It feels strange not to be sitting on a coach on an away match day and I can see us winning as well. 3-1 with Tonev scoring one of them.
Just realised we didn't score in October!
Afternoon all.This is an interesting one. A team with no fit, recognised striker - although we do have Petric and Maiga - against a team that performs best on the road when counter-attacking with pace. Will this be a world first at a professional football match with both teams trying to make the other team take the ball so that they can nick it back and break? There's an outside chance, it has to be said.Realistically the 4-6-0 thing has been and gone. It was a stroke of genius by Allardyce at Shite Hart Lane against the Lillyshite filth, albeit one enforced on him, but coming out before the Citeh game and telling the world he'll keep it up his sleeve and wont play it every week, and then proceeding to play it every week, was about as predictable as his defending a shit performance with the "we had chances to win it" excuse because we won a couple of corners and one of them almost hit Winston Reid's head (if he was 9ft tall). So having said all that, don't be surprised if Allardyce perseveres with it for this match.Nonetheless I have an inkling that Carlton Cole will start. Allardyce has stated that the midweek league cup game vs Burnley was the equivalent for him of a third pre-season game, which in Allardyce talk is an ingenius double bluff that surely no-one could ever possible construe as Can't Control starting up top in a 4-5-1. Be afraid Villa fans. Be very afraid.Anyway, 4-5-1 is the correct way to go for me. You can't play counter attacking with no striker at home against a team that plays counter attacking. I suspect if we are 4-5-1 it will beJusskalineninenienDemel...Tomkins...Reid...Rat........Noble....Morrison........Downing....Nolan....Diame.................CCole................It might be Joe Cole instead of Diame. Personally I'd go for Diame and bring Joe Cole on second half.As to the result, I'm not sure. I don't think there'll be a lot in it. Truth be told, neither side are great at the moment. West Ham will keep it tight at the back and in midfield and will probably concentrate on set pieces against a Villa side that will probably sit back a bit more.I'm going to 'The Mighty Reds YNWA' for a 1-0 win. I'm not really sure who to, so I'll stick my neck out and say the home side. In any case, we need a win in this one. You have to beat the teams around you, as Allardyce likes to say, so West Ham need to be beating Villa at home.