Liverpool vs West Ham | PL | 28.2.26 | Predictions & Match Thread

[Mad Ferret]

Thanks MF.

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Match Centre: 

Live data by Scoreaxis

 Odds: 
WHU: 6/1
Draw: 4/1
Bin Dippers: 6/1

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   ------------------------------

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Due a result at Anfield.

.........................Hermanson

AWB.....Mavropanos.....Disasi....Diouf

Bowen.....Magassa.....Fernandes.....Summerville

............................Soucek

........................Taty Costalot

[John Drake]

West Ham fans (or at least some of them) seem to have become a bit obsessed with formations and positions over actual ability. I've seen some comments elsewhere asking if we can recall Marshall to play the ''Pablo role'' Fucks sake.

 

Are you really suggesting that tactics and formations are irrelevant? That the way a manager sets his team up has no bearing on performances and results? Sounds a bit odd to me. Surely, the role of a good manager is to matching tactical approach with the ability of players at his disposal. If its only about ability the role of the manager is redundant.

It's a measure of our poor squad depth that there is no-one to replace what Pablo has been doing. 

No I'm really not suggesting that at all, just stating that ''like for like'' replacements are not necessarily the way to go and that too much emphasis  is put on doing just that by some. There is more than one way to skin a cat and as you say the manager should have the ability to be able to change things up when god forbid we have an injury. I think you got the wrong end of the stick, fella.

Tbh it's become nauseating and just plain weird that some are talking Pablo up like he's the second coming.

But isn't that the conundrum? He is a very limited footballer but his presence appears to have brought a better balance to the team - unless the improved results since his introduction is a coincidence. Given that he is limited should make him easier to replace.

Ideally, we would have alternatives but are woefully short of attacking options.

[Manuel]

West Ham fans (or at least some of them) seem to have become a bit obsessed with formations and positions over actual ability. I've seen some comments elsewhere asking if we can recall Marshall to play the ''Pablo role'' Fucks sake.

 

Are you really suggesting that tactics and formations are irrelevant? That the way a manager sets his team up has no bearing on performances and results? Sounds a bit odd to me. Surely, the role of a good manager is to matching tactical approach with the ability of players at his disposal. If its only about ability the role of the manager is redundant.

It's a measure of our poor squad depth that there is no-one to replace what Pablo has been doing. 

No I'm really not suggesting that at all, just stating that ''like for like'' replacements are not necessarily the way to go and that too much emphasis  is put on doing just that by some. There is more than one way to skin a cat and as you say the manager should have the ability to be able to change things up when god forbid we have an injury. I think you got the wrong end of the stick, fella.

Tbh it's become nauseating and just plain weird that some are talking Pablo up like he's the second coming.

[John Drake]

West Ham fans (or at least some of them) seem to have become a bit obsessed with formations and positions over actual ability. I've seen some comments elsewhere asking if we can recall Marshall to play the ''Pablo role'' Fucks sake.

 

Are you really suggesting that tactics and formations are irrelevant? That the way a manager sets his team up has no bearing on performances and results? Sounds a bit odd to me. Surely, the role of a good manager is to matching tactical approach with the ability of players at his disposal. If its only about ability the role of the manager is redundant.

It's a measure of our poor squad depth that there is no-one to replace what Pablo has been doing. 

[Manuel]

West Ham fans (or at least some of them) seem to have become a bit obsessed with formations and positions over actual ability. I've seen some comments elsewhere asking if we can recall Marshall to play the ''Pablo role'' Fucks sake.

[El Scorchio]

Completely wrong.
Nuno spent half of the season getting things wrong,waiting to the January to get his 3 players in,now only one of them is playing. 
What Fraser and Mad Spurs don't get is that Marshall played as a lone striker in games,against teams we had given up against,if Pablo did the same he would be even worse,far worse. Marshall and Earthy when on a good run should have been on the bench  given minutes but,and the evidence is there,Nuno wanted to prove his point that his players,his selections would make the difference. He only played Earthy for ten minutes. Who has scored at PL level. Virtually every game the bench has been defensively heavy with only a couple and sometimes only 1 attacker. Kante is very similar to Magassa but he won't see a long pass or slide rule pass like Orford,he won't beat a couple of players and score with a sublime finish,like Ajala. I like him but he's more about power and drive.He lost a lot of balls in possession which led to several goals agaisnt the U21's. He's not really an alternative as an attacker.


 

You criticise the manager if Traore plays now you criticise him because he’s not. You’re all over the place. Detached from reality. 

[twoleftfeet]

Earthy, sadly, I think won't make the grade. Same with Marshall. 

 

And Potts.

You are a weird cսnt.

