West Ham United 4-1 Leicester City - Post Match Thread

[Pliskin]

Just now, murphy said:

Agreed.  That's why at 1-0 I wasn't overly concerned when Perez went off.  Perhaps it would force Rodgers' hand?  Get some pace on, Daka for Maddison, sit back and counter West Ham.  Didn't really work out that way, obviously.

Yes, like Man City away? Probably Rodgers best tactical performance. We were stunning that day. 

[Haywood_6]

Don't get too high after a win and don't get too low after a defeat.

 

Last night was a sobering result and disappointing performance. No doubt about it.

 

But I look at our team and see a great squad. A side from the terrible luck we've had with defensive injuries.

 

Brendan has more quality players to choose from now. We just need to get the starting 11 and the tactics right and we'll win games. Hopefully starting on saturday

[tom27111]

This has instantly made my top 3 worst away days ever.

 

Left Northampton at 3.30pm, arrived in the stadium 5 minutes before kick off. Traffic was horrendous the whole way. Nightmare.

 

Shocking performance, shocking result.

 

Awful stadium to get out of.

 

Arrived back home at 3.30am.

 

[GlennyFox55]

4 minutes ago, tom27111 said:

This has instantly made my top 3 worst away days ever.

 

Left Northampton at 3.30pm, arrived in the stadium 5 minutes before kick off. Traffic was horrendous the whole way. Nightmare.

 

Shocking performance, shocking result.

 

Awful stadium to get out of.

 

Arrived back home at 3.30am.

 

Ye it’s a crap away day even before you even factor in the fact it’s a Monday night and the result. 
 

 

[TheStig]

There is no point in signing more players if Rodgers just leaves them on the bench. Yesterday was screaming for "new blood" and fight and he seems to "hold back" on substitutions and when they are done - often too late. We badly needed - and need - some steel and nastyness in midfield. Both Maddison and Perez are too lightweight. So maybe an earlier substitution to bring on Soumare and maybe Chouhdry?

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

Well, I wasted my money going to last night's shambolic non effort. What a pathetic mess we were from start to finish. Losing Perez, for his crass stupidity changed nothing.

 

Talking about Perez, the bloke needs a stick of dynamite up his backside! 

[adam95581]

4 hours ago, Sunbury Fox said:

Especially when we're fielding our fifth choice centre back and fourth choice left back, whilst playing with 10 men for 60 minutes.......

So I suppose you’ll use that argument for the last two games we lost against them too? 
 

Also, the ‘4th choice LB’ was good enough for the FA cup final against arguably a better team. 

Edited 24 August 2021 by adam95581
Update

[1972 Fox]

3 hours ago, Golden Fox said:

Man City last year started slowly and had their own inept hammering (against us). They didn't panic, just slowly went about their business and before anyone knew it, they were out of sight.

No they didn't panic, they went out and spent £60m on a centre half. We are in as much need of that now as they were then but we can't afford to do that.

[jim5000]

I really think we need to dump Maddison and get someone with a bit of authority in midfield to help Tielemans and Ndidi.

 

Maddison is too much of a fair weather player and out of the three midfielders, is the most expendable. Ndidi can be the breaker, Youri can play from deep, and then we need a box to box midfielder, rather than Maddison hiding away in the 10 role, constantly getting pushed over and rolling around of the floor.

 

Replace Maddison and Perez and we’d be a different team.

[gerblod]

4 hours ago, Hoopla10 said:

 And my feelings for Maddison are sliding in the same direction. I genuinely wonder if we'd be better benching him and pushing Tilly slightly forward into that 10 role so we can play two strikes (Daka/Vardy, Nacho/Vardy or Daka/Nacho). 

You might well be right. I always felt that Maddison and Tielemans encroached on each other's natural space. I do like Maddison for his ability on the ball, but, as I stated earlier in this thread, maybe Soumare can provide the muscle needed in midfield. N'Didi is a play breaker and Tielemans needs time and space for his passing to be effective. Having tandem strikers and Barnes could be an alternative. 

[Grebfromgrebland]

15 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

Has anyone done the "I hope we appeal the red card so we get a few extra games on the suspension" joke yet?

I've not heard that joke but it might be worth a go?

[StanSP]

5 hours ago, Pliskin said:

Movement, when things aren’t going well our movement is dreadful. 
 

Maddison should be that player who pops up all over the pitch keeping the ball moving. To be honest I think Praet is the best player we have at recycling the ball, when he plays in that role he keeps it moving all of the time.

To be fair to Maddison, he was popping up in the middle of the pitch and on the left quite frequently. The trouble being, no-one was near him to play quick passing with once he got the ball. So while criticism can be fairly pointed at Maddison, perhaps it also needs to be to the rest of the team and/or Rodgers for the tactics - fine for Maddison to get the ball, but who can he pass it to? What's the next move? Maybe we had a plan for it but it didn't come off because to be honest, we were just outplayed and out-thought by West Ham.

