Leeds Utd 1 West Ham Utd 1 (17/03/12)

[bubbles1966]

I imagine the plan is to have Tomkins sitting back and allowing Noble and Nolan to get up and support Maynard....however it just doesn't really work (although the first against Cardiff was a good example of it actually coming off) as the back four inevitably put it forward and the two CM's are still sitting deep helping out the defence.

What about Nolan right up front and tell Maynard to stay within 10 yards of him for Tuesday? Worth a punt or not?

Noble+Nolan = 2 blokes doing the job of 1.

Maynard = 1 bloke doing the job of 2

[10 Iron]

Good trip up.enjoyable day, satisfied with a point,Brilliant support, Roll on Tuesday, It'll be alright on the night.

[smuts]

How many people saying that its all ok and we did alright are spending 150 quid to leeds and watching that?
seriously, we bought a quality striker in maynard and we are hoofing 50 yard balls up to him - he must be wondering why he moved here!

There seems to be the feeling that it's only "armchairs" that have that point of view....I can't afford to go any more so make do with Streams and the odd trip to home matches...........but the four season ticket holders in my office (2 of which do aways) say the same thing every single week, attacking wise it just doesn't work.

Cole tries his hardest but is constantly surrounded by the opposition as he desperately waits for people to join him, Maynard is being asked to play the same way when he is too small and Baldock is shoved out to the wing.

It's not knee jerk, armchair petulance.............it's a failing that we haven't addressed all season.

Defensively? Top notch and Green, Faye, Tomkins, Reid have done brilliantly and Linda and JOB have been very good for a freebie and a loan. We have also grown some balls after the embarrassment of last season.

Attacking? Same old problem. Too pedestrian, no decent threat from the flanks or real creativity in the centre (Vaz Te was bought to be fair to address part of this problem) and isolating the front man all the time.

I think Sam has done a decent job.....but he's signed three main strikers and just doesn't seem to know who he should play up front and how.

Hopefully it will all come off in the run in..........and I still fancy us to do Smogsboro on Tuesday about 2-3 nil.

[southendmadhammer]

Smuts - agree with all of that.

[bubbles1966]

I'm gradually reaching the conclusion that the diamond is our best bet with the currently fit players (especially at home).

Any pairing of Cole, Baldock and Maynard up front - but they must work their balls off Bellamy style.

Tomkins=Parker.
Noble or Nolan = Noble
Collison = Collison
Taylor - Behrami but with the ability to pass and shoot.

[hawkins_hammer]

I'm gradually reaching the conclusion that the diamond is our best bet with the currently fit players (especially at home).

Any pairing of Cole, Baldock and Maynard up front - but they must work their balls off Bellamy style.

Tomkins=Parker.
Noble or Nolan = Noble
Collison = Collison
Taylor - Behrami but with the ability to pass and shoot.

I thought that as well, but when we played the diamond this season we were useless and quickly reverted back to 4-5-1. So even though I would like us to switch to this formation I dont trust Sam to be able to get it right in the same way Zola did. Also I find your description of Taylor as a Behrami who can shoot and pass to be an insult :lol:

[rossmundo]

For those who went yesterday, how did captain notso fantastic play????

[10 Iron]

10 men seems to be a successfull strategy :shock:

[Bobby Orangeboom]

I thought that as well, but when we played the diamond this season we were useless and quickly reverted back to 4-5-1.

What about Coventry at home then ?

[bubbles1966]

when we played the diamond this season we were useless

Is that because we were putting the wrong players into the positions rather than the basic set up?

Players like Vaz Te, Baldock, Maynard are all a bit nippier than Carew, Piquionne et al - while Tomkins has been head and shoulders above at DM (actually quite startled at just how good he is beginning to look in that position)

[Bobby Orangeboom]

Is that because we were putting the wrong players into the positions rather than the basic set up?

Bubbs, it's none of it, because it's not true.

It's not true that every time this season we've been rubbish and quickly reverted to a 4-5-1.

Don't waste you time replying to this kind of inaccurate nonsense.

[Up the Junction]

It's not knee jerk, armchair petulance.............it's a failing that we haven't addressed all season.

Smuts - you make some fair points that you express eloquently and I don't for one second believe that anyone is lumping you in with the handful of idiots who have neither the intelligence nor wit to post anything more substantial than '<player x> is ****ing ****', 'Zola/Grant/Allardyce etc OUT!!!' and the other banal, negative nonsense we have to endure in every match thread in which the team is failing to meeting (often unrealistic) expectations.

