West Ham Utd 0 Blackburn 0 (30/01/10)

[dodger]

vs


vs

vs

So onto another big match. After a couple of decent away draws this really is one we must win.
Not sure about the team as it depends who's fit (Parker/Cole/Ilunga) and who signs in time for the match (McCarthy/Gudjohnsen).
Presuming that Cole, McCarthy and Gudjohnsen are available but Ilunga and Parker aren't again I'd go with....

------------------------------------Green-------------------------------------
------Faubert----------Tomkins------Upson------------Spector----
-----------------------------------Kovac--------------------------------------
-------------------Behrami-----------------------Collison----------------
------------------------------------Noble-------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------Diamanti----------------------
-------------------------------McCarthy-------------------------------------

SUBS: Stech, Daprela, Da Costa, Stanislas, Gudjohnsen, Cole, Nouble.

Gotta play McCarthy against his old club as I'll bet he's gonna be chomping at the bit to get back at Fat Sam. For once we should have some decent options on the bench as well.
Come on you Irons!

[dicksie]

2 nil to us,and then we will push on and settle down mid table,well l would settle for that

[Puff Daddy]

We always beat this lot every year when they visit us and beat then we will ~ I guarantee it

[Dazzaboy]

After two decent away points I think a win is a must here, it will be the spring board for the rest of our season and hopefully after this we can push on and pick more point and enter the mid table area.

Good feeling about this fixture and if Mcarthy plays its gonna add that little extra playing against his old club so soon! he will be well up for it!


COYI!

[stu1]

Anyone want to see Nouble and Cole up top for this one?

Huge physical presance and alot of pace (espec Nouble), think this would cause a slowish blackburn defence some problems.

Oh and i never ever want to see Noble as an AM on anyone's team sheet ever again! As a CM or DM then ok fair enough, but as an AM dear god no!

[Devs Hampton]

------------------------------------Green-------------------------------------
------Faubert----------Tomkins------Upson------------Spector----
-----------------------------------Kovac--------------------------------------
-------------------Behrami-----------------------Collison----------------
------------------------------------Noble-------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------Diamanti----------------------
-------------------------------McCarthy-------------------------------------

SUBS: Stech, Daprela, Da Costa, Stanislas, Gudjohnsen, Cole, Nouble.

Assuming that were our 18, then Diamanti can go on the bench (he is a luxery player for most part which we cannot afford). Start Cole & McCarthy in a 4-4-2, we are at home, Blackburn are just an ordinary side, attack them, dominate them, beat them, we must get 3 points out of this game. It wont happen of course because the "modern" system is to play the midfield off one front man - we will start cautious, probably have masses of possesion around the middle of the pitch, hardly enter their penalty area and throw one or two extra front men on for the last 20 minutes to chase the win. Pessimist - moi?

[Chavs]

Close Dodger but needs more photos.

[dodger]

Close Dodger but needs more photos.

Edited in the hope of your approval.

[prophet:marginal]

Edited in the hope of your approval.

Jack Straw - ex-Brentwood schoolboy and Blackburn 'loyal supporter'.

What's not to like? :lol:

[westhamjim]

Oh and i never ever want to see Noble as an AM on anyone's team sheet ever again! As a CM or DM then ok fair enough, but as an AM dear god no!

One word for this, naive.

[Puff Daddy]

So Nouble up on his own again then

[stu1]

Oh and i never ever want to see Noble as an AM on anyone's team sheet ever again! As a CM or DM then ok fair enough, but as an AM dear god no!

[
One word for this, naive.

Why is it naive, anyone with half a footballing brain can tel Noble is absolutely terrible when played at AM and improves hugely when he is played in a deeper role! Please dont tell me you think differently!

[roblo]

Love the Champ terminology; I'd play him AMRLC

[Ariksan]

------------------------------------Green-------------------------------------
-----Faubert----------Tomkins?------Upson------------Spector----
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------Behrami---------Kovac--------------------------
------------------------------------Noble-------------------------------------
-Stanislas------------------------------------------------------Diamanti-
---------------------------------Nouble.------------------------------------

SUBS: Stech, Daprela, Da Costa, Collison, Cole, McCarthy

[matty.h]

They will only bring a few hundread supporters so im hoping we will sing our hearts out and make lots of noise and make an atmosphere

2 nil to us

coyi

[BognorHammer]

I have heard we have only signed Benni on loan till end of the season then he is ours.......which means he is inelegible to play on Saturday great!!!!!

[durham city hammer]

I have no doubt cole will start on saturday the question is will nouble or a new signing play with him? zola worries me going
in to these next few games, we need to be going all out to win these games so we need to be more attack minded and that means
dropping one of his favourites in midfield and i can't see him doing this, if parkers fit we have three defensive midfielders in our side
with the other two going off recent games being instructed not to get forward and support the striker very often, one of his
favourite three needs to make way, noble, parker or kovac as you cannot play the three together and expect to be much of an attacking threat especially at home, i would like to see noble and parker in the middle with noble playing the holding role but kovac
seems to be a favourite of zola so i don't see this happening and he will play noble anywhere he can just to accomodate him in the team, this needs to stop and hopefully with a couple of strikers coming in it will and we return to 442!

[westhamjim]

Why is it naive, anyone with half a footballing brain can tel Noble is absolutely terrible when played at AM and improves hugely when he is played in a deeper role! Please dont tell me you think differently!

So you want to play someone who struggles to make a tackle without getting booked in defensive midfield, that will work if you want to play with 10 men!
When noble got a run in the side at the end of the 2007 season he was linking the midfield and attack that was what stopped tevez from dropping deep to pick the ball up as he had someone who was on the same wavelength as him and could pick a pass, much better further forward, where he played for the u-21's many times and ran games. It can't be denied that his career has gone backwards in the last 18 months but playing him in defensive midfield is just pointless anyone with or without a football brain can see that.

[durham city hammer]

I would never of had noble down as a defensive midfielder a while back, i saw him as the link man between midfield and attack
like jim says, but he seems to have aged twenty years since the tevez season and simply isnt mobile enough to play that role
anymore and certainly not wide in a middle three like zola sometimes plays him, he played a more defensive role against pompey i thought and had his best game for a while, certainly more central anyway and it showed, i've been willing this kid on to succeed
ever since i saw him against derby county at the boleyn in the fizzy league, terrible game but he stood out like a sore thumb, but
now i'm beginning to wonder, what i do no is zola needs to either play him in the middle or not at all, trying to accomodate him
anywhere in the team has to stop, imo!

[clawhammer]

I have heard we have only signed Benni on loan till end of the season then he is ours.......which means he is inelegible to play on Saturday great!!!!!

This makes absolute sense as it would solve any work permit problem. Benni would have to play well to get himself back in the SA WC Squad or no work permit for next season and we get to cancel his contract. If he is **** then...we get to cancel his contract.Of course, he could not play against us which explains why there is no news yet although it is possible we are trying to get a work permit for him as a West Ham player.IIRC it took us nearly a month when we signed Dumitrescu!!!