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The_Professor 10:14 Sat Aug 4
WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

CoLlInS dEbUt HoPeFuLlY

Hammer and Pickle 9:15 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

Much appreciate the reporting and analysis on this thread.

At least we won't be going into the new season with any delusions of grandeur.

The_Professor 9:00 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

Bet!

The_Professor 9:00 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

If we cannot get a gd all round midfielder in.....which Wouldn't surprise me.

I would be willing to be we wont see us play 442 at all next season.

The_Professor 8:58 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

We played 442 which obviously doesnt suit our players. i think that was the major problem yesterday.

I said before the game as i was thinking "what the fuck"

We had O Neil and mark noble as the two centre mids in a 442

they offer nothing defensively and are not the quickest of players.

no surprise O Neil gives away a pen straight away

Like it or not the only way we would get away playing 442 is if we had two Diame's.

Sir Alf 4:29 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

So we did not have Diame, Nolan, Collison and Morrison available yesterday. Otherwise, we had our best midfield.

Does BFS and G&S know that collectively and especially centre mid, we still have a midfield that collectively is too one paced? Its been that way for a long while going back to Pardew. Etherington was an option a while back but in those days was easily intimidated and injured a lot.

Things were really bad under Grant even with Parker throwing himself around. Kovac, LBM, Noble and Parker were too slow collectively and often spent games chasing shadows before tiring and inevitably conceding.

BFS masked it last season by playing 5 in there and organising us well especially away. But the calibre of teams this season will overcome that IMO. We saw last year that we struggled everytime when playing teams that played to feet at pace with good movement. Leeds at home, Ipswich come to mind. The exception was Brighton I guess where we blew them away in the first 10 mins although again and strangely they dominated possession. There were many home games where we won by a single goal but struggled to get and keep possession. I dont think we will get away with that in the Premiership?

Please someone "tweet" Mr Gold and ask him to get us some more midfield mobility. O'Nell. Nolan, Noble, Collison, Taylor all have one thing in common.

At this rate it would seem that Moncur is going to be making the step up because he looks like Billy Whizz compared to the rest of them. :-(

The_Professor 4:09 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

Maynard should be starting

Dazzler1985 3:14 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

It was Fanimo. I don't think Hall was with the squad for this game.

RH 3:10 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

Hall was playing for the development squad wasn't he ?

ChesterRd 2:50 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

Yeah, sums up the game pretty well Dazzler. Was it def Fanimo that came on, had it in my mind that it was Hall TBH.

Dazzler1985 1:45 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

Forget the scoreline, the football on display from West Ham was woeful, painful to watch even. The positioning and shape of the team in the first half (4-4-2 with plenty of square pegs in round holes) was diabolical. The midfield is where we lost it.

Noble and O'Niel played far too deep all game. Noble was constantly on top of the defenders toes when we had the ball and when we didn't have the ball Ipswich had all the time in the world to do as they pleased in the middle of the park. Our positioning and movement was so poor it looked like we had a man less for most of the game. There was always an Ipswich player in the middle of the park in acres of space.

We looked ever so slightly better in the second half when we switched to 4-3-3 and had an extra midfielder that wasn't playing deep in the middle of the park and was able to pressure the Ipswich players.

Jussi - Couldn't do much about the goals. Decent distribution.

Demel - Was getting a fair bit of stick from some in the stands as he held on to possession for too long and was closed down and dispossessed. However, he had no support whatsoever either down the line or from the central midfielders and I was impressed with the fact he didn't elect to just punt it long as I've come to expect under BFS.

Potts - Not his best performance. Struggled like Demel but didn't resort to punting it long.

Collins - Pretty much as I remember him. He threw himself about and blocked a few shots as the Ipswich players walked through our soft midfield but he was left for dead for Ipswich's second goal. His man took one step towards goal spun back out and had a free header from about 8 yards out. Oh and late on he hacked one of their players to the floor.

Reid - Awkward looking as ever. He won his headers but made a few quick passes to speed up play without looking and failed to find the intended player.

Clearly, our cobbled together defense was very disjointed.

Vaz Te - Was very poor as a winger in the 4-4-2 system. Rarely provided any sort of outlet for the fullback or support when defending. Not his best game or effort in my humble.

Taylor - looked like he was feeling the pace from early and was ineffective out wide in the first half. Performed slightly better in the second half, did a lot more closing down and took his goal well.

Noble - Too deep all game. Never got close to the Ipswich midfielders and was always chasing after the pass and move had happened. Was caught in possession a few times due to a lack of options.

O'Niel - Same again, caught the wrong side of his man inside the box and gave away the pen. Also simply gave the ball away when closed down and hurried. Willing runner and worker.

Cole - Had a decent game. Often had to contend with two Ipswich players all over him and trying to dispossess him but did well and looked to make things happen in and around the box. Didn't have many opportunities himself. Should have had a penalty but it seems it's fair game to hang off of his arm and dragged him down in the box.

Maiga - Looked OK. Clearly needs to build up an understanding with his teammates and learn to deal with physical defenders but looks like he has pace and is willing to have a shot.

Subs:

Maynard - Best player on the pitch when he came on. Played out wide but made things happen whether balls were feed into his feet or hoofed high and long. Intelligent movement and has a good shot on him.

Moncur - Impressed in his cameo. Strong, closed players down and was not afraid to bring the ball down and play it on the floor when under pressure. Good distribution as well.

Fanimo - Also impressed out wide. Plenty of pace, closed the Ipswich players down and dispossessed them a few times.

