El Scorchio 1:25 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Well beaten and outplayed, but I expect most of us expected that to be the case against one of the very best sides in the world, especially now they have a top striker who I expect will get close to 30 goals this season. This isn't a yardstick for how our season will go so I'm not reading much into it, especially with a slightly makeshift defence. They will absolutely batter some sides, and there are other sides that look in far more trouble than us off the back of this weekend's showing.

On that defence note, only West Ham could START a season with only one available central defender. Unbeliveable. Let's hope Aguerd and/or Dawson are back soon. Big ask for Johnson and he didn't do THAT badly considering the opposition.

Plus point, Scamacca looked very assured with what he was given to work with, so I'm excited to see him in a game where our attacking players can actually get the ball and try to create something.

GBHammer63 1:18 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Ok with the result, City will beat most teams. Not ok with the effort, hardly a challenge, can remember Rice with one after he lost possession and Coufal on Grealish. Seemed like whatever the system we were playing, personal pride was left in the changing room.

CARTERS 1:11 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Sir Alf,
Agreed, but add Benrahma to that list.
The No 10 should be the inspiration of the side.
If Moyes really thinks that one of those 4 will provide the spark for that insipid lot yesterday well I don't know what I've watched for the last 60 years.
We need a Gascoigne type player with some vision.
Lanzini, Benrahma, Fornals could leave tomorrow and not be missed.
yes, Fornals runs but his end product??
lLanzini a shadow of his former self and Benrahma should go back to the Championship where he belongs.
Give Perkins / Coventry a go they could not have done worse than yesterday's pathetic showing.
Yes, City are a massive side but we just lay down and where was Rice's Captaincy.??
Not once did I see him rallying his troops.
As you say, mid table but that's better than a relegation dogfight.
Just one question can anyone in this side cross a ball
except Cresswell??
Coufal and Souchek also shadows of their former selves.
TOO MUCH FUCKIN' FOOTBALL.
Players must rest ....when will Rice get that in the next rest??
Nine months and we wonder why today Sportsman Burn Out

pdcwhu 12:44 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Shower of Whinging Cunts

daveyg 12:43 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

1964
Those subs were a disgrace.
Moyes disrespectful to both players.
We were losing ffs, I'm tired of Moyes doing this. He's the problem. Has been the whole of 2022. Sulking because Lingard didn't come. Can't stop going on about it. It effecting the players.
Coventry deserves some minutes alongside Rice.
Put him there as the anchor in a 3 with Soucek.

yngwies Cat 12:32 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Side of Ham 9:39 Mon Aug 8

I wouldn't know. ;-)

southbankbornnbred 12:31 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Benrahma plays scared. He looks like he's worried about contact with defenders the whole time. His body language is problematic. Defenders know it, and clatter him several times - and then he disappears.

Decent when he has space (who isn't?). Well below average when he doesn't. And you don't get much space in the Premier League.

He has to learn, quickly, that a bit of pain is par for the course and to not be worried about it.

Eerie Descent 12:29 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

"I don't think we should kid ourselves - we don't have the depth to fundamentally change our side"


I don't think anyone is kidding themselves, most of us knew we needed new players in January.

However, there is no fucking excuse to serve up such an insipid display. That's not a set of relegation fodder players, we should have at least looked like we were attempting to engage in the game. It was disgraceful in fort of an opening day sellout crowd.

Kaiser Zoso 12:27 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Rodri and Cancelo ran that game, hardly looking like they broke sweat. One of them shrugged Rice off in an early challenge, not often that happens.

They’re too good in every department for West Ham. They must be one of the best club sides in the World. Let’s hope we feel the slap in the face and knuckle down and work our socks off in the next few games, otherwise we will be in trouble.

zico 12:25 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

I find it very odd that we have Lanzini, Fornals, Vlasic and Benrahma, all four generally attacking central midfielders and yet one has to play on the left and arguably none are really good enough to be a regular starter. Feel a little bit for Vlasic as I don't think he has actually played in the central role. Benrahma is just frustrating, several quick mazy runs that look like it may produce something but more often than not produces a weak shot or cross that never finds the target.

southbankbornnbred 12:25 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

I don't think we should kid ourselves - we don't have the depth to fundamentally change our side.

Lots of poor, off-the-pace performances yesterday and it meant we never asked a question of a very fine side.

I know it has been said by others, so hardly 'news', but the two Czechs are shadows of the players who joined us. I was prepared to give them both (and others) some space last season because they had played a lot of football without a summer break for two years.

