EL: West Ham Utd 0-1 Dinamo Zagreb (9/12/21)

[Crossd_Hammrs]

Crossed Hammers has since liked my post so safe to say yes it is irrelevant to his point.

Yes, thanks, Stu1, I was unable post a full reply at the time.

It was great to see so many dev squad players get an opportunity, and I'm pleased it didn't turn out to be a humiliating drubbing this time.
Hopefully, despite the defeat, they will take positives from the experience, and we'll see them again in the first team.

[Crossd_Hammrs]

That is an easy one... Tottenham are s**t.
They have been living a lie for a few years and are now being found out.

Don't give Son space, restrict balls into Kane, beat Spurs.

Not the Spurs thread, but if they win their game in hand (v Burnley) they'd be fourth, and above us.

[S-H]

Not the Spurs thread, but if they win their game in hand (v Burnley) they'd be fourth, and above us.

Look at the teams they have played lately, they haven't faced a decent side in the league under Conte.

[-DL-]

Back to the game, as I haven't had a chance to post since the final whistle.

As a spectacle, it was bloody awful, and had I gone to the game having paid full whack to see that side put out and the performance too, I would be pretty miffed.

Anyway - a couple of shining lights. Longelo. He's going to be the real deal. I like him. A lot - same as Ashby. Other than those two, to be honest, the rest looked a bit out of their depth, even against a not particularly good Zagreb side.

Whilst I understand the frustration with our 'senior' players not stepping up and not looking great - I'm not sure how anyone would look great playing with a bunch of kids who are quite clearly, with the exception of the two I have mentioned, nowhere near the level they need to be to be troubling the first team yet. That's not a criticism of them at all - some will come good, some won't. At times, it looked like men against boys - because it was.

Hopefully we can put to bed Perkins starting or featuring again any time soon for the first team. He's nowhere near ready, despite his half decent 15 minute cameo in the previous game.

It's no shame to say that out of the 5 that started, most of them shouldn't be anywhere near the first team just yet - aside from Longelo and Ashby - though I suspect Baptiste won't be too far behind as he showed some glimpses too.

I know some will disagree, but I'm just trying to look at it objectively and realistically, and I'm sure in time, some of these kids will not look out of place in the first team eventually - but yet again, what I have seen are some good youngsters produced by our academy that will go on and earn a good living out the game, even if it isn't with us - and that in itself is something to be proud of.

[Bubbles Fortuna]

I think Perkins was fine coming on against a tired Vienna side who had been chasing the first team forwards all night.

Starting against a decent side with little support is always going to be harder.

Longelo and Ashby looked very confident carrying the ball, would be happy seeing either one of them have some game time in a 343 formation. Longelo especially looked like a real dangerous ball carrier.

A couple of good moments from Alese and Baptiste too, especially considering Baptiste is so young. Alese is 20 now, so he'll need to start getting first team football somewhere.

[davek26962]

Out of all the youngsters, I really thought Alese stood out for me. He read the game extremely well and was very confident on the ball. He would need to beef up a bit to get near to the level of Premier league football but I was impressed with the performance.

[hammerman11]

great goal by orsic, cant blame areola for it.

positives from match
areola - a few good catches and saves.not really tested
longelo - MOTM and by some distance. looks like he could be the next one stepping up, hopefully he will be around the first team squad
ashby - did a few decent things, behind longelo
baptiste alese - looked ok but not really tested.
perkins - looked out of his depth and at 17 no surprise.
noble - tried his best but please no corners
we rested our squad a bit, no injuries

negatives
we lost ! I know it doesnt matter but I dont like it all the same!
poor game
vlasic - did we really pay so much for him, doesnt look much at the moment.
kral - didnt do much, needs to improve
yarmolenko - stank the place out and not a good example for the kids. hopefully he is off in january.

[Roby]

My lasting impression of our kids and they are alright, is they don't have the physical strength of the senior players. That comes through gym work and gaining a bit more experience, but I would say, our future looks bright

Ashby for a young kid is already a unit - rapid pace and broad shouldered. Already strong enough.

Alese was tall and quite well built.

Looked like Perkins needs to hit the weights but at only 17 he won’t be at his full height anyway so they won’t overdo it.

[Swiss Pauli]

Like everyone else I was happy to see the kids give a decent account of themselves, with Longelo being the most impressive for me.

I think we can also cut the senior players some slack: Zagreb came to defend deep and nick a goal. The first team has struggled against that sort of approach this season and the side we picked was not going to outclass Zagreb.

That said, I would be very concerned to see Noble and Kral in a more important fixture. A case of slow and slower.

[Ethanadict]

Focusing on the youngsters, I thought they all did ok but seems like I have them in a different order to most.

Alese - the best for me. Very assured and calm under pressure, plus won a few headers.
Baptiste - second favourite for me. Not quite as strong as Alese but he’s only 18 and quite the prospect.
Longello - very exciting going forward, with quick feet and pace, but he got caught out of position a couple of times defensively.
Perkins - exciting first 20 mins with some really good touches. But he was isolated and ran out of steam.
Ashby - great on the ball but lost a couple of headers and the headers he won weren’t directed as well as they could be.

The others who came on weren’t on long enough to make a proper impression but they all did ok.

I feel they all need a bit of gym work to bulk up because the Premier League is an unforgiving environment. It’s a tough yard stick to compare against but Rice is not a dissimilar age and has been playing for a few seasons now. Physically he looks like a man and they all look like boys in comparison.

Well done to all of them. An amazing night and they and their families must be very proud.