West Ham Utd 2-3 Leeds Utd (16/1/22)

[Diogenes]

Are we deluding ourselves just a bit with our expectations? When the only cavalry you can call on to get a result and consolidate a top 4 spot consists of Masuaku, Yarmalenko and Perkins it adds a real dollop of perspective to our position.

[MB]

Am I the only one that doesn’t think Bowen’s chance was that easy? It was pelted at him and he didn’t have a chance to head or kick it.

It is really difficult. His run is perfect if the ball doesn't deflect. Once it does, it is a tough one and chesting with any control is tough unless you are Ibra.

[S-H]

We were open because we were chasing the game.

Once we equalised we should have steadied the ship, given ourselves time, and then go looking for another goal, instead we rampaged forward and left ourselves vulnerable right away.

As it was there was a sense of desperation in our play, because we never really gained any control over the game.

We allowed Leeds to impose their game on us, and the early goal for them was key to that.

They clearly leant more in defeat last week, than we did in victory.

Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up, and say fair play.

[Johnny Byrne's Boots]

How many of the 'established' Big Six™ would be thinking "It's Leeds at home next, we'll have to score four to beat them"?

[smuts]

It is really difficult. His run is perfect if the ball doesn't deflect. Once it does, it is a tough one and chesting with any control is tough unless you are Ibra.

99 times out of 100 that ball bobbles over the line off his chest. The deflection stopped him being able to head it so he had to improvise.

Thought he was unlucky to be honest...

[Rio]

We can afford 1 or 2 players being off form, but not 7 or 8.

Very bad day at the office. But glaring errors in both selection, substitutions, and ultimately attitude.

Playing 4 largely offensive options against Norwich was ok, but against a Leeds side who press, hustle and work like dogs was not the right call. Moyes clearly doesn’t rate Karl, but his presence, just holding and protecting would have been perfect.

Instead we allowed them to clearly put a centre half partnership who aren’t great on the ball and looked increasingly fragile by the minute under far greater pressure than was necessary. Dawson & Diop have no confidence in each other and when those around them misfire the anxiety creeps through the side faster than Omnicron.

Rice tried to carry the side on his own, but soon as he gets into the final third you just know that our Rolls Royce becomes a Nissan Juke.

Leeds got their tactics spot on. Antonio was marginalised. They exploited the problematic left channel. The squeezed the life out of lanzini. In short bielsa and his magic bucket left us devoid of any imagination, endgame, comfort and poise.

The substitutions for us we’re equally baffling and predictable. Arthur for Vlasic is almost as regulation as calling Mike Dean a useless prick. Niko didn’t have a great game but there were worse out there and I’m sorry but Arthur is as enigmatic as the Mona Lisa. Only with slightly more marginal output. Fornals for Yarmo was nonsensical. Take off a creative, hardworking force for someone so one dimensional it’s painful.

What today did was expose our lack of options, our vulnerability against contemporaries and complacency is our biggest threat.

I’ve no doubt we’ll win at Old Trafford next week. But just know we’ll follow it up with a loss against Newcastle or Watford

[Clucking Bell]

Once we equalised we should have steadied the ship, given ourselves time, and then go looking for another goal, instead we rampaged forward and left ourselves vulnerable right away.

I make you right. I suspect there was more than a little hubris involved. We played some lovely football in the period immediately before Fornals scored and, the players and, I guess, us as supporters thought that normal service had been restored and we could go and stick another two or three past them and job done.

I think we got a bit cocky and, as others have said, we probably needed to bring on Kral as a second holding midfielder or for Moyes to have reminded Rice that he needs to do his day job before doing his Roy of the Rovers bit.

[Johnny Byrne's Boots]

Statiscally a team is at its most vulnerable just after equalising.

[S-H]

On the flip side, a lot of goals this season, and last, have come in short bursts, so the players are almost conditioned to expect that when we get one, the second isn't usually too far behind, and neither is a third..

I guess it comes down to game management, something you can only learn from experience.

So if there are any positives to take away from today's defeat, it will be that it should act as a valuable lesson.

We're still a work in progress, and still have plenty to learn.

[DenziMart]

Diop overall, not great. Blaming him for the goals and making him out to be a worse than the others is not right.

Haven't dissected the game, having been at the stadium and not having the benefit of replays, so can't say whether Diop was at fault for any goals directly. However, having seen him in person for the past few weeks, his confidence is shot and he shouldn't be on the pitch. He panics every time he has the ball, he gets turned all the time, his positioning against the attackers is awful, for a big bloke he wins few headers and he fails time and time again to make a pass. The murmur in the stadium every time he has the ball is noticeable. He's a shadow of the player he was 3 seasons back. He may not have been directly responsible for the goals, but he was frankly awful today. He wasn't alone of course, but Cresswell for example has credit in the bank after a great season. Diop is massively in debt with the bailiffs walking up the footpath.

[Gsbgsb]

We can afford 1 or 2 players being off form, but not 7 or 8.

