Forum | Non-Football Related
Revitalised Squad Exhibited At Emirates
No Paqueta, No problem!
Over the past few games with Graham Potter, we've been testing the waters with new tactics and have also been suffering with many injuries, which has caused us immense trouble.
After Brentford's horror show last week, today, Potter got it spot on.
We set up going back to a five-back this week, which was definitely the right call after the attempted four-back last week, which went horribly wrong.
Jean-Clair Todibo, fortunately, didn't step into the same shoes as Mavropanos before the match but did step into the starting squad, giving him his first start since his injury against Manchester City.
Ollie Scarles also lined up for his starting debut, playing an absolutely brilliant game on that left-hand side. It can well and truly be said that he will be saving us a lot of money in the summer, if this game wasn't enough to prove that he's able to start, then no game will!
It was an expected game, We know from previous games, such as the Aston Villa match in the Premier League, that we are most suited for a backline of five and play counter-attacking football utilising the defence.
Today, West Ham didn't just beat Arsenal; Potter utilised the squad we have to the fullest potential and put together a team that he knew could get a result. Our midfield of JWP, Soucek and Alvarez was perfect for the Emirates; they all were played to their strengths, four passes from each player entered the final third, and along with the attacking fallbacks, we were able to make the most of it.
In the 44th minute, we struck what would be the only goal of the game as Aaron Wan-Bissaka found space down the right-hand side and, from the halfway line ran to eventually beat his man, Caliafiori, whipping in a delightful cross to Jarrod Bowen who placed the ball into the back of the net with a diving header, not only making the score 1-0 to West Ham but in doing so, also knocked in his 50th Premier League goal for the club!
We couldn't tell if today we played AWB or if we played Wan-BisSAKA because I remember that a certain set of fans said he couldn't attack...oh how wrong they've been!
The remainder of the game would be a bit of back and forth with a few chances from Arsenal, but we got a lot more comfortable in our seats after Lewis-Skelly saw red for Arsenal just 17 minutes after coming on! What was initially given as a second yellow for him was quickly overturned for a straight red as he brought down Kudus after being dispossessed, leaving VAR no option apart from to send him off for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity.
Arsenal should've scored towards the closing stages of the game, but the curse of not having a striker seems to also be rubbing on them.
The win today retains us our 16th place in the table but now leaves us just 3 points from 12th, which could be achieved against Leicester City on the Thursday night next week.
A brilliant performance from Potters lads, three points and the ability to enjoy Match of the Day... who's presenting nowadays?
Arsenal vs West Ham Line-Ups
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
Enough Is Enough!
To all West Ham fans, it was recently announced that Hammers fans could be expecting a 2-5% increase in season ticket prices for next season.
We are the 17th richest club in the WORLD, and we are the 7th richest in the Premier League, according to the Deloitte 2025 report.
It is completely and utterly sickening that all West Ham sites and fans must be writing articles, making social media posts and signing petitions for West Ham to not increase the prices.
The owners above are simply forcing the fans out of football, as many others are. I’m fortunate enough to have had two season tickets since 2016, but the prices are getting comical!
Many true, real Hammers fans aren’t able to afford changes to these original prices, our fans are now considering to get rid of their season ticket due to either the raising prices, or simply due to the lack of much needed improvement to the stadium which isn’t being made therefore ruining the Matchday experience.
We, as fans, have asked for the simplest improvements or adaptations to make the stadium and overall experience better.
Small, minor adaptations such as a family stand, but the list goes on and on there’s a lot that needs to be done.
For the past years, the owners haven’t been adapting the club for the fans, they’ve been adapting it for the financials and the supposed ‘sustainability’ and future of this club.
Throughout the last two seasons, things have only gotten worse.
We have seen a surge in cases of away fans in the home end, which leads to an overall dimmer atmosphere as well as numerous pathetic fights, which normally the stewards don’t partake in.
A 2-5% increase, or any increase for that matter, should be frowned upon.
Raising awareness for the situation is all that can be done. Hopefully, the board makes the correct decision and decides to re-evaluate their decision for next season’s ticket renewals.
Remember! One of the reasons we moved into this stadium was due to its ability to provide 'affordable football' to the fans...
George Earthy
Forums:
Why in God's name was he let out on loam ?, imo he was one of our brightest prospects ,loads of potential ,and not lacking one bit in confidence ,call him back Potts ,now
History repeats itself
Forums:
So a little something for you to digest on your commute or lunchbreak....they say nothings new and well as they say the proofs in the pudding.
West Ham Suffer Stinging Defeat
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 vs Brentford Line-Ups
West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson, Soucek, Alvarez, Bowen (C), Kudus, Soler, Paqueta Subs: Fabianski, Cresswell, Ward-Prowse, Guilherme, Rodriguez, Todibo, Ferguson, Irving, Scarles
Brentford: Flekken, Ajer, Collins, Van Den Berg, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard, Schade, Wissa, Mbuemo
West Ham vs Brentford preview: Team news, how to watch and predicted score
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
Blissful Gesture Becomes Fan Favourite
Back in the 2023 season, Tim Steidten had started to take the reins in full force and ultimately decided that the next step for the club was to have a ‘feeder team’.
It was initially intended to be a deal that would result in the clubs having mutual benefits with each other, with an initial cash boost for the Austrian side, SK Austria Klagenfurt, and the intention that West Ham would send youth talents there to gain experience.
The cash boost for the Austrian side would total £1,470,000, which was provided to them through the player sale of Andy Irving to us.
Since Tim’s departure, it has been allegedly said that the Steidten deal with the Austrian side wasn’t totally legitimate and that perhaps something behind the scenes had occurred.
Nevertheless, before his move to West Ham, Andy Irving had spent his youth days at Hearts FC, which eventually led to attraction from Germany, where a move to Turkgucu Munchen on a free was sparked, but exactly a year later, he would go on to sign for Klagenfurt.
West Ham sparked a deal for the Scotsman on August 31st 2023; the club loaned him back to where he was bought from for the season, a very similar deal to our bizarre summer signing of Mohamadou Kante.
It is starting to seem like he was only signed so we could have the headline “West Ham United are pleased to announce the signing of Kante!”
At the beginning of the season, it became apparent that Andy Irving was starting to be involved within the squad for pre-season, which is worth noting as, surprisingly, Flynn Downes ended up having a shock move away from the club after a fee was agreed with Southampton, and supposedly Irvings performances had effects on the clubs decision to let Downes leave.
Irving would make his West Ham debut in a 3-0 loss against Chelsea at the London Stadium. He was substituted on in the 73rd minute, and despite the result, he turned heads with his stats as he’d achieved the best on the pitch within such a short period of time.
He would conveniently make his starting debut against Chelsea away at the Bridge. It did result in a 2-1 loss, but apart from the ludicrous decisions made that night, he was the hero.
Perhaps not the hero on the pitch, but he was the hero amongst the fans. His name was sung constantly throughout the 90, At points, the fans were signing “you’re only here to see the Irving”, as well as well… some other chants such as comparisons to Cole Palmer, to put it lightly.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, it was said that he is often one of the last players to leave after training. He’s also hired an athletic trainer to be successful in adapting to the Premier League at a quicker pace.
It is also said that his mindset he presents has made him a popular figure within the squad.
He might’ve joined us without an official announcement and through some alleged suspicious dealings, but he’s certainly becoming a fan favourite at a quick rate.
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