West Ham 2 - 1 Aston Villa Post Match

[john e]

First time for me at their ground I was also sitting in the home end

In fairness I knew before I went I wouldn’t like the new stadium
But it is fucking horrendous
It’s now taken top place in my league of worst grounds I’ve ever been to

A total mishmash Of bits and parts and absolutely soulless, honestly I nearly felt sorry for the West Ham fans, nearly

The game wasn’t much better either

[sendô WHU]

How good were Rice and Soucek really? Rice did brilliantly for the second goal but that aside I thought both teams were poor. How many times did WHU pass the ball out of play under little pressure? What I thought Rice did really well throughout was sit in front of both centre backs. So whenever we went direct to Watkins, which was far too much, Watkins risible first touch meant Rice picked up some amount of handy ball. I thought Cresswell was very good until injury. Yarmolenko made a huge impact, that aside it was dreadful fare. That guy Johnson at left back was pub league standard.

Well they controlled the tempo and the Villa midfielders didn't stop them. Both are excellent at running around a lot and closing down play, covering the angles for passes and winning battles. To be honest quite often when we have games where these two dominate you can look at it and think "yeah, but they didn't do much, the other team made it easy" but the reality is when they're not doing these things or one of them is missing, we really notice the difference. That seems to be one of the things Villa have lacked in midfield for a while, that energy and aggression that can win you the key battles in attritional games when other players perhaps aren't at their best.

Soucek has been off the boil for a while now with his game, but of late he's looked a lot better and closer to the player that was banging the goals in last season. Rice is excellent at what he does but for me he needs to find a way to score and assist more goals. Otherwise he's liable to be forever labelled as a "defensive midfielder".

Re Ben Johnson, he's still a young RB and has been in and out of the team with some good games and some not so good. Against Seville midweek he was excellent. Probably his best game for us so far in his career. Today he was poor and nothing seemed to come off for him. Such is football I guess.

[Ads]

Good to see you outside Ads. Completely agree about the stadium and match day experience.

You too, hopefully a smooth journey back for you.

[adrenachrome]

Douglas, Watkins and Chambers all got clattered in the face and Cash copped one full on from a cross.

The foul count was 7-3.

The ref seemed to me to be pretty lenient, something they adjusted to but we didn't - that's where game awareness comes in  and is something we need to improve.

As an example: a subtle/simple block on Rice 60yds out by McGinn (instead of a totally ineffective tackle attempt) would have stopped the move for their 2nd in its tracks. We might still have lost, but a draw would have been that much easier.

[Ads]

How good were Rice and Soucek really? Rice did brilliantly for the second goal but that aside I thought both teams were poor. How many times did WHU pass the ball out of play under little pressure? What I thought Rice did really well throughout was sit in front of both centre backs. So whenever we went direct to Watkins, which was far too much, Watkins risible first touch meant Rice picked up some amount of handy ball. I thought Cresswell was very good until injury. Yarmolenko made a huge impact, that aside it was dreadful fare. That guy Johnson at left back was pub league standard.

Well they controlled the tempo and the Villa midfielders didn't stop them. Both are excellent at running around a lot and closing down play, covering the angles for passes and winning battles. To be honest quite often when we have games where these two dominate you can look at it and think "yeah, but they didn't do much, the other team made it easy" but the reality is when they're not doing these things or one of them is missing, we really notice the difference. That seems to be one of the things Villa have lacked in midfield for a while, that energy and aggression that can win you the key battles in attritional games when other players perhaps aren't at their best.

Soucek has been off the boil for a while now with his game, but of late he's looked a lot better and closer to the player that was banging the goals in last season. Rice is excellent at what he does but for me he needs to find a way to score and assist more goals. Otherwise he's liable to be forever labelled as a "defensive midfielder".

Re Ben Johnson, he's still a young RB and has been in and out of the team with some good games and some not so good. Against Seville midweek he was excellent. Probably his best game for us so far in his career. Today he was poor and nothing seemed to come off for him. Such is football I guess.

