West Ham vs Crystal Palace | PL | 18.1.25 | Predictions and Match Thread

[stubbo-admin]

Match Centre:

Odds:
West Ham: 9/5
Draw: 5/2
Crystal Palace: 17/10

Pre-Match Press Conference:
Official Press Conference

Tactical Preview: 
Babbling Irons

Watch-along:
Hammers Chat Watchalong

Streams:

SportHD 

(With all live streams be mindful they can carry viruses etc.  Don't click on any ads and use a VPN).
  

[Massive Attack]

Despite the obvious deadwood, I thought Kudas again was very ineffective. He is half the player he was when he signed. 

 

 

Hopefully one of his Team mates will chuck this up on the big screen the next time they all hold a Team Meeting

[Nick QQQ2]

Potter getting stick already I see.  Fuck this site and fuck most of you usual posters.  Don’t know why I crossed over from the old site. My fault I guess 

[El Scorchio]

Despite the obvious deadwood, I thought Kudas again was very ineffective. He is half the player he was when he signed. 

 

 

They doubled up on him the whole time and shut him down. Our absolute deficiency of attackers made it a total no brainer and Very easy to stop us playing.  Actually I thought he fought really well to win and retain the ball in a lot of situations but there was nowhere to go with it. 

[Ladysmith]

Despite the obvious deadwood, I thought Kudas again was very ineffective. He is half the player he was when he signed. 

I personally feel that he is just not good enough.

[El Scorchio]

Fair play to Palace they were excellent. Never gave us an inch to play in in their half all game and didn’t have any lapses. Didn’t look very threatening until we gifted them their first goal but they were clinical with it. 

As for us, I hope it’s a wake up call that we desperately need reinforcements. At least one more central defender, a true box to box midfielder and for fucks sake a striker on loan at least. We cannot play any longer having to put Paqueta up front, and we just don’t have enough fit attacking players to be functional. It’s a joke only being able to field Kudus and Paqueta as basically the only two starting quality attack minded players at the entire club. 

Oh, and the officials were fucking atrocious. Absolutely dire. Could have been wearing palace tops the lot of them. The Lino on the east touchline seemed to only have one working arm. 

[goose]

Yep, but the problem is that we’ve spent a LOT compiling this poor squad. So we don’t have a huge amount of wriggle-room under PSR. 

Our spending - especially on wages - has been so scattergun (100k a week for Ings etc) that we’ve got to offload players before we can bring in top-class replacements. We’ve got five or six ageing, expensive players out of contract in the summer and might have to wait until then to really overhaul things.

Doubt too much will happen this month.

We’ve plenty of room in PSR, problem is cash. We owe a lot over the next year on transfers with not much coming the other way unless we sell.

The current squad is a fucking mess, and it’ll cost £150m to fix it (or more).

[Dick Shaftsbury]

Despite the obvious deadwood, I thought Kudas again was very ineffective. He is half the player he was when he signed. 

[Massive Attack]

I’m not sure I have seen a worse game against an average side in years

 

 

 

 

Palace (a bit like Fulham too) looked embarrassed to just go ahead and beat us. It was the equivalent of unlocking your car and your house before shouting out to bemused local thieves "just help yourselves everybody, we promise we won't try to stop you!"

[southbankbornnbred]

Yep, but the problem is that we’ve spent a LOT compiling this poor squad. So we don’t have a huge amount of wriggle-room under PSR. 

Our spending - especially on wages - has been so scattergun (100k a week for Ings etc) that we’ve got to offload players before we can bring in top-class replacements. We’ve got five or six ageing, expensive players out of contract in the summer and might have to wait until then to really overhaul things.

Doubt too much will happen this month.

[goose]

The spine of the team needs replacing - new keeper, centre back, centre mid and centre forward.

Steidten & Sullivan can both fuck off.

[threesixty]

Its tough with our squad and who is available. They actually scored from the first time we attemped a collective press high up on our left flank. Palace beat the press and like in many games under Lop had space to run into. 3 passes and Mateta scores. Against Fulham the same attempt at a press led to our first goal. Although that was on the right. Its high risk so you got to get it right. 

The best we’ve played under Potter was first 20 mins at Villa until injuries to Fullkrug then Summerville later. Would like to see how Potter sets up with a few forwards back but we definitely need a pacy, athletic, strong central midfielder as we have for countless seasons



 

 

 

He had the right players on in the second half if he wanted creativity and pace to score. So it's not about squad availability. No, he didn't have the super star pro's who turn water into wine (Bowen etc). But he did have the players to play a creative system if he wanted to.

Yes, he may have conceded in the 1st half but then he has 50% more time to score a goal. Which means they have to be worried for 50% more time about their backline and they cant make a mistake. 

His risk management was all wrong.

At this level, relying on top players to bail you out is not earning your crust. This is what gets you fired as when they are injured you just start losing. You need to worry about the system and way of playing. At least that way you can tell whether the players aren't good enough to play your system. Styles make fights as they say. He chose the wrong style. Not the wrong personnel.

