Watford 1-3 West Ham Utd (24/08/19)

[e17]

For those clammering for Noble, he was no better than Wilshere for me today and offered nothing going forward.

And yet here we are, 3 points better off, and happy after a day out in Watford

aka: absolute b*llocks

[S-H]

Come on you irons!! Well happy.

Aller Aller Aller, Aller!!!

[LeonRivers]

Arthur utterly dreadful today. Poor on the ball.

Terrible assessment.

[LeonRivers]

Haller didn't too much today but was involved in everything in their box. Bagged two goals. I really like hom so far.

Just look at the work he did in the build up to Lanzini winning a penalty. He's got everything.

I really can't see why anyone would think he goes missing during games. He was an excellent outlet for us today.

[LeonRivers]

Two games in a row we have scored a goal from an attack directly started by Masuaku winning a tackle.

That was brilliant play. Very brave to win that first ball. Many players would have pulled out [to a degree] fearing the collision. To go in and win that ball and retain control of the ball was excellent.

[Hammer Laffers]

The difference between Noble and Wilshire was the utter bollocking he gave the defence in the first half. Ogbonna looked like a naughty schoolboy.

[Colours never run]

I didn't think Masuaku was all that bad today. At times he was very good but he does still have a tendancy to switch off on occasions.

Fredericks on the other hand, wow. That corner he mindlessly gave away with no one near him up the pitch will live long in the memory. Up their with Zazas shot that went for a throw in. :lol: One of our worst passers of the ball by a country mile.

[mattyD]

For those clammering for Noble, he was no better than Wilshere for me today and offered nothing going forward.

That's way off - Wilshere has proven he can't play there..... because he can't run, he can't defend and he hasn't got the positional sense - let alone the leadership. Nobes did 10 times what Wilshere has and without a proper pre-season.

[Aurora borealis]

Who do we think we are...? Watford was god going forward. We defended well and won 3-1

[Croydon]

For those clammering for Noble, he was no better than Wilshere for me today and offered nothing going forward.

Noble played at least 3 defence splitting passes today.

[Marky]

It was hot today.

I thought Fredericks was poor today that’s as bad as I have seen him.

Lanzini is really improving and Rice was brilliant.

Not a fan of Yarmolenko at all

[OohAahButler]

I also thought Arthur had a good game, and I’m usually one of his critics. Fredericks has pace but lacked quality in the delivery.

For their goal, our defence was left exposed by our midfield failing to track back. Again. At least Noble gave them a bollocking for it. This must be sorted.

For me, Noble had an excellent game - not sure where you’re coming from on this one, Pezza. What was it you were unhappy with?

[Samba]

If you lot would rather go down to the beach I know exactly how this game is going to pan out - Watford 1 West Ham United 3

DL (for starting the thread) & TOMoS (the return of the entrails).
GET IN!

[Aztec Hammer]

Fredericks has a Premier League engine and Championship ability.

[Morocco Mole]

Antonio is crucial pace, power and directness in a team as powderpuff as ours.

Great win but the reality is we are two different sides, a good attack and a diabolical defence.

Those two things are linked though. The front 4 don’t work hard enough out of possession which puts pressure on the defense.

Anderson, Lanzini, Yarmolenko.....even Antonio. They’re never going to do the graft of a De Bruyne or a Silva. Thats why they play for us. It’s also why we should set up a little differently in terms of balance. (See Klopps Liverpool)

All that being said, I enjoyed today. Good win.

[Morocco Mole]

The difference between Noble and Wilshire......

Is that Noble gets his head up, composes himself and finds an (invariably) incisive pass whereas Wilshere runs with it, (invariably) in dangerous areas and falls over a lot/loses possession.

[Aztec Hammer]

You really dislike Wilshere, don’t you!

But yeah, Noble starts ahead of Wilshere as it is. Jack’s biggest issue is he has been robbed of his mobility, and it’s clearly affecting his confidence to play the style of football he was previously capable of.

He needs to play in a midfield three, but then again, I also think that applies to Noble, just less so. It’s a problem when you are slower than Mark.

[Puff Daddy]

Fredericks has a Premier League engine and Championship ability.

He's not the greatest around and we all know that, but I think he does his best and unless the opposition have a game plan to peg us back down the flanks, he does get up and down OK. Sure, he has his flaws, crossing being one of them, but until we have the money to buy somebody better, we don't really have any other viable option, save Zabaletta, who is now just about done

[DannyboyDJL]

We had 3.46 expected goals today, which is the highest of any team so far this season.

Unfortunately, Watford's was 2.29, which adds to the 2.4 at Brighton and 3.18 against City.

Those numbers are far far too high and we are bottom of the table so far. After 3 games our xG against is 7.88, Villa next worse with 5.34. We are 4th for xG for though.

Obviously playing City warps that a bit, but for context, Everton and Leicester xG against this season is 2.77 and 2.69.

[Aztec Hammer]

Fred should definitely be first choice, even if I think he is technically poor. It’s a young man’s game, especially full back, and speed is critical.

He just needs to stay late after training and practice crossing to a specific target. As well as calming down on the ball in general. He is a bundle of nerves.