Forum | General Discussion

West Ham: Areola, Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell, Alvarez, Wan-Bissaka, Soucek, Ward Prowse, Scarles, Bowen (C), Kudus Subs: Fabianski, Irving, Guilherme, Emerson, Mavropanos, Soler, Rodriguez, Ferguson, Ings
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Trossard, Merino

It’s another overwhelming feeling of the ‘Lame, Pain and Blame game’ amongst the West Ham fanbase this chilly evening.

A dreadful start, yet again, saw us concede within the first 5 minutes, a calamity goal which was thought to have not crossed the line at first, but goal-line technology said otherwise.

A goal that came from us having the corner, in which Emerson took, Brentford won the ball, boot it up the pitch, we’ve got no left-back, Mavropanos and Areola circus and BOOM! 1-0 down.

We would continue in the game to find out that Brentford would have the ball in our net a further two times, but both were ruled out through offside.

Despite boos ringing around the stadium in just the 30th minute, aggravation was quickly swung towards Darren England after not calling for a freekick on a reckless ankle stinger on Carlos Soler, which saw the Spaniard fall to the ground whilst through on goal.

The ground became increasingly more hostile throughout the match as decisions got worse, another dismal yet expectable performance from PGMOL.

Potter wasn’t delighted at halftime, which was shown when we decided to make 3 substitutions at the break. Scarles came on for Emerson, who provided us with more of an attacking aspect. Ward Prowse came on for Tomas Soucek, and Evan Ferguson made his debut appearance through Carlos Soler. Ward Prowse coming on helped the midfield struggle that we’d been suffering from within the first half. His set-piece ability is something we missed, as well as his passing ability; it was a real positive seeing him back on the pitch.

Ferguson had a chance here and there, managing to get a shot on target, but overall, we struggled today as a squad.

Sometimes, you have to bring back the argument; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Today, we changed the defensive line, deciding to go with a four back, which cost us the first goal, ultimately coasting us the game.

We tried out a new tactic, and it didn’t end up working, very similar to the Crystal Palace match.

Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking, but you can only hope Potters playing around with what he’s got to try and give us the best preparation for the summer and next season.
When you’ve inherited a team that is mentally destroyed in terms of how to play football and a squad that has cracks all over, there’s only so much you can do with the options you’ve got in such a limited time.

Returning to it, the rest of the game would’ve screamed a ‘bore-draw’ as neither team had many clear-cut chances, and it was simply just midfield to midfield football rather than end to end.

Understandable timewasting from Brentford; a few halfhearted attempts from us and two handfuls of interesting calls is all we received tonight.

Not to mention the FIVE added minutes at the end. Perhaps I was sat too far from the pitch to clearly see, but I’m surprised it wasn’t FIFTEEN minutes from the amount of time Flekken took to take a goal kick, not to even mention the injury & VAR decisions!

It’s either me off to Specsavers tonight or someone else.

West Ham will be looking to get back to winning ways when they entertain Brentford at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.Graham Potter’s arrival as manager is yet to inspire a turnaround in West Ham’s fortunes. The Hammers head into the weekend action having won just one of their last seven games in all competitions and they’ve taken just four points from their last six league games. A 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace was followed by a solid 1-1 draw away to Aston Villa at the end of January. However, the Hammers slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea last time out.That dismal run has left West Ham sitting 15th in the Premier League table, and although they are 10 points clear of the relegation zone, Potter will still be desperate to pick up a much-needed win against Brentford this weekend to get their season going in the right direction. The Bees have also struggled for consistency this campaign as they can’t seem to put a run of winning results together. A 5-0 hammering of Southampton in early January was followed by an impressive 2-2 draw with Man City. They then lost at home to Liverpool 2-0 before beating Crystal Palace 2-1 at SelhurstPark. Just as Thomas Frank thought they had turned a corner, Brentford then lost 2-0 at home to Tottenham last time out, so he’ll be keen to get back to winning ways this weekend. Brentford sit 11th in the table but they’re just four points ahead of West Ham in 15th so Franck will want to secure victory on Saturday so they can start to look at climbing up the table.

How to watch

The game will not be broadcast live on TV in the UK so fans will have to wait until Saturday night to watch the highlights. Match going supporters can watch all the action live if they’re lucky enough to have a ticket for the game. Tickets from the official club websites are likely to be sold out but supporters can still try resellers. If going down this route, you should take a look online to find the right one before parting with your money. Go Sport Travel are a reputable ticket reseller and worth a look if you want to pick up a last minute ticket for the West Ham vs Brentford game.

Team news

West Ham have some injury problems to deal with as Crysencio Summerville is ruled out until the end of March with a thigh injury while Lucas Paqueta  is a doubt with a groin problem.
Edson Alvarez could also miss out after picking up a knock against Chelsea while Jean-Clair Todibo will face a late test. Niclas Fullkrug is out for the foreseeable future with a hamstring injury while Michail Antonio is unlikely to play again this season after breaking his leg in a car crash. Brentford also have their fair share of injury issues heading into the game. Joshua Dasilva is out with a knee injury, Rico Henry is still working his way back from a thigh injury while Aaron Hickey remains out with a thigh injury, too. Mark Flekken could return from a side strain but Igor Rodrigues remains out with a knee injury and Gustavo Nunesis also missing due to a back issue.

Predicted line-ups

West Ham XI: Fabianski, Coufal, Mavropanos, Kilman, Wan-Bissaka, Soucek, Alvarez, Kudus, Soler, Bowen, Ings.
Brentford XI: Valdimarsson, Ajer, Collins, van den Berg, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Janelt, Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade, Wissa.

Predicted score

The reverse fixture saw the two teams play out a 1-1 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium and we’re expecting another close encounter this weekend. West Ham have improved under Potter but he’s still struggling for consistent results. Brentford have picked up more points this season, but they too have struggled for consistency – especially away from home. The Hammers could be the slight favourites due to home advantage but the smart money would be on a draw in this game.

West Ham 1-1 Brentford