[Far Cough UKunt]

Everyone pretty much stunk the place out: 

Fabianski: Possibly the worst I've seen from him
Cresswell: Just pure cowardice
Wan Bissaka: What the fuckety fuck
Mavropanos: Adios poly malakas
Killman: No words
Soucek: Just not good enough
Paqueta: Back to the very worse I've seen from him, just fuck off
Kudus: Just gave up, to be fair the ref who was very poor, didn't give him any protection

Potter has his work cut out from him

[RM10]

I’m not sure I have seen a worse game against an average side in years

[goose]

We’ve been absolutely shit for about a year now. Some of our squad are bereft of confidence and the rest are just plain shit.

We desperately need an injection of new talent. Preferably with some legs

[Mike Oxsaw]

At least the Blue Brazil won by 2 goals to 1.

[Takashi Miike]

just abysmal today, but it all starts with that disgusting starting line up. he may sound impressive and happy in press conferences, but if he continues with this negative shit he'll lose any goodwill he had from the fans
​​​​​

 

Slagging him off already, fuck me you are a pathetic fucking idiot.

The guy at Bournemouth was given time now look at the rewards. Potter has inherited a lot of dross, he will sort it out but not in 5 minutes you fucking wet wipe.

In Potter I trust 

 

 

Not as big an idiot as you, you cսnt. Wanting Moyes sacked in August on a Brighton match thread, hoping everyone didn't notice and then going on your fucking weird cult like obsession with the most negative manager ever. What does In Potter I Trust mean? If he keeps selecting teams like today, he'll naturally attract negative reactions, you thick fucking old bill idiot

[southbankbornnbred]

Yep, while no manager should ever get a free pass, it would be foolhardy to judge Potter until he gets a chance to field a team predominantly filled with players he wants to retain or had some input over signing.

Right now, he’s putting out scratch sides from a wonky, patched-up squad he inherited. Sure, he sets the tactics. But what with right now?

[Sir Alf]

Its tough with our squad and who is available. They actually scored from the first time we attemped a collective press high up on our left flank. Palace beat the press and like in many games under Lop had space to run into. 3 passes and Mateta scores. Against Fulham the same attempt at a press led to our first goal. Although that was on the right. Its high risk so you got to get it right. 

The best we’ve played under Potter was first 20 mins at Villa until injuries to Fullkrug then Summerville later. Would like to see how Potter sets up with a few forwards back but we definitely need a pacy, athletic, strong central midfielder as we have for countless seasons

 

[twoleftfeet]

Worst home performance of the season.

I’m hoping it’s the last we see of some of those players.

The only positives we’re seeing the youngsters get some game time and the Greek being sent off.

it’s blindingly obvious what we need, a centre back, an energetic midfielder and a striker.
Without those we will just bump along for the rest of the season.

Potter can now see what a shit squad we have.

” just like my dreams they fade and die “

With Leicester going down we should go for Harry Winks in the summer.

[southbankbornnbred]

Poor performance and tactics today. But in all fairness to Potter, I doubt he’d have signed the likes of Ings, Kilman, Mavrapanos and Rodriguez.

We have got a LOT of poor players we need to
shift.

That back three today (Mavrapanos, Kilman and this-era Cress) is one of the weakest back lines I’ve seen in top-flight football for some time. It felt like the days of Gary Breen.

[twoleftfeet]

just abysmal today, but it all starts with that disgusting starting line up. he may sound impressive and happy in press conferences, but if he continues with this negative shit he'll lose any goodwill he had from the fans
​​​​​

 

 

Slagging him off already, fuck me you are a pathetic fucking idiot.

The guy at Bournemouth was given time now look at the rewards. Potter has inherited a lot of dross, he will sort it out but not in 5 minutes you fucking wet wipe.

In Potter I trust 

[Mad Dog]

Yep.  As i thought.  Every single time i get my hopes up west ham shit all over them

[Ladysmith]

Worst home performance of the season.

I’m hoping it’s the last we see of some of those players.

The only positives we’re seeing the youngsters get some game time and the Greek being sent off.

it’s blindingly obvious what we need, a centre back, an energetic midfielder and a striker.
Without those we will just bump along for the rest of the season.

Potter can now see what a shit squad we have.

” just like my dreams they fade and die “

With Leicester going down we should go for Harry Winks in the summer.

[twoleftfeet]

Worst home performance of the season.

I’m hoping it’s the last we see of some of those players.

The only positives we’re seeing the youngsters get some game time and the Greek being sent off.

it’s blindingly obvious what we need, a centre back, an energetic midfielder and a striker.
Without those we will just bump along for the rest of the season.

Potter can now see what a shit squad we have.

” just like my dreams they fade and die “

[Jean-Luc Paul Goddard]

I suspect if we had “had a go” Palace would of put 4 or 5 past us. 


 

 

 

Only because we'd have given them the confidence to do that. We showed so much fear and lack of threat that any team could see that we were there for the taking.