Forum | General Discussion

Hammers have been given an 'uncomfortable tie for this year's third round FA Cup tie, an away fixtute against Thomas Frank's Brentford at the GTech Stadium, probably one of the few venues that West Ham supporters really dread, despite it's relative close proximity!
The full draw is as follows:

Preston v Huddersfield
Middlesbrough v Brighton
Chesterfield v West Brom
Manchester City v Chelsea
Charlton or Stockport County v Walsall
Boreham Wood v Accrington
Tottenham v Portsmouth
Derby v Barnsley
Cardiff v Leeds
Brentford v West Ham Utd
Bournemouth v Burnley
Coventry v Wrexham
Norwich v Blackburn
Aston Villa v Stevenage
Luton v Wigan
Oxford v Arsenal
Fleetwood v QPR
Liverpool v Wolves
Grimsby v Burton
Blackpool v Nottingham Forest
Dagenham & Redbridge or Gillingham v Leicester
Forest Green v Birmingham
Bristol City v Swansea
Hartlepool v Stoke
Hull v Fulham
Crystal Palace v Southampton
Millwall v Sheffield Utd
Shrewsbury v Sunderland
Sheffield Wednesday v Newcastle
Manchester United v Everton
Reading v Watford
Ipswich v Rotherham

England continue their World Cup campaign when they take on the United States of America at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor on Friday night. The Three Lions got off to the perfect start with a hugely impressive 6-2 demolition of Iran on Monday afternoon. Youngsters Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham starred during the victory, while Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford also got their names on the scoresheet.

It was certainly a statement of intent from Gareth Southgate’s side, especially when you consider some of the shock results we’ve seen already in Qatar, so they should be in confident mood heading into this game. However, Southgate admitted after the game he was disappointed to have conceded twice against Iran so he’ll want to see England keep a clean sheet on Friday.

The USA on the other hand were held to a 1-1 draw by Wales in their group stage opener. A late Gareth Bale penalty shared the spoils after Timothy Weah had opened the scoring in the first half. England have won eight of the last 11 meetings between the two sides and another victory on Friday would all-but secure safe passage to the knockout stages.

Betting odds

The World Cup is expected to attract a huge amount of interest in the betting markets as it’s always one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year. Therefore, betting sites will be vying for your business with enticing offers so it’s important to look at the best online casino reviews before deciding on which bookmaker to use for placing your bets. England are currently priced as the 7/1 joint-second favourites along with Spain and France to win the World Cup. Brazil are the 3/1 favourites to go all the way in Qatar.

The Three Lions are also the 11/20 favourites to beat the USA on Friday night. You can get odds of 5/1 on the US if you think there will be another shock, or 16/5 on the draw. Harry Kane drew a blank against Iran and also picked up a knock, but the Tottenham hitman is still the 11/4 favourite to open the scoring against the USA. A 2-1 England win is priced at 13/2 and if we combine that with Kane opening the scoring, we can get odds of 30/1 with some bookmakers.

Rice starts again

West Ham star Declan Rice put in another solid performance at the heart of England’s midfield against Iran. The 23-year-old has firmly established himself as a regular under Southgate and should keep his place in midfield against the USA. Bellingham was outstanding alongside Rice in the middle of the park and the Borussia Dortmund star should also keep his place as they’re forming an excellent partnership. If Southgate wants to freshen things up, then Mason Mount could be the man to drop out with Jordan Henderson, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden all options. James Maddison is still struggling with a knock so he may miss out once again but Kane is expected to be fit to start up front after recovering from an ankle injury.
As for the USA, Chelsea attacker Christian Pulisic will be the main threat along with Timothy Weah.

Prediction

The last time these two met 12 years ago it ended in a draw and the US shouldn’t be underestimated. However, England showed against Iran they have the quality to be a real force at this World Cup and they should have too much quality for the USA on Friday night. England 2-1 USA - Ed

Having taken over from Steven Gerrard as Rangers manager a year ago, Giovanni van Bronckhorst enjoyed a remarkable run to the Europa League final which plastered over over the cracks of their domestic form. Europe got everybody excited and it didn't seem to matter too much that while they were beating Borussia Dortmund and Red Star Belgrade they were drawing with Aberdeen and Ross County. What was more important in the wider picture is they were dropping points against Celtic, Dundee United and Motherwell, results that were masked by victories over Braga, RB Leipzig and a place in the final of a European competition?

