West Ham v Forest - 18 May - Match Thread

[honky cat]

The torture is almost over
The sun is shining here, its on TV
All good
Irving to be random midfielder starting this week. 
A massive win. Irons

---------------------------------------------

 
Match Centre:

Odds:
West Ham: 2/1
Draw: 12/5
Forest: 3/2

Pre-Match Press Conference:
Official Press Conference

Tactical Preview: 
Babbling Irons

Watch-along:
Hammers Chat

Streams:

SportHD 

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

[stubbo-admin]

[Sir Alf]

Hmmm, Forest have a quick central midfield with Gibbs White and co.  Rodruiguez has deceptive speed. He looks slow but in fact is even slower than he looks. Clever tactics

[Iron Duke]

I understand the logic in keeping a winning team. But disappointing not to have any academy players in the squad yet again. I would have liked Orford to get a few minutes at least, and what has happened to Scarles?

[honky cat]

Anyone?

​​​​Rodriguez again. He Must be pivotal to next seasons plans . . . 

Come on you irons 

I'm begging you 

[Tomshardware]

Forest gone off the boil a bit, I'm expecting a typical end of season game with plenty of goals.  Think we will win it by the odd goal.

[Sir Alf]

Usual scenario. We all disagree with Potter’s starting selections, first 10 mins not too bad, then slow, patient possession takes over but with little penetration ( oohh err ), then we get dispossessed up top or central midfield, fast counter, goal before half time. Rest of the game, opposition sit in deeper, 9 or 10 behind the ball, we huff and puff with few chances if any, we make changes (70 mins) but still to no avail ( Fullkrug comes on or off) we start to take more risks pushing players forward looking for a way back into the game and get caught again with a counter attack. 

0-2, fans leaving in droves, boos at final whistle.

 

[Keep dreaming]

Guaranteed loss. That's all

[F 129 Row66]

2 - 1 to us We go a goal down after 5 minutes due to  defensive ineptitude following a Paquetta fuck up. Get booed off at half time. a late Soucek equaliser tap in from a Bowen cross. and in injury time a  headed goal from a corner by Danny Ings. Sounds exciting, can't wait..

[Sydney_Iron]

Win and we guarantee a finish above Spurs and ManU! In any other season if you didn't know you would think we had been riding high and it was a decent season....................How wrong is that? Been one of the worst i can remember.

Forest chasing Europe but not been on the ball in recent games, we may get something here! 1-0 Irons with the board spouting our finish above those 2 Europa final bound clubs, shit season for both them but at least they have a Cup final.

COYI 

[Massive Attack]

Thank the wicked witch and the Dildo Brothers for that...

[El Scorchio]

Some Fucking retard has scheduled us playing at home the same day as the Hackney half marathon again. Loads of the roads to the north of the stadium will be railed off. Ridiculous. 

[Sir Alf]

Forest play Moyesball “low block and counter” much better than Moyes gets his teams playing it. As others say, they are exactly the sort of team we struggle against. Very compact, sit deep but counter at lightening speed.  Potter wont find an 11 in our squad to play a patient, controlled possession game that will get thru or around Forest imho.

Also, while it appears that Potter has a decent blueprint for tactics and formation on away games ( 3 at the back and in midfield with 2 wing backs etc), he simply has not come close to working out tactics, and an associated formation, to play well / successfully at home. This is where our severe lack of pace, athleticism, stamina in the squad for central midfield really bites and limits us imo. If he picks 2 in centre mid, we will be dispossessed and carved open at will by the super quick Forest midfield and wide men. Its reallly what we should do at home, have 2 centre mids, 2 wide men, a centre forward and a number 10 and 4 at the back.  But its suicidal with our squad.  He may have to go with the 3 centre mids again to avoid being overrun in the counter but then will probably stick with 5 at the back with AWB as a wing back. That then means just Bowen and Kudus up top and trying to receive it back to goal and getting dispossessed. 

A 4-3-3 could be tried?  Gives the extra man in midfield, allows Fullkrug to start as central striker and target which is essential to have a chance of breaching Forest’s defence. 

But regardless of formations and tactics, lets be honest we have not played well at home all season and going back a long to Moyes tenure.  For me, our squad is still tilted too much towards low block and countering football like Forest play but we would have to do it at slower pace.  And thinking about it further, we have only beaten Fulham and Leicester at home under Potter I think? And Fulham missed a hatful of gilt edged chances and Leicester were pretty awful.   Not expecting many points from this one is my conclusion and fans booing at final whistle

[stubbo-admin]

Struggling to see us best Forest with so much pace and tenacity in their side 

Reckon he goes for stodging the midfield, so we'll see Rodriguez again, with Fullkrug benched, and Kudus and Bowen set up to hit on the counter.

Lots of pace out wide so maybe Scarles will come back in, although of the plan is to sit deep and deny pace in behind them might stick with last week's formula.

I'd play Fabianski in this one purely for sentimental reasons (and since there is so little between Areola and him anyway).

Fabianski

Todibo Kilman Cresswell

Wan Bissaka         Rodriguez.                   Scarles
Soucek.                 Paqueta

Bowen.   Kudus

Per the OP comment...Irving's situation feels weird. Started against Chelsea and played very well before running out of gas after about 70 mins. Controlled possession, played good one touch stuff, decent physical presence....and don't think he's made an appearance since along with dropping out of the squad completely.

Very peculiar.

As for result here. Expecting a 2-0 defeat as feel their setup is pretty much kryptonite to us.

COYI 

[Massive Attack]

3-0
Cresswell, Coufal (pen) Fabianski (pen)

More likely to be 2 penalties conceded by them with Fabianski in goal.

[Fauxstralian]

3-0
Cresswell, Coufal (pen) Fabianski (pen)

[Massive Attack]

2-0 Bowen, Soucek 

[Dick Shaftsbury]

A good chance to put some distance between us and those detestable cunts up the road. Will we take it? Probably not.

 

[nychammer]

must win for Forest if they harbor any ambition of Europa League (already have at least conference in the bag think) but I think its gone now and they have fallen apart a bit of late, so this might just be a good time to play them. 

Having said that never underestimate our capacity to screw it up:      2-2

[Mad Ferret]

Forest have fallen off a cliff and can only hope for Europa League at best now.

Still can’t see us mustering a win though. 

1-1

[Fauxstralian]

One more win will see us above Tottenham & Man U
Everton have the final Goodison game v Southampton and Newcastle away so will need 2 wins to finish above them

[Mex Martillo]

Apparently everyone except the usual casualties ( Summerville and Antonio) are available. Hopefully we can be a bit more adventurous with the starting lineup. It would be very good to win to secure finishing above ManU and Spurs.

Areola
Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell
Wan Bissaka,  Ward-Prowse, Paqueta, Scarles
Bowen, Fullkrug, Kudus