes though.

Camped outside the box ? What game were you watching ?

OK, if we were camped outside the box as you say , why didn't we have goalscorers on the pitch then ?

Moyes ****ed up tonight ... big time. Almost as much as Hart.

[GaryP]

David Moyes: “We didn’t need to make subs, we were playing well and in their half, I thought the goal would come and I thought we could score late on. The minute we went a goal down, we had to find a way of doing things differently.”

So in other words, the plan throughout the game was to nick a goal and hope for the best. Next level.

Is that real? I could have wrote that this morning as a parody of Moyes and his tactics

It's real... was on Sky

[rsnwhu]

I think this is one where you say, respect the point. It could have been catastrophic if we had lost.

[goa127]

Why do people think certain teams can just be blown away if we play 5 up front? Before Hart fumbled them a goal we were squeezing them further back all the time. Of course we had to bring on attackers when we had 5 minutes to get a goal, but playing like that from the start would have been suicidal. Stoke are not a great team but they are not usually an easy win. Just because they're in the bottom two doesn't mean you can just play playground football against them. Ask Man U what happens if you don't take it seriously against a team fighting for their lives. FWIW I thought we played some nice one-touch football for a lot of the game, we just lacked a final ball. Full marks for stoke for defending resolutely. I don't see a point does them much good though