O'Brien - Came on at left back and was strong. Looked to get forward as much as possible.

Henderson - Nothing he could do about the goal but his distribution wasn't the best.

I was a bit concerned that we were obviously getting outplayed and overrun in the middle of the park (from very early on) and nothing was done to counter this until halftime.

Sir Alf 12:52 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

A summary on the OS from Demel. The comment that supports many of our thoughts appears in the middle. Slow, immobile midfield combined with rickety defense :-(

The sentence that for me sums us up for many seasons:
" It was hard for us to get the ball and to play our football"

Im beginning to believe that BFS may not be seeing the statuesque midfield as a problem :-( All comments and most transfer activity seems focused on strikers. Maybe because thats where the media thinks they can get the most interest or is it that Sullivan and BFS are not quite aligned?


DEMEL'S SUMMARY
Guy Demel admitted West Ham United did not perform well enough in Saturday's 3-1 pre-season defeat at Ipswich Town.
Employing an experimental 4-4-2 formation, the Hammers started slowly at Portman Road and found themselves two goals down to the npower Championship side within the opening 20 minutes. The first was a Michael Chopra penalty, while the second saw an unmarked Luke Chambers head in Lee Martin's free-kick.
West Ham did improve after half-time and Matt Taylor halved the deficit, but Ipswich added a late third when Jason Scotland took advantage of another mistake to fire into the far corner.
Demel, who completed a full 90 minutes at right-back, conceded that the Hammers had not deserved anything from the game. However, he told West Ham TV that he is confident the squad will have ironed out any deficiencies come the big Barclays Premier League kick-off against Aston Villa on 18 August.
"I think we took the game seriously but we didn't play well early in the game and we conceded two goals," said the Ivorian. "After that, it was difficult for us to come back because Ipswich played with confidence. It was hard for us to get the ball and to play our football.
"There are a lot of things we can learn from this game. They were bad things for us, but even if it wasn't nice and we weren't happy with the result, it was better that it happened now because we can work hard over the next two weeks to prepare for the Premier League."
The players will be back on the training pitch at Chadwell Heath on Sunday morning before flying to Portugal early next week for their final pre-season fixture.
West Ham take on UEFA Champions League qualifiers SC Braga in Portugal on Friday night and Demel believes the match will be vital in shaping the team's preparations for the season ahead. In short, the No20 said they could not afford to repeate the mistakes made against Ipswich against opposition as good as Braga.
"I think this will be most important game of our pre-season because it is the last game. We have played some good and bad games in pre-season, but in this one there will be no excuse because it is the last one before we play Aston Villa in the Premier League.
"We must be at 100 per cent physically and mentally. This game will give us more information about how well we are and where we will be at the start of the season."

appyhammer78 12:18 Sun Aug 5
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

Town made light of their higher-league opponents as they warmed up for the new season in style.

Michael Chopra’s penalty and Luke Chambers’ first for the club gave the Blues a 2-0 lead within just 19 minutes and sub Jason Scotland made sure of the victory after Matt Taylor’s goal gave the Hammers a lifeline.

Chopra, who has now scored four goals in pre-season, tweeted: “Another goal in the bag today played west ham off the park today we keep playing like that we will go up but its a long old season on way.”

The match was particularly special for new keeper Scott Loach, a former Town academy player, who believed the morale-boosting win set Ipswich up nicely for the season-opener against Blackburn in two weeks time.

Loach said: “That’s what footballs all about! Great game great win! Buzzing to be out there! Roll on Blackburn.”

Youngsters Joe Whight and Ronan Murray also tweeted their delight after the duo were second half subs at Portman Road.

Whight said: “Beat the hammers again, good to get playing time too!”

While Murray, who impressed and set up Scotland’s third, added: “Well played today lads great result against the hammers and a good performance now come on.”

After two fantastic victories over West Ham last season, Town made it a great hat-trick to give greater hope for the 2012/13 campaign.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas said: “I dont think West Ham like us haha #TractorBoyz #TeamJet9 #WED.”

arteee27 11:35 Sat Aug 4
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

Drop Cole and play Vaz Te and Maiga up top. Replace Cole with creative midfielder.

Hugh Jargon 11:27 Sat Aug 4
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

Well said Eggbert...

BMU 11:25 Sat Aug 4
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

Nothing like slamming the barn door shut after the horse has bolted, eh 13Brentford ?

Eric.C. 11:24 Sat Aug 4
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

I'm sure it will be all right by 18 August.

Capitol Man 11:17 Sat Aug 4
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

They have provided reasonable support for their managers all the way through. I think they will again. Football ans never have patience, but we need some.

cartis 11:16 Sat Aug 4
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

w4hammer 11:10 Sat Aug 4

spot on Sir.

13 Brentford Rd 11:14 Sat Aug 4
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

I would wait until the season actually starts before getting hysterical?

w4hammer 11:10 Sat Aug 4
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

ive said it before and ill say it agin. this is the most listless uncoordinated and fuking depressing team ive seen for years.

we are short all over the park

who's the leader in the back five...we dont know who our starting Gk is let alone what the back four looks like..

midfield...who//what where

up front the same

ive seen three game so far and we've been fucking woefull all over, all game long

Thunderlips 10:36 Sat Aug 4
Re: WhU vS iPsWiCh MaTcH tHrEaD

we were shit, can't remember a shot on goal in the first half.
Vaz Te has pace and ability and Collins was solid but fuck we were shite

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