Forum | General Discussion

Relieved Swansea only got a point today. The question being who will go down to join Sunderland and Boro? Mathematically we are still not safe though Swansea would have to win 3 games but I don't see that. Hull can win one of theirs and possibly get at least one draw. Palace might struggle to get many points. We will have to get one or 2 points to make sure we stay up. I fancy a draw against Poo and Burnley. Spurs I don't see anything although we will be up for it no doubt. Anything can happen in this league but it is in our hands. COYI.

So the intrepid explorers made our way from the west of Scotland all the way to Stoke for what we knew would be a tough encounter, in the corner next to the tunnel and the home "support". to be honest as this is not a happy hunting ground we did not expect too much and were there as true Hammers and more in hope than expectation. The end result a 0-0 draw seemed probably fair on reflection and the pleasing side was 3 fold... a valuable away point, a clean sheet and a solid defensive display coupled with confidence and good communication between Adrian and his back line. Shaqri for Stoke was a constant threat and at times we made Joe Allen look like the Welsh Messi.
Lanzini was again on good form, Calleri though lame in front goal did chase everything and did well to play others in and at times held the ball up well. Masuaku was excellent going forward but seemed slow getting back and despite a lack of game time did well as Mas' replacement in the second half bar one stray pass. Ayew did a lot of moaning but had good reason and he seemed a tad sluggush in his play. Adrian and Butland both pulled off some excellent saves. Fonte , Reid and Collins were all solid in a back 3, Fonte has come onto his game and playing in a back 3 suits him. Nordveit had an excellent game and Fernandes is looking a real find. Noble and Snodgrass did ok when they came on and Kouyate gave us a scare late on when he went down heavily and he looked lively throughout, it has to be said that it was poor sportsmanship from Stoke as Kouyate lay prostrate continued play instead of the customary putting the ball out of play. One big surprise was how few yellow cards Stoke got.
The downside of this encounter was we lacked that cutting edge, a clear and decisive finisher! A few times Lanzini maybe took a touch too many instead of shooting but in fairness either side could have scored yet neither did. It was an entertaining encounter not at all drab and I am sure we are all hoping we don't rue missed chances come the end of a disappointing campaign.

people say carroll slows our play down. fair enough he's not the fast, poacher in the box type. with this in mind and knowing that carroll does have his uses. if he can stay fit who thinks 4-4-2 is the way forward? with two up front, one being caroll the other sakho if he stays. we then need two similar players to these to stand in when one or other is out. even negredo can do a similar job to carroll. the point is we need a structure, a clear way of going about our games. a two man combo up front with strength and pace combined will always cause problems to the opposition. one up front gets isolated especially against good sides. i say drop all this 5 man midfield or 3 man defence and get about it the old fashioned way. if so, we need to go out and buy players for the system and not the other way round.