West Ham Utd 0 Arsenal 1 (29/09/07)

[dodger]

Bound to end their jinx against us I'm afraid...
2-4 in a great game.

[Hammersfan111]

I'm not that confident about it, if we got a draw i'd be happy.

[westlondonhammer]

I dont think I have been less confident about a game since our last awful run in the 3/4 stage of last season... not because of our team... but because the way they are playing at the moment

[rare as rockinghorse shat]

---------------------Green

-Neill--------Upson------Gabbidon---McCartney

-Bowyer-----Parker-------Noble--------Ethers

-------------Ashton -------Camara/Bellamy

Think Bowyer could have a stormer for some reason I get that feeling.
Noble to man mark Fabregas, with Parker being the one who ticks things over in midfield and helps create.
Would maybe consider dropping Neill but it's risky to drop your captain, especially for a big game so i'd just give him another one in before we look at Solano.
Upson and Gabbs at the back for me which I still think is our strongest pairing.

Would be very happy with a draw.

[westlondonhammer]

Depending on how Parker gets through tonights game... i think the added quality he will bring to the team will be very important in this game... otherwise i see arsenal dominating the midfield

so, it would be noble vs mullins

noble: in the short time he has been in the first team we have seen him raise his performance in these sort of games... this wont just be a normal prem football game, he will be desperate to win it as a fan

mullins: will we need him to do a man marking job on fabregas? is protecting our back line more important than going forward? if so, he will be needed

solution: play 5 across the middle? or give mullins the first half to keep them quiet and then inject nobles enthusiasm in the second

I dont really see 5 across the middle as an option because we need bellamy (his quality and ability to wind up an opponent without trying... we know how the arsenal players tend to hit out) but i dont see him on his own up top as a viable option! Also, bowyer has earnt a place in the team recently and he cant play as a winger, so he would need to be swapped for ljungberg/solano!

Collins instead of ferdinand... a similar performance to the arsenal game last season will be necessary

So thats...

green, neill, collins, upson, mccartney, bowyer, parker, mullins (noble in the second), etherington, ashton, bellamy... pending no more injuries from tonights game

[dtp2]

2-1 WH

[Fry]

With the form Le Arse are in at the moment this is going to be a real tough one.

So 2-1 west ham it is then.

Come on people!? this is WEST HAM, am i the only one who thinks that we will win this?! Do the unexpected and fail at the ordinary, thats our hammers.

Anyway, 2-1 hammers, adebayor to open the scoring deano to level and bellamy for the winner.

Happy Days.

[davids cross]

This is always the big one for me........in laws are all Arse.

They've only had 2 away games in the league, a draw at Blackburn and a win at Spuds who are always beaten before they go on the pitch.

A draw at least imo.

[happyhammer7]

3-0 to West Ham with Mullins, Ferdinand and Cole to score.......... and maybe a ruck on the touchline between Alan "bulging Bicep" Curbishley and Arsene "Twiglit Matchmaker" Wenger

[Fry]

3-0 to West Ham with Mullins, Ferdinand and Cole to score.......... and maybe a ruck on the touchline between Alan "bulging Bicep" Curbishley and Arsene "Twiglit Matchmaker" Wenger

Mervyn Day as Special referee

Odds on Pardew running down the tunnel as an 'interference' and tag teaming with Curbs?

[happyhammer7]

Yes then Both of the Alans to link up and close line him, followed by a very unconvincing but funny swift kick to Arsene's plums

[Hambrosia Stu]

Collins instead of ferdinand... a similar performance to the arsenal game last season will be necessary

So thats...

green, neill, collins, upson, mccartney, bowyer, parker, mullins (noble in the second), etherington, ashton, bellamy... pending no more injuries from tonights game

Kind of how I see it

I think Collins needs to have a good game to keep Adebayor quiet. I'd pair him with Anton myself.

I'd start with Noble & Mullins in the middle, with Parker on the bench (though I guess how things go tonight will have some bearing on that)

Nobby on the bench, to give us options on the right, as well as hopefully giving Neill a reason to raise his game from recent weeks

Other than that, as you say. Strangely, though the Ashton-Bellamy partnership is what we all want to see, I think we'll miss Zamora in this one. The last 2 victories owed a lot, imo, to all the work he put in, making it very hard for them to settle

[Andy]

---------------------Green

-Neill--------Upson------Gabbidon---McCartney

-Bowyer-----Parker-------Noble--------Ethers

-------------Ashton -------Camara/Bellamy

would agree except i would replace Upson with Collins and put Bowyer in the middle with Parker and have Noble on the right. Bit of pace either side with a more solid centre. We need to feed Ashton balls he doesnt have to run too far to pick up. He was either wearing huge shorts last night or his arse has spread out with all that laying on the treatment table.

[SL]

Sounds like Bellamy is back. Weve missed him big time!!!

Id go with:

-----------------------Green-----------------------

Neill----------Upson---------Anton---------Ringo

Ljungberg----Noble---------Mullins--------Ethers

---------------Deano--------Bellamy-------------

Following victories over both Bristol Rovers and Plymouth Argyle, Alan Curbishley is desperately hoping that Saturday's fourth round draw can bring yet more Carling Cup cheer to Upton Park.

And while some of his Premier League counterparts may not have the competition chalked down as 'Top Priority', it is certainly a tournament that the Hammers' boss is approaching with an air of deadly seriousness.