Very bad day at the office. But glaring errors in both selection, substitutions, and ultimately attitude

Playing 4 largely offensive options against Norwich was ok, but against a Leeds side who press, hustle and work like dogs was not the right call. Moyes clearly doesn’t rate Karl, but his presence, just holding and protecting would have been perfect.

Instead we allowed them to clearly put a centre half partnership who aren’t great on the ball and looked increasingly fragile by the minute under far greater pressure than was necessary. Dawson & Diop have no confidence in each other and when those around them misfire the anxiety creeps through the side faster than Omnicron.

Rice tried to carry the side on his own, but soon as he gets into the final third you just know that our Rolls Royce becomes a Nissan Juke.

Leeds got their tactics spot on. Antonio was marginalised. They exploited the problematic left channel. The squeezed the life out of lanzini. In short bielsa and his magic bucket left us devoid of any imagination, endgame, comfort ……

Thing is whenever I have seen Kral player he does neither hold or protect, he tries to play exactly how Rice did today only just not as well.

Bielsa put out a weakened side last week but brought back the likes of Raphinia and Dallas. Last week was a Bielsa spying mission for the job he did on us this. Yes they had injuries but they had the week to prepare, knew their job and stuck to it. In essence providing we had to go back to Dawson and Diop they were winning.

Vlasic was excellent last week, they saw that and set about driving him deeper to get the ball, same with Bowen leaving Antonio increasingly isolated. Having one of the two CB or Koch forever on top of him reduced his effectiveness to near zero. Our midfield creativity was Rice powering through the middle but in large part because there were few other options. People talk about taking Fornals off and I accept he scored but generally I did not think he was great in the role of the creator. He was not dictating the pace of play as much as playing it at the pace Leeds wanted. Losing Soucek weakened our midfield not only because he was missing but because the player who has recently kept us ticking was forced deeper into a less suitable role.

For all of that Dawson should have scored, Bowen should have scored and the Dallas block on Antonio was top draw.

[sendô]

Once we equalised we should have steadied the ship, given ourselves time, and then go looking for another goal, instead we rampaged forward and left ourselves vulnerable right away.

As it was there was a sense of desperation in our play, because we never really gained any control over the game.

We were constantly trying to force it.

At no point were we in control of that game bar perhaps 10 minutes early in the second half.

[Wilko1304]

Diop was awful. Amount of passes he got wrong, his genuinely awful attempts at defending. He makes those around him worse.

Watching the Vlasic goal back, his involvement isn't as bad as I thought. I would guess everyone is assuming he's at fault because he has a history of making dozy decisions and passes, and did numerous in this game. He was atrocious on the second goal, his defending after the pass on the third goal is absolutely abysmal (he just lets Raphinha make that pass - but he's also forward so he's left a massive gap behind so Dawson has two huge holes to deal with) and that disallowed goal was just horrible play by him.

I'd have had Coufal the least culpable at the back today, but he seems to have become a target because Johnson exists. Cresswell did absolutely what people remember about Cresswell as a reminder that his good work does not mean he's a different player.

Overall, a different game if Rice just sits or Tommy is there. Seemed very weird that we go into a game without Soucek, Zouma and Ogbonna but don't make Rice protect the defence.

[bristolhammerfc]

I love Declan Rice, but we lacked leadership out there today.

We played like three units rather than a team.

Fornals fails to take responsibility and we are 1 down

Diop switches off and we lose the game.

No one took responsibility for grabbing the team by the scruff of the neck and focusing them

It's been lacking lately

[Wilko1304]

If Bowen had had half the game Fornals had had, the flame emojis on Twitter would be all over the place.

He was the only one who could pick a forward pass.

[S-H]

Seemed very weird that we go into a game without Soucek, Zouma and Ogbonna but don't make Rice protect the defence.

Hopefully Moyes will have learned a lot today.

[kitthehammer]

Yes there were a lot of players who looked terrible today but again i’ll go back to the manager not selecting the right player in not getting alex kral in midfield.
That decision affected everything else.

[Turtlecharityracer]

If Bowen had had half the game Fornals had had, the flame emojis on Twitter would be all over the place.

He was the only one who could pick a forward pass.

Fornals was average the first half. He came out the second half a differentl player - finding progressive, cutting passes and lookingbour only dangerous playervin the final third .......... ... then Moyes subbed him. Go figure.
At times Moyes just looks lost and reverts to the same changes (fornals, Bowen, Benrhama, last throw of the dice Yarmalenko) and doesnt really seem to be able, or brave enough, to make substantial changes to personnel and tactics. Just my opinion of course.

[Wilko1304]

Hopefully Moyes will have learned a lot today.

It's exhausting being this frustrated. We're so close to being somehow more massive than massive. Massiver. The most massivist team ever.

[Absolutely Hammered!]

The game seemed like a carbon copy of the Southampton game.... we equalised twice but we couldn't quite settle and get the winner.
It seemed like every time Leeds came forwards they'd score and what's annoying is it wasn't like they were constantly knocking at the door.
Today Leeds were clinical which is something you don't associate with Leeds. Same as Southampton.