 

Partly down to how deep West Ham would sit. Their tactic worked perfectly really - they knew we'd have to force the issue and their midfield was so on it and ready to pounce on a mistake.

[urban.spaceman]

2 hours ago, TheStig said:

There is no point in signing more players if Rodgers just leaves them on the bench. Yesterday was screaming for "new blood" and fight and he seems to "hold back" on substitutions and when they are done - often too late. We badly needed - and need - some steel and nastyness in midfield. Both Maddison and Perez are too lightweight. So maybe an earlier substitution to bring on Soumare and maybe Chouhdry?

Soumare should have come on a half time IMO.

[lee7]

6 hours ago, PaulW said:

Sorry, but there was no "enjoyment" in that possession.  Cags and Armartey tapping the ball sideways or backwards to each other time after time was embarrassing, and showed total lack of ambition.  The players seemed to have gone onto the with the attitude of, "I wonder how many they'll beat us by this time." Call me plastic, but that's the first time ever I've not stayed watching to the very end  of a televised match.  Disappointed beyond words.

I think i used the wrong word to describe the amount of possession we had!  

I fully agree i certainly did not enjoy watching them aimlessly pass the ball back and forth to each other!

 

[ClaphamFox]

10 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

Soumare should have come on a half time IMO.

At half-time I was wondering what changes Rodgers would make and came to the conclusion that the obvious one was Soumare for Maddison to give us more presence in midfield, possibly accompanied by Iheancho for Vardy. It never occured to me that Rodgers wouldn't make any changes at all until well into the second half. Genuinely baffling.

[Ethanadict]

A common theme here seems to be that we feel West Ham bullied us, or were too strong, or were too big.  Whilst they've got two fairly strong players at centre back in Ogbonna and Dawson isn't that normal for most teams at CB?  Cresswell and Coufal aren't tall.  Soucek and Rice in CDM positions hold their own but they read the game well and I don't think either are particularly aggressive players.  And I thought the show was run really by Fornals, Bowen and Benrahma - all comparatively short, none of them are great headers of the ball, and are more skillful and pacey than strong. 

 

Antonio though, was a bit of a beast.  Would our regular CBs have dealt with him better?  I'd like to think so but not sure.

 

But I thought it was the energy and speed of West Ham rather than the size or the strength.  Fornals apparently ran more km than any other player in the Premier league last night.  Compare him to Maddison who went missing in action.  I was surprised not to see Daka introduced earlier.  West ham wanted to sign him before we got him, so you just know he would have scored, it's the rules of the football gods.  But it would have surely have been sensible to throw in some unpredictability.  Moyes appears to have Rogers number.

 

 

 

[urban fox]

Before we all decide that we are now relegation fodder, will not score another goal or pick up one single point more this season and be playing in the conference in four years time lets just remember that it is the second game of the season. Last year we thrashed Man city at their place, and Liverpool had 7, yes SEVEN, put past them by Villa early doors. They got over it so will we.

OK so we were poor last night, things didn't go our way and we ended up on the wrong end of a hiding. Every time we lose, or play poorly this place descends into doom and gloom, woe is me, bound to lose the next game, go into  a terminal decline, all our players will instantly slap in a transfer request (but not to worry as they are all rubbish and we should sell them immediately anyway, or in some cases feed them to the lions at Twycross).

I get that some will want to vent their frustrations, and of course we are all better tacticians and managers than the man that is paid millions a year to actually do the job, but please let us not descend into Arsenal levels of ridiculousness.

We were sh*t, got punished end of. we go again, maybe we will win, maybe we won't , its a game of football the earth will not stop spinning on its axis either way. I was as disappointed as the next with the manner of the defeat but i have moved on. We are still a good side, with a plethora of excellent players, a great manager and the best ownership and set up around.

Win lose or draw, i will always be proud to say i am a fox

[urban.spaceman]

Just now, ClaphamFox said:

At half-time I was wondering what changes Rodgers would make and came to the conclusion that the obvious one was Soumare for Maddison to give us more presence in midfield, possibly accompanied by Iheancho for Vardy. It never occured to me that Rodgers wouldn't make any changes at all until well into the second half. Genuinely baffling.

I'm an idiot and even I could see we were getting absolutely dominated in midfield. 

[whitlock]

Not sure for who or where he fits, but i'm a huge fan of Praet.

 

I think he's very underrated and can offer us a lot more than what Perez and Madders are offering right now.

