West Ham v Aston Villa Match Thread

[eastie]

Time for paul lambert to work his magic-west ham are nothing special but we need to be more creative , maybe bannan for holman , nice passing game but the final ball is missing , lets hope for more penetration 2nd half.

[Mortimer's Bear]

Nzogbia looked shocking, needs a vast improvement second half.

[mattjpa]

allardyce really does live up to his reputation. turgid anti football. but its got to be said, the scorelineproves its effective

[MonsXI]

Vlaar is finding it tough against the donkyiest striker in the PL.

Are you mad? The ref is given Cole decision after decision!

As for the goal if Vaz Te isn't interfering with play then I don't understand the offside law.

The ref thought it came off Clark last, so he can't have been offside.

The ball was aimed towards Vaz Te he was in an offside position doesnt matter who it hits.

I've just seen it again.

The ball was aimed at Vaz Te, but he wasn't in an offisde position. When the flick forward came, he was, but it was Clark who flicked it, so it wasn't offside.

If that's the case fair enough!

[The Situation]

Oh and Mike Dean is a fucking ******.

[pauliewalnuts]

allardyce really does live up to his reputation. turgid anti football. but its got to be said, the scorelineproves its effective

Yeah, it works up to a point, but imagine watching that week in, week out.

[supertom]

We're keeping the ball much better. It's gonna take a while to get into the swing of things playing this way. It reminds me a little of Houllier at the minute. We keep the ball pretty well without any sort of penetration in the final third.
We've a problem with Holman and N'Zogbia right now. Holman probably isn't fit, and N'Zogbia just doesn't look confident at all. We could do with some pace out wide so we do really miss Gabby at the moment. He could be giving us an option in the channels.
I'd be more inclined to play a 4-3-3 than 4-2-3-1. I'd sacrifice one of Holman or N'Zog, and bring on Bannan to play CM. Then go three up top with Ireland floating from either wing. Bent needs support.

For me, right now we definitely look like we're missing a big man option up front, a decent wide player, a barnstorming CM player- the sort who'll burst from box to box and drive the team forward. And a decent left back obviously.
Still, in terms of keeping the ball, signs are promising. We just need 2-3 signings in the right places to help us be more penetrative. Also the options to give us a more direct option if plan A isn't working.

I do quite like the balance of Delph and El Ahmadi. An extra man in there with them would help at the minute.

[ktvillan]

The linesman flagged for offside on the goal  then put his flag down and said it was a goal.  How does that work then? If he's not offside, why put your flag up you idiot?  For what it's worth it was marginal and I think Vlaar possibly played him on.   

[bertlambshank]

Vlaar is finding it tough against the donkyiest striker in the PL.

Are you mad? The ref is given Cole decision after decision!

As for the goal if Vaz Te isn't interfering with play then I don't understand the offside law.

The ref thought it came off Clark last, so he can't have been offside.

The ball was aimed towards Vaz Te he was in an offside position doesnt matter who it hits.

I've just seen it again.

The ball was aimed at Vaz Te, but he wasn't in an offisde position. When the flick forward came, he was, but it was Clark who flicked it, so it wasn't offside.

Correct not offside.

[pauliewalnuts]

The linesman flagged for offside on the goal  then put his flag down and said it was a goal.  How does that work then? If he's not offside, why put your flag up you idiot?  For what it's worth it was marginal and I think Vlaar possibly played him on.   

I'd imagine the referee overruled him.

[citizenDJ]

It's weird with N'Zogbia. Today he looks like he's actually trying, and is working quite hard chasing back and that, but what still surprises me is that when he gets the ball played to him, he doesn't seem to have any real skill! He is usually tackled quite easily, or he hits a poor pass. I was really quite excited when we signed him, too. Still, early days yet.

[Mortimer's Bear]

Whether the goal was offside or not, for me the fact that we haven't had a single attempt on goal was more concerning. The goal stood so lets move on.

[Risso]

If the linesman flags for offside, is it not possible that the keeper and defenders stop reacting?

[Jimbo]

What we need to do is look at West Ham in their stolen claret and blue and imagine they're us. Then we'll know they'll squander the lead obligatorily and we'll calm down a bit. Then we'll score. It's all in the mind, you know.

[mattjpa]

allardyce really does live up to his reputation. turgid anti football. but its got to be said, the scorelineproves its effective

Yeah, it works up to a point, but imagine watching that week in, week out.

Indeed. Four or five bad results and they will be blowing bubbles to get rid of him and he will end up down the job centre moaning about how hard done by he is