As a meeting place for like-minded supporters, KUMB would be utterly pointless if everyone expressed the same opinion - nobody's asking for that. But as a discussion forum, members are expected to post comments worthy of 'discussion' (on the whole and within reason); some people fail to grasp that and it is they who are unwelcome and they who will find their posting privileges revoked in due course.

I've been involved with this site for 15 years now and it has always been thus; for as long as I remain involved, that's how it will continue to be. I suspect that's how most of our members want it too, else we wouldn't have nigh on 18,000 of you here. Keep it up

[bubbles1966]

Don't waste you time replying to this kind of inaccurate nonsense.

We are talking about a diamond rather than a flat 4-4-2.

Top of my head, I can't remember us playing it - and I can't rmember a 4-4-2 that didn't include Nolan AND Noble in the middle

[Posh-Hammer]

I am a season ticket holder Smuts and I try to get to away games too, and I totally agree with you. I live and breath West Ham and I will still go whatever division we are in, but I do feel with the squad we have, we should, yes, be happy with a well fought out draw at Leeds, but to have really expected dare I say we were capable of a win. Others have won there, why not us? Just like we expected and predicted wins against Watford, Doncaster etc, but didn't get them, and now some people are saying we will beat Peterborough. I for one hope and pray we do, I shall be there cheering them on, I do not boo, but can anyone, honestly say hand on heart that yes we will definately win. This isn't being negative, it's being honest.

[Cardiff here we come.....]

All these things is why I find myself posting less and less here after 5 years of enjoying being a KUMBer.

Agreed

This thread is the prove of the new breed of 'West Ham' fans & its sh*te tbh.If you want to chop & change manager every f**king two years why dont you support Ch&lsea??

Where's the loyalty?Where's the looking on the positive side of things instead of picking every f**king fault.IMO Allardyce has done a cracking job,trying to mould a West Ham X1 he's only been working with for 9 months.Game in hand & 4 points behind the leaders,what more do you want?

[hawkins_hammer]

when we played the diamond this season we were useless

Is that because we were putting the wrong players into the positions rather than the basic set up?

Players like Vaz Te, Baldock, Maynard are all a bit nippier than Carew, Piquionne et al - while Tomkins has been head and shoulders above at DM (actually quite startled at just how good he is beginning to look in that position)

Fair point, it will be much more effective with Tomkins at DM compared to Diop, who just got in Noble's way. But one of the other problems was that the second Noble got the ball Nolan had run past the two centre-forwards waiting for the knock down...it was a fait accompli that we were going to knock it long every time Noble got it....it was utter agony to watch.

I agree with you that a diamond 4-4-2 will play to our best players' strengths, but I just cant see it working, even though I want it to.

BO - i remember Coventry at home, we weren't very good and relied on our usual route to goal to score: long ball, knock down by Tomkins at far post, Nolan tap in at near post.

[Posh-Hammer]

UTJ, I also agree with you. My Dad introduced me to this fantastic site a good few years ago. He used to frequent it regularly but got tired in the end of some of the mindless "schoolboy" posters who began to filter in and spoil good old fashioned debate and discussion.
I use this site all the time, even more than the telly and its a shame like everything else in life that some idiots have to spoil a good thing. Keep Kumb going the way it always has UTJ, I don't know what I would do without it and the majority of posters on here

[Scaloni Is The Messiah]

This thread is the prove of the new breed of 'West Ham' fans & its sh*te tbh.If you want to chop & change manager every f**king two years why dont you support Ch&lsea??

Where's the loyalty?Where's the looking on the positive side of things instead of picking every f**king fault.IMO Allardyce has done a cracking job,trying to mould a West Ham X1 he's only been working with for 9 months.Game in hand & 4 points behind the leaders,what more do you want?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you post vitriolic abuse of Alan Curbishley from the day he came here to months after he left that would put any of the abuse of Allardyce in this thread to shame?

[Doc H Ball]

They build pressure, and your state of mind when under pressure affects your performance and how well you do your job.

Knee jerk, panicky reactions happen on the pitch too (not yesterday though - thought we showed good composure to get the draw after going 0-1)

What I meant Bubs was that people can't judge how the team play on a particular day by reference to how other teams have played that same day.

For instance, reading back through this thread when Soton were winning and we were drawing then we were generally considered to be playing ok. Then when Soton drew level then took the lead whilst we conceded, suddenly we were playing crap.

I don't suppose the team knew what was going on at Senegal Fields when the ball came to the Argie off the crossbar at Elland Road.

Posters should judge the performance, for better or worse, on our performance not on others.

[frankiemac]

Interesting that the official site even says we had 5000 there yesterday