But they had a good rest this summer. No excuses. Yet they looked sluggish and off the pace. Mind you, so did others.

We need to be much sharper and on it against Forest - there are three points there for the taking. But we have to go and take them, rather than shadow teams around.

Lee Trundle 12:15 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

I'll be pleasantly surprised if we see a different team next Sunday against Forest.

You just know it's going to be the same old team, with the same old tactics.

Eerie Descent 12:10 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Losing to Man City is not the problem, we'll lose against them 9 times out of 10.

Not laying a fucking glove on them is a massive problem.

Opening day, superb atmosphere getting behind the team, and they serve that up. Slow, lethargic, unimaginative, passionless, pointless. And it was obvious to most that it was coming, given how insipid we've mainly been since January.

Trying to be positive, Scamacca looks like the real deal, Cornet's pace will make a huge difference, and surely reinforcements will be mad at left back and centre back in tim to play Sunday.

Norflundon 12:03 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Hard to tell from that where we are as they are so good, I’ve watched them do that to teams in the later stages of the champions league without a striker god knows what they’ll be like with Halland.
My worry is more from the tail end of last season and preseason as there’s no real pattern to our play and although scammaca did ok I fail to see how he can possibly play in that system when he can’t run the channels.
As good as city were same old problems were glaring, three of the 5 midflieders are like snails and two are weak as piss Soucek I don’t think won a header all game fornals has to be the worst Spanish passer of a ball there has ever been constantly gave the ball away as he has done since about march also Lanzini just can’t do it consistently at this level anymore.
The two fullbacks have to be the two slowest in the league and are simply not good enough.
Thought Johnson and Zouma did ok.
When Johnson is back at right back and we can get Aguerd back who looks like he has a bit of pace I’m sure we’ll look different and we won’t have to play a team like that much so as disappointing as it was to watch them to make our players like training cones the next 4/5 games will show where we actually are

zico 11:45 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Moyes pretty much admitted that Guardiola did a tactical job on him by not repeating the same mistakes City made in the first half at the LS last season. West Ham on the other hand just kept lumping it forward to Antoinio and losing possession time and time again, which isn't a new thing we don't learn. I've been a great fan of the likes of Cresswell and Lanzini over the years but yep it's time for upgrades. Soucek and Coufal are not the answer either now is seems having seemingly suffered Seb Schemmell syndrome. Hard believe that they are the same players from tow years ago and Bowen worryingly either wasn't fit or interested yesterday.

On the plus side Scamacca won a couple of headers and held it up well on occasion and as many have said yes it's an outstanding City side. However,. Man United had a very good pre season and yet Brighton go there and play without any fear and have a go. Moyes negativity doesn't pick up points so why not just have a go, get a few tackles in and get the crowd going? Instead many were just chasing shadows.

Willtell 11:38 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Man City are a special team. Probably the best in the world. And they played like it’s a pre-season training game.

All that it’s done is give us all a wake up call. I hope Sullivan is aware that when you’re desperate for players and keep low balling for weeks, you get what we saw yesterday - a record crowd of disappointed fans.

The problem is with the chairman and only he can sort it out…

Full Claret Jacket 11:34 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Downes and Coventry coming on just gives them their appearance bonus. Its a joke. These players have something to contribute. At least give them some minutes.

BRANDED 11:12 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

I would say City have improved. FUCKING IMPROVED. Big athletic fuckers with skill and energy. Not many teams will get much joy against them.

boleyn8420 11:08 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

As soon as you heard Moyes get his excuses in early "were not ready" you knew what was coming. Last season we had a go at them and got a draw. I don't mind losing to a side like city but ffs make a game of it. At one point we had completed 40 passes by the 41st minute, more minutes than passes, i mean come on. If I wanted to watch a city training exercises of defense v attack I'd go to their fucking training ground. And pray tell what is the actual fucking point of putting 2 subs on with 1 min 29 seconds of added time remaining.

twoleftfeet 11:00 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Keep dreaming.

A new season and the same shit from you.

Bore off to Spurs.

Hammer and Pickle 10:37 Mon Aug 8
Re: ⚽ West Ham v Man City - Official Match Thread - Preview

Looks like we have a board-level clinch; pretty much everyone seems to hate Sullivan except his cronies and he has dug his heels in. This of course feeds directly into transfers and, since we're in dire need of new personnel in key positions (left back, midfield), performance and fitness levels are well below par. The rot set in with the January transfer window and it's unlikely we'll see it sorted before this one closes.

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