Manchester: Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles, Matic, Fred, Van de Beek, Greenwood, Martial, Rashford Subs: Grant, Shaw, Tuanzebe, B.Williams, Fernandes, James, McTominay, Amad, Cavani
West Ham: Fabiański, Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice, Souček, Bowen, Noble, Fornals, Yarmolenko Subs: Trott, Fredericks, Johnson, Diop, Balbuena, Alves, Lanzini, Benrahma, Odubeko
The consequences of standing by one's convictions are that sometimes you have to pay the price, West Ham manager David Moyes decided to buck an old Hammers tradition of buying overpriced has beens just to keep people happy in the short term. This 'positive' way forward does however come with the caveat that in the short term, David Moyes has only one recognised striker who's services he can call upon, and of course that striker isn't actually a bona fide one, Michail Antonio is essentially a winger who David Moyes helped turn in to a front man feared by opposition defenders.
The Fix, at least until the end of the season was to bring in Jesse Lingard, which seems to have proved to be an inspired decision, unfortunately Lingard cannot play in tonight's crucial cup tie up at Old Trafford, nor in the game against Manchester United in a couple of weeks time either.
Despite putting a shift in, Antonio has only looked a shadow of his former 'blustering' self, as he gingerly tries to re-introduce his temperamental hamstrings back into the rigours of the Barclays Premier League. Moyes has a tough decision to make regarding Antonio, does he wrap him up in cotton wool in the hope that the affable striker can 'limp' through to the end of the season, or does he just risk him?
This evening's 5th FA Cup tie against Manchester is a dual edged sword, win the FA Cup and your team is in Europe, end of, no number crunching or fair play requirements, only winning the trophy, where as to qualify for europe via the Barclays Premier League is Marathon that could prove to be just a bit too much to ask for in what is a 'consolidation' season for David Moyes and West Ham.
Even if the Irons were to be successful in tonight's fixture, the club would still need to face some serious fellow contenders for the trophy, so does Moyes take a risk and go for it tonight? Or does he put a decent team out and just hope for the best?
Michail Antonio's hamstrings don't know if they are being used for a cup or league match, so it is in the lap of the gods as to how long 'Big Mich' will play for, or if he even plays at all. One element to consider is that if the Irons start with Yarmolenko they may as well throw in the towel, a starter he is NOT-more to come.! - Ed.
It looks like this will be his last few months with the club ,imo it will be a big mistake to let him go ,he is brilliant on the right and he only needs a chance to cut in and get it onto his left peg ,he's scored some lovely goals with this technique and i dont think he's been given a chance ,only being subbed on and asked to play in the centre instead of Ants ,moyes saving the dildos money of course
Not unsurprisingly, Tomas Soucek's red card, dished out to him by Mike 'Pearl &' Dean in the game against Fulham, has been successfully overturned following an appeal by West Ham United. Dean, in conjunction with his cohort on VAR, Lee Mason, succeeded in issuing a blatantly incorrect red card for the second time in just ONE week!
The FA, having already had to rescind the red card incorrectly awarded against Southampton's Jan Bednarek earlier in the week, have found themselves having to work over time to clear the name of another 'innocent offender' as a direct result of Dean and Mason's inefficient execution of their duties.
To err once is totally forgivable, but to err TWICE within the same week must surely be a situation that needs investigation, the results of which need to be learned from. Unfortunately a small minority of fans from both Southampton and West Ham have taken to the 'keyboard warrior' option of offering threats to the officials and their families, which is an utterly abhorrent act.
These mindless individuals are detracting from the gravitas of what was a purely sporting issue, and as such their actions will deflect the over riding issues, namely that VAR is NOT being used as was originally intended, and that certain officials seem unable to cope with the technology in use. We understand Dean will take charge of Leicester's FA Cup fifth-round tie against Brighton on Wednesday but will not be involved in any of the weekend Barclays Premier League fixtures in any capacity at his own request. -Ed
yup another transfer post but just on who i think we need to move on and who i would like to see come in its only a personal view of course but we do need IMO we need 2 strikers a midfielder and a G/K but to get those we need to lower the wage bill and get good money if not decent for the following players.......Lanzini/Yarma/Anderson/Reid/Randolph.
If we can move those on then i would like to see Toney/Armstrong as the strikers coming in Loftus Cheek in the middle of the park G/k thats a difficult one for me and no one keeper stands out so maybe agent Soucek can help us on that front.
Thats who i would like to see come in but others may have better ideas and thoughts on players you have noticed and can do a job but my one wish is that Moyes forgets getting in another foreign striker because we have had our backsides spanked more than once in that area.
Talk about taking the Pi*s......Soucek with his all out UFC attack on sackofspudsmitrovic must be hoping his ban gets overturned so he can show Mr Mason "the peoples elbow" up close and personal like! and show him the difference between what he saw on Var and what everyman and his dog saw......when was this choice made and by whom? what a joke
Vlad the 'Impaler' Coufal waits to have a word with Mike 'Pearl &' Dean
It will come as no surprise that West Ham have confirmed their appeal against Tomas Soucek's red card, the 'sanction' was inexplicably issued to him by referee Mike 'Pearl &' Dean in injury time of the drab draw against Barclays Premier League strugglers Fulham FC.
Looking at the game from afar it would have been difficult to tell which team was 5th in the table, and which team was 18th! Essentially Fulham played the pants of the Irons and were unlucky not to emerge as 3-1 winners, but when you are down near the bottom of the league things don't tend to go well.