[twoleftfeet]

Completely wrong.
Nuno spent half of the season getting things wrong,waiting to the January to get his 3 players in,now only one of them is playing. 
What Fraser and Mad Spurs don't get is that Marshall played as a lone striker in games,against teams we had given up against,if Pablo did the same he would be even worse,far worse. Marshall and Earthy when on a good run should have been on the bench  given minutes but,and the evidence is there,Nuno wanted to prove his point that his players,his selections would make the difference. He only played Earthy for ten minutes. Who has scored at PL level. Virtually every game the bench has been defensively heavy with only a couple and sometimes only 1 attacker. Kante is very similar to Magassa but he won't see a long pass or slide rule pass like Orford,he won't beat a couple of players and score with a sublime finish,like Ajala. I like him but he's more about power and drive.He lost a lot of balls in possession which led to several goals agaisnt the U21's. He's not really an alternative as an attacker.


 

You are obsessed with the kids

How are Earthy and Marshall doing? 

[Massive Attack]

Football will always be a funny old game. He'll score the fucking winner.

[honky cat]

I don't really care who plays as long as it's not that fucking WALKING ARSE Traore

Hopefully jimmy and jarrod were having a bit of an off day last week and are back to their amazing best on Saturday.

 

[Eerie Decent]

Mayers is quick and strong,  when he's played he's looked able to deal with the speed and physicality of the Prem.

Yeah, I wouldn't completely disagree with that. Problem though for him is he isn't tall or quite physical enough to play centre back in the Prem, imo, and that is where he has made his name at youth level.

I actually think he'd be better off changing permanently to left back, think he'd have a higher ceiling.

He probably will end up a left back but he is 6ft tall so he's not a dwarf by any means.

He's not, but just from the eye test, he doesn't look like he has the size to be a Prem centre back, certainly not how we play.

I do like him though, think he's got the most about him from all the youngsters that I've seen from the current bunch.

[Tomshardware]

Problem for Earthy is he's not very quick, and he's not very physical. You can only get away with that in the Prem if you are exceptional.

I reckon he'd be best off spending this summer really bulking up, it's not like it'd be to the detriment of pace, as that's not his game. That point of difference would go a long way. All the academy kids we've got coming through seem to lack that.

Mayers is quick and strong,  when he's played he's looked able to deal with the speed and physicality of the Prem.

Yeah, I wouldn't completely disagree with that. Problem though for him is he isn't tall or quite physical enough to play centre back in the Prem, imo, and that is where he has made his name at youth level.

I actually think he'd be better off changing permanently to left back, think he'd have a higher ceiling.

He probably will end up a left back but he is 6ft tall so he's not a dwarf by any means.

[BoleynGone]

Completely wrong.
Nuno spent half of the season getting things wrong,waiting to the January to get his 3 players in,now only one of them is playing. 
What Fraser and Mad Spurs don't get is that Marshall played as a lone striker in games,against teams we had given up against,if Pablo did the same he would be even worse,far worse. Marshall and Earthy when on a good run should have been on the bench  given minutes but,and the evidence is there,Nuno wanted to prove his point that his players,his selections would make the difference. He only played Earthy for ten minutes. Who has scored at PL level. Virtually every game the bench has been defensively heavy with only a couple and sometimes only 1 attacker. Kante is very similar to Magassa but he won't see a long pass or slide rule pass like Orford,he won't beat a couple of players and score with a sublime finish,like Ajala. I like him but he's more about power and drive.He lost a lot of balls in possession which led to several goals agaisnt the U21's. He's not really an alternative as an attacker.

 

[Pub Bigot]

Frankly you'd be better off sticking Kilman in that role over Earthy. Physical presence/harrier. Just as quick over the ground as Pablo, carries well, more physical than Earthy. Or use Kante, or Magassa, or Scarles.

Take away the notional assignment of 'forward', 'midfielder' or 'defender' and just look at the attributes needed to do the 'Pablo' job for 20 mins....and any of those guys are relatively well suited.

Earthy, sadly, I think won't make the grade. Same with Marshall. 


 

I’d rather a traffic cone over Kilman, and it would offer more. Better blocker, tackler, braver, leadership, always visible. The only thing the cone lacks is height. 

[fraser]

Frankly you'd be better off sticking Kilman in that role over Earthy. Physical presence/harrier. Just as quick over the ground as Pablo, carries well, more physical than Earthy. Or use Kante, or Magassa, or Scarles.

Take away the notional assignment of 'forward', 'midfielder' or 'defender' and just look at the attributes needed to do the 'Pablo' job for 20 mins....and any of those guys are relatively well suited.

Earthy, sadly, I think won't make the grade. Same with Marshall. 


 

BoleynGone is going to be furious.. 