"A Premiership side will win the Carling Cup so we've got to give it our best shot," insisted Curbs after seeing Dean Ashton's venomous 92nd-minute volley eliminate the plucky Pilgrims at Upton Park. "Certainly, we've shown our intentions by putting out strong sides against both Bristol Rovers and against Plymouth.

"We had five or six players who needed a game but, no matter how much you train, it's still not the same as playing an actual match and it got tough out there.

"It was always going to be a difficult cup tie - just as Manchester United and Aston Villa have found out against Coventry City and Leicester City - and I was trying to tell everyone beforehand that Plymouth would make it a very awkward match for us.

"Scott Parker hasn't played for eight weeks and he had to feel his way into the tie but that's three games under his belt now and we need him back. I also wanted to give the likes of Richard Wright, Freddie Ljungberg, Luis Boa Morte, Danny Gabbidon and James Collins a game but, in all fairness, even though I made six changes, it was still a strong side and a strong bench, too.

"I had no doubts about the team that I picked because I knew it was good enough to win the game but Plymouth came here with other ideas! They made the first-half really difficult for us and they showed that they're a very well organised and settled side.

"They'll be going home feeling really upset that they lost it in the last minute but that's cup football."

Although Curbs might have been spoilt for choice in most other areas of the park, in hindsight it was fortunate that fate dictated he had little option when it came to selecting his red-booted, match-winner, who netted his third goal in three games.

"After playing up at Newcastle United on Sunday, I asked Dean Ashton about facing Plymouth and he said that he wanted to play," revealed the thankful Curbs. "Bobby Zamora has had an operation to wash out his knee and it'll take about three or four weeks until he's ready, while Henri Camara was cup-tied and I just couldn't risk Craig Bellamy ahead of the Arsenal game even though he was itching to play.

"I went with Deano and Carlton Cole again. I think that we all talk too much about playing three games in a week because I reckon that some of that's in the mind and, anyway, if the game had gone to extra-time then we would've just got on with that, too.

"All along, though, I could see that Deano was getting stronger and stronger as the tie wore on and I was hoping that, if we did get a chance in normal time, it would fall to him, because I knew that there was a good chance that he'd finish it.

"I was also pleased for our substitute Kyel Reid who came on and supplied the cross for Deano to produce such a great volley. We haven't put any pressure on Dean Ashton and, although we've been criticised in some quarters for the way we've taken our time in using him so far, we just had to get it right.

"The work that he put in before pre-season has seen him get through the summer and thanks to that effort, he's now being repaid in both games and goals.

"I'm not even thinking about him going off with England. I'm just happy that Dean Ashton's playing for West Ham United and, hopefully, we can now get him and Craig Bellamy playing together, starting against Arsenal at the weekend."

Certainly, Saturday is a key date for the Hammers as they discover their Carling Cup fourth round opponents, ahead of that testing derby against the Premier League pace-setters.


"We're hoping for a decent draw and if we can also get through the next round, then, who knows what could happen from there?" concluded Curbs before heading off to plot how he can shoot down Arsene Wenger's high-flying Gunners. "I've got a bit of thinking to do about the side to face Arsenal because we were very disappointed with the result at Newcastle. The defending up at St James's Park was poor and I let them know all about that on Sunday and Monday.

"Arsenal have got a fantastic squad and they've made a great start to the season, too, so it's going to be a 'proper' match. There will be a fantastic atmosphere at Upton Park and I'm sure that everyone is looking forward to it. Arsene Wenger will come and play their game, so let's just wait and see what happens."

[BubbleBoy]

"Arsenal have got a fantastic squad and they've made a great start to the season, too, so it's going to be a 'proper' match. There will be a fantastic atmosphere at Upton Park and I'm sure that everyone is looking forward to it. Arsene Wenger will come and play their game, so let's just wait and see what happens."

I hope Etherington sets up Ashton for the winner and Curbishley give Wenger the ol'
''made in England''
raised fist in his face.

[Mick188]

---------------------Green

-Neill--------Upson------Gabbidon---McCartney

-Bowyer-----Parker-------Noble--------Ethers

-------------Ashton -------Camara/Bellamy

[Scrambled Egg]

Green

Gabbidon Collins Ferdinand McCartney

Bowyer Noble(c) Mullins Etherington

Bellamy[Camara] Ashton

SUBS: Wright, Neill, Parker, Boa Morte, Camara[Cole].

No way should Parker be starting on last night's display. Over run by Lilian Nalis, hate to see what Fabregas would do to him! And the same applies to Lucas Neill and Matthew Upson, both out.

[Fionn]

We need to stop Fabregas, he can destroy us.

[Mick188]

Green

Gabbidon Collins Ferdinand McCartney

Bowyer Noble(c) Mullins Etherington

Bellamy[Camara] Ashton

SUBS: Wright, Neill, Parker, Boa Morte, Camara[Cole].

No way should Parker be starting on last night's display. Over run by Lilian Nalis, hate to see what Fabregas would do to him! And the same applies to Lucas Neill and Matthew Upson, both out.

Parker was and is better than Mullins

[D&G]

The only two men that could win it for us (well three if Bellamy is back) is Green and Ashton. I'm going for a 1-2 or a 1-3 Le Arse