Forum | General Discussion

West Ham: Areola, Coufal, Johnson, Aguerd, Ogbonna (c), Emerson, Lanzini, Coventry, Downes, Antonio, Fornals. Subs: Randolph, Heygi, Dawson, Zouma, Soucek, Benrahma, Bowen, Scamacca, Cresswell.
Blackburn: Pears, Rankin-Costello, Carter, Mola, Edun, Buckley, Wharton, Dolan, Dack (c), Makanday, Vale. Subs: Kaminski, Hyam, Szmodics, Martin, Hirst, Brereton Diaz, Garrett, Phillips, Batty.

It is just as well that Tottingham supporting Mayor 'Sadist' Khan ensured the Overground wasn't functioning for the West Ham v Palace game otherwise there may have been some unpleasant scenes as many supporters of both clubs would have had to share the same carriages home on what would have been a journey of paradoxcical highs and lows.

Losing at the end of a game is NEVER easy, but the fact that the opposition had essentially 'played Hammers off the park' for the majority of the game meant that while the end result was not entirely expected, it should have been anticipated! The fact that Wilfred Zaha should become a member of the Olympic diving team due to his antics over the years which were fully on display this afternoon and the ref striving to replace Kevin Friend 'of no one' as the Premier League's least popular referee, there is still no excuse for what was an incredibly inept performance in front of a 'sold out' Queen Elizabeth Stadium.

Spoiler alert for those who have been spared from watching the actual game so far, Michail Antonio who had replaced Gianluca Scamacca at half time with the scores level at 1-1decided in the closing minute of the game to try an acute angle cross into Palace's box as opposed tyo going for the corner flag which would have ensured an undeserved draw for David Moyes against a Palace side that were up for it 'from the get go'.

The visitors under the guidance of Patrik Viera 'bullied and harassed' the home team throughout the entire first half bar a few periods of Irons possession, had it not been for Said Benrahma's wonderfully taken opener West Ham would have gone in a goal down already thanks to some weird refereeing and some very poor defending by Dawson and Khierer who essentially gave Palace their goal on a platter. presumably it was the first course of a rich meal that was to be provided, with Antonio delivering a mouth watering main meal worthy of satiating ANY Fat Lady at the end!

Fans may mull over a raft of different reasons as to why what should have been a winnable game was lost so easily, Moyes needs to play Antonio and Scamacca together (tried and failed already this season), Moyes needs to replace Soucek with Downes (tried and failed towards the end of the game) and possibly the most contentious, Moyes needs to start Benrahma more often (started last couple of games but was withdrawn towards the end, despite scoring both times)

There are even those who claim Moyes wearing a baseball type cap was to blame, whoever or whichever the fact remains that Hammers were second best for most of the match and despite their outrageous attempts at 'gamesmanship' on a continuous basis, especially Zaha for his diving Palace deserved to go away with all three points. There were some positives to take from the game, but hope and happiness were hardly in such short supply on the long and very annoying journey through the paddles run by morons in Stratford and the crowded Central Line that they seemed to have faded and DIED! -Ed

“I’m back and I’m ready.”

Ahead of today's crucial home tie against Local rivals Crystal Palace Hammers fans have been hoping for some good news and it seems as if they have found it in the form of Lucas Pacqueta's upbeat social media announcement of "“I’m back and I’m ready.”

Only five words but they mean an awful lot to a lot of people, none more so the Gianluca Scamacca who has sorely missed his 'playmaker from heaven'.

Scamacca looks like a fish out of water or more accurately like an energetic puppy chasing a deceptively thrown frizby, without 'Pacaman's' immaculate service, there is after all a reason why the club broke it's transfer record when it paid £51 Million for the Brazilian International! Sidelined by a collar bone and rib injury since the Southampton game, Pacman's contributions to the team have been massively missed and if all the current information proves to be correct he will be 'unleashed' against Palace this afternoon.

Even IF Pacman is available, today's visitors represent much sterner opposition than they would have done in previous seasons when they were managed by a different breed of managers, usually those who had a safe pair of hands and weren't too demanding of Steve Parish and his board. Patrik Viera is a different kettle of fish however and despite having some injury concerns will put out a 'battling' team that might well ruffle the feathers of Pacqueta and Scamacca, neither of who is known for their patience, Palace may look to exploit their collective short fuses in order to level things up a bit.

David Moyes has a decision to make regarding who plays between the sticks today, Lukasz Fabianski is available having recovered from a knock received during the Manchester Utd game, but will Moyes elect to keep in form Alphonse Areola in the starting line up instead?

Since his arrival at the club initially on loan from PSG for one year, a deal that was made permanent at the beginning of this season, Areola has done NO wrong and has calmly bided his time by producing a string of superb performances during Hammers European campaigns both this season and last, he is the chosen heir to Fabianski and the general consensus is thatNOW is the time for him to take charge of the gloves.

Apart from the goalkeeping situation it will be interesting to see how Moyes deals with the 'Soucek' situation, does he stick with the ex H.O.T.Y by handing him his 100th start or does he go brave and have Downes play alongside Decan Rice? Many fans would like to see Rice and Downes in the midfield together, you never know, today their wishes might get granted! - Ed