The best you've been in 40 years, it's approaching the weekend, you're excited. Champions League an outside possibility, European football should be secured at some level. You're at home. Then you realise you have to walk through a wanky shopping centre, queue like a twat for an age with a load of tourists before you can get close to the external perimeter, go into some bland tarmac floored concourse, walk a couple hundred yards into shallow temporary (white?!) seating and still be miles from the pitch and sit or stand in an atmosphere reminiscent of the moon. Watch the spectacle, totally divorced from it, no matter how much you shout or sing. Then trudge back, hereded here and there by some Squid Games Go/Stop game wankers.

You should be lynching the dildo squad for the cultural destruction of your club. West Ham fans must dream of away games. I've been to some shit holes over here. The mens at Ninian being an empty room with a gulley to have a leak in. Piss quite literally flooding out the old Railway End at the Sty. I drove past Kenilworth Road today and that is proper shite. Still ranks higher than that excuse of a football today, as do all the others. Honest to Christ, its the worst ground I've ever been in.

[Risso]

A Villa fan has posted a video on Twitter of him being racially abused by a home fan during the game. How can anyone believe that is an acceptable way to behave?

It's not, remotely. A Villa fan a few rows in front of me in the lower section, close to the stewards' divide, was racially abusing an away fan. This included "you're not even from fucking London", "C'mon then you Stavros c***" and "piss off back to Albania" (or very similar). Right in front of the West Ham stewards as well, who did nothing. Bloke had fair hair and a beard, looked about 30 odd. I would have reported it but it was witnessed by about three West Ham stewards anyway as I say.

[sendô WHU]

To be fair, GSB are loathed by the vast majority of West Ham fans for most of the things you've listed above. It's the reason Brady is so hated. It's part of why we had near riots a few years ago when Burnley of all teams were tonking us 3-0 at home and fans were running onto the pitch sticking the corner flag in the centre circle. 

One of the things I loved the most about going to watch West Ham at the Boleyn in was the build up. Coming out of Upton Park station, the whole street being packed. Jostling along amongst other fans, spirits up. Buses not being able to move. The smells from the burger vans. Programme sellers calling out. People flogging scarves and other merch from their front gardens. That steady build up of excitement as you got closer to the ground. A quick dive into the Queens for a pint of watery fizzy piss in a plastic glass. A slash in the toilet from Trainspotting before heading back out into the street. The gamble of chucking down a burger.

That excitement is the thing that irks me the most about what we've lost. Honestly all the shit about inside the ground is all noise. Every visiting fan does the "soulless bowl" cliche. "Not a football ground". Did people moan like that at old Wembley, that actually did have a running track? The atmosphere inside is no better or worse than at the Boleyn - it all depends on the fans and how up for it they are - when they are it's rocking, but when they're not it's silent. The Boleyn was the same towards the end. The facilities are lightyears ahead of that place. Food, drinks, toilets. I don't miss the BG in that respect. Not even a little bit.

But that trudge from Stratford station the long way around along that bit of dual carriageway, through the middle of all the high rise apartment blocks with no people about like it's some sort of Orwellian post-dystopian hellscape rather than a trendy up and coming part of London, along the never ending walkway. That's the bit I hate. Then on the way out after. Especially in the pissing rain, in the dark and the cold after a loss, waiting at those stop and go signs wishing someone would just grab them and lob them over the herras fencing.

[Risso]

It's not really a cliché if it's true Sendo. I'm afraid to say your ground is truly, truly shit. It's not designed for football at all. You can't really compare it to the old Wembley because you'd be lucky if you went there once every few seasons. It's far and away the worst ground in the Premier League, and I wouldn't go again next season if you paid me.

[Pat McMahon]

I think Sendo’s post above was a fair summary of the game. It was a very poor match with little quality but West Ham slowly strangled us in midfield and we found it increasingly hard to keep possession and create any threat. The Rice - Soucek partnership is the level we need to aspire too as it is at the core of their success.

I’ve been to the stadium before for athletics and thought it was fine but for football it is mind numbingly soulless, with too many gaps in the seating which breaks the atmosphere. It is a larger and poorer version of modern grounds like Reading, Pride Park, St Mary’s etc. We were on the far left of the lower tier and there was a drop and then a wall to the left which is like a mini Berlin Wall, meaning you can’t see the fans behind. With the other gaps in seating, flat steps and massive tv screen etc it is just awful.