[CosbehFox]

4 minutes ago, Ethanadict said:

A common theme here seems to be that we feel West Ham bullied us, or were too strong, or were too big.  Whilst they've got two fairly strong players at centre back in Ogbonna and Dawson isn't that normal for most teams at CB?  Cresswell and Coufal aren't tall.  Soucek and Rice in CDM positions hold their own but they read the game well and I don't think either are particularly aggressive players.  And I thought the show was run really by Fornals, Bowen and Benrahma - all comparatively short, none of them are great headers of the ball, and are more skillful and pacey than strong. 

 

Antonio though, was a bit of a beast.  Would our regular CBs have dealt with him better?  I'd like to think so but not sure.

 

But I thought it was the energy and speed of West Ham rather than the size or the strength.  Fornals apparently ran more km than any other player in the Premier league last night.  Compare him to Maddison who went missing in action.  I was surprised not to see Daka introduced earlier.  West ham wanted to sign him before we got him, so you just know he would have scored, it's the rules of the football gods.  But it would have surely have been sensible to throw in some unpredictability.  Moyes appears to have Rogers number.

 

 

 

I think your observation is bang on. Their tactical discipline as well was superb; the game was won without the ball by that front three. 

 

Seems bitter now but I can't see how West Ham sustain that week in and week out. Particularly with Europa League football. When they are like that, you've gotta be clever and patient. They chewed us up and put us in a washing machine. 

[sacreblueits442]

16 hours ago, lcfcsnow said:

I've been concerned about that for a while, going back to the West Brom game last season where we were 3-0 up at half time, playing reasonably well but Rodgers was going mad, kicking bottles. We came out in the second half and contributed nothing and just coasted through the rest of the match but Rodgers was now happy with that. Following that we ended the season without putting in a single good performance.

....I have said it before, we began to overplay and had lost our discipline and therefore became less effective!!!

What we had previously been doing right was now being overdone, and making poor decisions and playing Hollywood passes. We are a team that is easily affected by circumstances and lack any mental fortitude, and that is what annoys Rodgers more than anything else.

  We should have a ruthless streak within our team by now and walk out on the pitch, with the belief that we are not going to lose the game. 

Just take a look at the individual players who you can see when we are under pressure, one by one, their qualities drop and no one can pick each other up to raise their game. It should not be like that, we should be working for each other, covering for each other, but too often when things go wrong everyone gives up.

[sishades]

8 hours ago, kingfox said:

I can see them finishing above us this season. 

I think a lot of teams may finish above us this season.

[Reg Vardy]

9 hours ago, Chrysalis said:

 

I expect the reason they were passing it between each other is they have been told to not make passes that risk losing possession, and I expect they may have also been told to not drive it forward at feet either as again that opens a hole up at the back.

 

Just to clarify though, are you saying you think the manager is blameless for the defeat? 

Not saying he is blameless....but we were decimated, and there is no accounting for usually trusted players giving the ball away freely and having a real off night.....there was no way we deserved to be only 2-1 down, but just as he was about to make changes they scored a third.....there was no way back from that after the fourth we never ventured over the half way line......

 

I also thought the opposition were excellent....something that is rarely said on here......we are always crap!!

[woollett the bullet]

19 hours ago, coolhandfox said:

Bad, but when you are missing Evans, Fofana, Vesterguard, Bertrand and a Castange not match fit. Then have to play 60 minutes with 10 men, it going to be hardworking.

 

Take 5 first team defenders out of any team in the PL and it going to be difficult. 

Don't forget j j

[tylesta]

3 hours ago, Ethanadict said:

A common theme here seems to be that we feel West Ham bullied us, or were too strong, or were too big.  Whilst they've got two fairly strong players at centre back in Ogbonna and Dawson isn't that normal for most teams at CB?  Cresswell and Coufal aren't tall.  Soucek and Rice in CDM positions hold their own but they read the game well and I don't think either are particularly aggressive players.  And I thought the show was run really by Fornals, Bowen and Benrahma - all comparatively short, none of them are great headers of the ball, and are more skillful and pacey than strong. 

 

Antonio though, was a bit of a beast.  Would our regular CBs have dealt with him better?  I'd like to think so but not sure.

 

But I thought it was the energy and speed of West Ham rather than the size or the strength.  Fornals apparently ran more km than any other player in the Premier league last night.  Compare him to Maddison who went missing in action.  I was surprised not to see Daka introduced earlier.  West ham wanted to sign him before we got him, so you just know he would have scored, it's the rules of the football gods.  But it would have surely have been sensible to throw in some unpredictability.  Moyes appears to have Rogers number.

 

 

 

No wasn't because they bullied us, we are just to slow on the ball we retain the ball and pass about between our CBS and let West ham get back in positions. West ham retain the ball they play 4 passes goal. 

 

Think I said this against them last season.