So Van Bronckhorst managed to take the Scottish club one stage further than David Moyes managed with West Ham by reaching the Europa League final which they eventually lost to Eintracht Franfurt, once Van Bronckhorst lost the comfort zone of European success he was in trouble as there was no pleasing distraction anymore and scrutiny was placed on the club's domestic form which meant he was a 'dead manager' walking.
Reports emanating from Ibrox are that there is a distinct interest in bringing Moyes to Rangers, the club cannot afford to pay out compensation to West Ham should Moyes be approached but if, and it is a bid IF Hammers have decided to part company with their manager then him moving to Ibrox could present a situation that suits all parties because West Ham wouldn't have to pay Moyes off and Rangers wouldn't have to pay ANY compensation.

This is of course heresay and there is also the elephant in the room, more of a mammoth, which is Moyes' past association with Rangers' bitter rivals Celtic. Things move quickly in football and the latest events surrounding Giovanni van Bronckhorst might bring about some seismic changes, 'phoney war Qatar break induced gossip' or a story with legs on it? We shall see, but it is not beyond comprehension. - Ed

Saïd Benrahma is an incredibly gifted but occasionally wayward footballer, he possesses skill in abundance and the ability to put opposition defenders on their back sides with the drop of a shoulder or the slightest feint of movement, yet it was only in the last few games before the Qatar whitewash Cup that he was given a starting berth in David Moyes' new 'super team', comprised of £180 Million of new signings in addition to the quality players who were already at the club.

'Benny' has bided his time and has had to rewire his footballing brain in order to force his way into David Moyes' reckoning, but now he is there or thereabouts how does he push on and deliver the quality everyone knows he has? His 'maverick' ability has been severely curtailed under the Moyes regime as he had to adjust to the hard running tackling back aspects of his game, but there needs to be a balance between the disciplined and the inspirational.

So hence the Cross Roads For Benny reference, with a doff of the cap to Meg and Sandy et al at the Crossroads Motel in Birmingham, Benrahma has the skill and the temperament to succeed, but ironically just like David Moyes needs more time! Algeria's failure to qualify for the "THIEFA" World Cup has meant that Benrahma will be available for some intense training with Moyes and his staff as they try and get the team back to winning ways.

Part of that process must be about having a plan B, because recent games have clearly shown a lack of adaptability in style of play, other teams have 'sussed' the Irons out and know exactly how to expose the counter attacking way of play that suits European ties but is domestically no longer a viable proposition. So long as most of the squad return injury free from the Farce Cup, Moyes will have a superb selection of players available, he will also have had that added 'bonus' time working with the players who weren't away on International duty.

He has the tools, but does he have the mindset? To have managed over 1,000 top flight games is a massive achievement make no mistake, you simply do not get to reach that milestone unless you have some very special qualities, to have survived and thrived for so long MUST have required a great deal of flexibility and adaptability from David Moyes, is he up for another stage?

We ask this question rhetorically because no one at the Org knows, can a Leopard change it's spots? Does David Moyes want to carry on? You bet your bottom dollar he does, having finally assembled a squad in his image Moyes would rue enormously on missing the chance to put 'his' players out for the remaining games of the season, after all it is HIS squad that was painstakingly put together by him and head of recruitment Rob Newman.

There are of course loads of media reports about points targets when things kick off again, these reports will become more frequent as the 'F' Cup progresses with the points required versus time ration altering on a regular basis intertwined with 'sack race' odds. IF the Board were going to pull the trigger it would have done so after the Leicester City game, but they have quite rightly taken the view that having backed the manager to such an extent it would be foolhardy to then sack him before he has the chance to integrate all the new signings?

There WILL be a mathematical cut off point that someone has written down somewhere after which the club would remove David Moyes from his role, but the details are probably stored in a safe! Premier League survival overrides ANY form of loyalty and the board would act if they had to. With the squad available Moyes MUST at least retain the club's top flight status and then look to seriously push on during the next.

When does patient loyalty become patently incorrect and what if the form suddenly doesn't turn around? These questions will weigh heavy on Moyes in the coming weeks, perhaps his jolly up with Erik and the others will lift his spirits? - Ed