The Fulham game was the sort of match that West Ham would have lost last season, Fulham are fighting for their top flight survival and as such would have been expected to put a shift in, that is perhaps why David Moyes got 'all defensive' early on in the 2nd half. Seeing that his players looked exactly like a team that had played a ridiculous amount of games in a short space of time, Moyes elected to bring on the most unlikely trio of players to 'see the game out' in order to attain a clean sheet and ONE point.
When Yarmolenko, Noble and Fredericks were brought on the die was cast for an 'ugly' remainder of the match, but if Vlad the impaler's header had gone in and not hit the bar, then the Irons would have emerged with a very undeserved three points.
Big Mich Anrtonio looked absolutely cream crackered and is a player who looks like he really needs a bit of time off to fully recuperate from his almost constant hamstring issues, Declan Rice looked exhausted as did the most of the team, and Lingard was as anonymous against Fulham as he was conspicuous against Villa.
The team will have a six day 'break' between the 5th round FA Cup tie at Old Trafford on Tuesday, and the Barclays Premier League game against Sheffield United on the following Monday evening. Those six days will feel like a fortnight for those players who have literally run themselves in to the ground, and it not just West Ham who are affected. With few exceptions, ALL the teams in the top flight are feeling the pressure, which is reflected in some of the 'polarised' results attained by teams recently.
Jesse Lingard will have the luxury of an added rest, as he is unable to play against his 'bad parenthood' club in the FA Cup, his freshness will be needed against a Sheffield United team that is coming in to some real form of late, games against teams in the relegation zone are always tetchy affairs that can go either way, so anyone looking at the Irons' forthcoming fixtures with the assumption of the club attaining three points from clubs in the dreaded drop zone should be mindful that these impending fixtures are definitely NOT three point bankers, far from it!
Hammers fans have been getting a little bit ahead of themselves with their level of expectancy recently, is should be remembered that Hammers have probably the frailest of squads among those in the top six positions and have been punching above their weight from the get go, with the exception of the dreadful opening game of the season against Newcastle.
Don't expect too much, and you might find yourself pleasantly rewarded. - Ed
With the current amount of games and the team looking a bit jaded against Fulham would it be worth trying to pick up a free striker just to cover for Antonio as he looks just about stuffed. We can all se that he is a bit worried about his hammy and Yarmo is definitely not the answer so why not pick one up for insurance. Surely it would be worth a go as there are a few that are out of contract. Looking through the list I see that Sakhalin is available, knows the club but getting on a bit. We where linked with Costa but his wages would be to much but there are others that might be worth a shot. If we could pick up a 23to 28 year old they would probably still have enough ambition to work hard and earn a contract somewhere using us to show they still have it and they might be able to be picked up cheap. Interested to know everyones thoughts.
Following the 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage, all of the media attention has been focused on Tomas Soucek's ludicrous red card, awarded in stoppage time, by 'Mike Pearl & Dean' in keeping with his profligate ability to dish out red cards. As a result of his 'Specsaver Moment' of the highest order, Hammers lamentable performance against Barclays Premier League strugglers Fulham went generally unnoticed.
West Ham were as bad against Fulham as they were good against Everton earlier in the week, David Moyes's team looked 'leggy' to a man including the ever present Declan Rice, it was as if the frenetic schedule of games coming one after another had finally begun to take it's toll on the team, in a similar way as to what has happened to all the other 'top six teams' contesting the coveted European Cup competition places.
The performance against Fulham was bad enough, but David Moyes's choice of substitutes had conspiracy theorists thinking that he may have had a 'side bet' with a far eastern betting syndicate as to the most unlikely subs to bring on, Yarmolenko, Noble and Fredericks, come on what was in Moyes's mind at the time, playing for a point against Fulham?
The hectic schedule West Ham have had to endure is no different to all the other top six clubs, but injuries and potentially damaging suspensions might just derail any hopes of Europe. - Ed
Mike Dean likes to make his presence felt during Barclays Premier League matches that he officiates, and today's 'clash' between Fulham and West Ham was no exception. In the last minute of extra time he was persuaded to check the VAR monitor to see if Tomas Soucek's alleged 'assault against Alexander Mitrovic could be substantiated, and astonishingly he thought there was a case for a straight red card for an elbow in to the Fulham striker's face.
The club will of course appeal the red card, but run the risk of a further one match ban in addition to the three for a 'spurious' defence, but it is a risk that David Moyes will almost certainly take, when the heightened images are re-examined it will be clear to an unbiased observer that the 'clash' was purely accidental.
It should be remembered that Mitrovic had only just come on as a substitute, so there were no previous 'incidents' between the two players ahead of the 'incident'. now once Soucek had been given his marching orders Mitrovic DID go to the referee and say the contact was accidental, but that was AFTER the red card had been issued, it may just be our opinion at the Org, but if Mirtovic hadn't gone down like he had been hit by a sniper, then the red would never have been given.
Christ sakes, Mitrovic is a big burly Serbian, but he reacted like he had been 'slam dunked' initially, no doubt to prevent the free kick from benefiting West Ham, so in some ways he isn't to blame, it is probably more to do with the 'culture' of modern football, where results are more important than the way that they are achieved. Incidentally, Tomas Soucek is the 2nd most fouled midfielder in the Barclays Premier League, the 1st being none other than 'fan's favourite' Jack Grealish!
We cannot see Moyes not sanctioning an appeal, but then again, this IS the modern game. - Ed
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