[SoccerHQ]

Not sure if Sendo has answered this but seems at least the fans seem closer to the pitch since you moved although could be just a change in camera angle?

Yeah it's basically like us going and playing near the NEC. Could build a 60k stadium there with all the transport connections in the world but it just wouldn't feel right.

If West Ham are in bottom half of table in future then the protests will start up again. Think there was a story thar GSB were planning to sell up soon especially as the Czech guy took out a decent stake a few months ago.

[astonvilla82]

To be fair, GSB are loathed by the vast majority of West Ham fans for most of the things you've listed above. It's the reason Brady is so hated. It's part of why we had near riots a few years ago when Burnley of all teams were tonking us 3-0 at home and fans were running onto the pitch sticking the corner flag in the centre circle. 

One of the things I loved the most about going to watch West Ham at the Boleyn in was the build up. Coming out of Upton Park station, the whole street being packed. Jostling along amongst other fans, spirits up. Buses not being able to move. The smells from the burger vans. Programme sellers calling out. People flogging scarves and other merch from their front gardens. That steady build up of excitement as you got closer to the ground. A quick dive into the Queens for a pint of watery fizzy piss in a plastic glass. A slash in the toilet from Trainspotting before heading back out into the street. The gamble of chucking down a burger.

That excitement is the thing that irks me the most about what we've lost. Honestly all the shit about inside the ground is all noise. Every visiting fan does the "soulless bowl" cliche. "Not a football ground". Did people moan like that at old Wembley, that actually did have a running track? The atmosphere inside is no better or worse than at the Boleyn - it all depends on the fans and how up for it they are - when they are it's rocking, but when they're not it's silent. The Boleyn was the same towards the end. The facilities are lightyears ahead of that place. Food, drinks, toilets. I don't miss the BG in that respect. Not even a little bit.

But that trudge from Stratford station the long way around along that bit of dual carriageway, through the middle of all the high rise apartment blocks with no people about like it's some sort of Orwellian post-dystopian hellscape rather than a trendy up and coming part of London, along the never ending walkway. That's the bit I hate. Then on the way out after. Especially in the pissing rain, in the dark and the cold after a loss, waiting at those stop and go signs wishing someone would just grab them and lob them over the herras fencing.

Karen Brady,my nightmares coming back

[astonvilla82]

Can see what fans are on about with the second goal and John Mcginn

[sendô WHU]

Not sure if Sendo has answered this but seems at least the fans seem closer to the pitch since you moved although could be just a change in camera angle?

Yeah it's basically like us going and playing near the NEC. Could build a 60k stadium there with all the transport connections in the world but it just wouldn't feel right.

If West Ham are in bottom half of table in future then the protests will start up again. Think there was a story thar GSB were planning to sell up soon especially as the Czech guy took out a decent stake a few months ago.

Yeah the bits behind the goal have been re-positioned so that they're closer to the pitch.

GSB have to remain owners until ten years after the original deal, or else they have to pay up a fair percentage of the sale price to LLDC who sold the ground, which obviously they wont do. Rumour is that Kretinsky has invested into the club on the agreement that he gets to buy Sullivan out next year once that clause expires.

[Villa Lew]

The commentator on MOTD was saying the Villa fans were applauding Yarmolenko's goal, that's class from the fans.

[sendô WHU]

It's not really a cliché if it's true Sendo. I'm afraid to say your ground is truly, truly shit. It's not designed for football at all. You can't really compare it to the old Wembley because you'd be lucky if you went there once every few seasons. It's far and away the worst ground in the Premier League, and I wouldn't go again next season if you paid me.

Just saying it how I see it mate. Compare it to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome then. I've never seen anyone say Roma or Lazio don't play in a football ground.

Honestly, given the choice there's plenty I'd change, but inside the ground isn't really that big an issue for me, and when the fans are up for it and we're beating Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd etc there the noise is deafening.