[Mad Ferret]

Earthy, sadly, I think won't make the grade. Same with Marshall. 
 

And Potts.

[stubbo]

Frankly you'd be better off sticking Kilman in that role over Earthy. Physical presence/harrier. Just as quick over the ground as Pablo, carries well, more physical than Earthy. Or use Kante, or Magassa, or Scarles.

Take away the notional assignment of 'forward', 'midfielder' or 'defender' and just look at the attributes needed to do the 'Pablo' job for 20 mins....and any of those guys are relatively well suited.

Earthy, sadly, I think won't make the grade. Same with Marshall. 

 

[Eerie Decent]

Problem for Earthy is he's not very quick, and he's not very physical. You can only get away with that in the Prem if you are exceptional.

I reckon he'd be best off spending this summer really bulking up, it's not like it'd be to the detriment of pace, as that's not his game. That point of difference would go a long way. All the academy kids we've got coming through seem to lack that.

Mayers is quick and strong,  when he's played he's looked able to deal with the speed and physicality of the Prem.

Yeah, I wouldn't completely disagree with that. Problem though for him is he isn't tall or quite physical enough to play centre back in the Prem, imo, and that is where he has made his name at youth level.

I actually think he'd be better off changing permanently to left back, think he'd have a higher ceiling.

[Rossal]

Earthy has enough pace to go on the final 10 mins and just be a nuisance. He can easily go on and play that 10 position as he has spent most of his youth days doing just that

The issue we have at the moment is the two up top works really well for us. Not only have we not got Pablo, but once Pablo's replacement is fucked on 70 mins as seems the way with this system......we have no one there to fill that gap. We have to change tactics whether it makes sense in the game to or not. 

So whether that is Earthy, Ajala, Fearon or anyone else. It makes no bones to me, but it obviously makes sense to have an attacker in an attacking position to keep the system going which we look so much better in. 

. 

 

 

[Mad Ferret]

Isn't Earthy out on loan to Bristol City or has he come back already?

He's still there.

Don't know why we sent him back there when he barely started a game for them last season.

Should've sent him to a League 1 side.

[dealcanvey]

Isn't Earthy out on loan to Bristol City or has he come back already?

[El Scorchio]

There's no point throwing Earthy on over a defender if he's not able to play the role and the system falls apart anyway. Better off bunging Kante or Magassa on to do it, really.

I'm with those who say blame the board for leaving us woefully short squad wise.

I saw that Sullivan is playing his usual game and trying to pin not having enough strikers on Potter who he claims didn't want one, when the truth of course is he just didn't want the ones Sullivan was trying to foist on him. Sure DCL has surprised everyone by staying fit this season but you wouldn't have bet on it back in July.

[Tomshardware]

Problem for Earthy is he's not very quick, and he's not very physical. You can only get away with that in the Prem if you are exceptional.

I reckon he'd be best off spending this summer really bulking up, it's not like it'd be to the detriment of pace, as that's not his game. That point of difference would go a long way. All the academy kids we've got coming through seem to lack that.

Mayers is quick and strong,  when he's played he's looked able to deal with the speed and physicality of the Prem.

[Eerie Decent]

As already stated he may not be the answer.   But after finding a system and style which has made us look a much better team, and seeing us countless times having to revert from this style into a more defensive one and throw away a shit load of points. Filling the bench with players which allow us to keep and refresh the successful shape and style in matches is obviously a better option than having to keep being forced to change it due to the players selected on the bench. 

Earthy has legs, can press well and plays in the positions which suit that style best.  You can't tell me having Kilman as a 5th choice defender on the bench makes more sense than the Earthy option. Like I said, we've seen him come on for us and not looked out of place......he even has scored in the prem for us off the bench. Our only option at the moment is Traore and Wilson, for me that isn't good enough nor does it give you many options if we need to win games between now and the end of the season. 

It's all about opinions, but 5 defenders on the bench won't win us many matches if we need something off the bench. 

I agree about the 5 defenders, but I disagree about the rest. We needed more reinforcements, sadly it didn't happen.

Regardless, we are where we are, those 2 are gone, and the squad is set. Apparently that Ajala is really lightweight? I've not seen him myself. If anything, Landers sounds like the one who has the physicality to eventually get a chance, but can't see that happening either.

[Eerie Decent]

Problem for Earthy is he's not very quick, and he's not very physical. You can only get away with that in the Prem if you are exceptional.

I reckon he'd be best off spending this summer really bulking up, it's not like it'd be to the detriment of pace, as that's not his game. That point of difference would go a long way. All the academy kids we've got coming through seem to lack that.

[Massive Attack]

5 Defenders is excessive. I'd put Ajala on the bench for 1 of them.