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

[WestHamLyallStyle]

Tactically Leeds did a good job today by flooding the middle. Rice tried to bomb on but that left a gap behind him. We missed Soucek. Antonio drifting out wide didn’t help when you want him in the middle to finish off any chance that comes his way. Silly mistakes; Dawson passing inside to Rice when he’s got players breathing down his neck. Surely you play the ball up the line ? Vlasic not controlling Diop’s pass despite being unmarked and calling for it. Leeds break and score. Rice and Lanzini fine against Norwich but different kettle of fish today.

We go again next week.

COYI.

[bristolhammerfc]

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.

I still rate Fornals but if you rewatch the first goal, Creswell gets beaten on the outside, the ball comes into the box and Fornals stands still instead of closing the player down.

It was typical of some of the decision making in hhe team lately.

[sendô]

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.

You know what, I was about to post something similar.

The way the scoring went was the same too, and in both games at 2-2 I hoped we'd go on to win it but ended up losing.

Teams have worked out that Diop and Dawson playing out from the back is a weakness, and if we punt it long big tall centre halves can out jump Antonio if they stay close to him, and they're then winning the second balls.

We're missing Ogbonna at the back so much.

The most annoying thing for me though is we can all see it, yet none of the players really offered passing options in midfield. Where was Fornals, Vlasic etc dropping deep for a passing option? They were all waiting up pitch for the ball to magically get to them.

[Hammer Laffers]

A result that was coming. We haven’t played well for a while. Although I’m not sure if that’s because teams have kind of worked us out or we’ve hit a dip.

Diop was so poor. Not the hyperbole poor on here but I’m struggling to think of a worst individual performance under Moyes since he came back.

Well done to Leeds. They worked us out quickly.

I fear the top four dream burst today.

[kenthammer1984]

This results really smarts for some reason

[Wilko1304]

I still rate Fornals but if you rewatch the first goal, Creswell gets beaten on the outside, the ball comes into the box and Fornals stands still instead of closing the player down.

It was typical of some of the decision making in hhe team lately.

Oh I'm not debating that, and I'm unsurprised we again conceded cutbacks (we flood deep in the box as a tactic and it's a risk). Moments like that, you recognise where a real central midfielder and someone who can drop and do a job are different. We missed Tommy hugely today on that.

I just mean his use of the ball and his ability to actually make dangerous passes. Last two games he has created some huge chances with good passing, in both halves of each game, and I've seen him described as growing into things in the second half or having a poor first half. And I think Bowen has gone under the radar for a bad game cos he scored.

I cant be letting Pablo get mistreated, I love him

[sendô]

Pablo did similar against Brentford for their winner IIRC.

[hammer1975]

Didn’t watch the game as had made other commitments before it was moved but sounds like West Ham played poorly in game against a team with a high press, smash and grab approach…if so, I presume it was similar to Brentford, Palace, Southampton at home?

It’s becoming apparent that some of our players are less press resistant than we would hope when opposition treat us like a big team and get in our faces. Ball becomes hot potato and mistakes creep in.

In a way it’s a compliment, but clearly costing points.

[sendô]

Watching that first goal back. Yeah Cresswell ****ed up and Lanzini was ball watching for the second phase but our pressing up the pitch made no sense. Just Antonio and Fornals sort of meandering around near their centre backs but not really doing anything to pressure them.

Either we press high up the pitch, or we retreat and only press in our half. We did neither today and just seemed to spread out in a way that gave Leeds loads of space to work with.

[Adecoker]

:The impression I get is Moyes indulging Rice isn't good for the team in terms of results and team morale. He's best guarding the back 4. That is no slight on him or his ability. Just a feeling/opinion

[Tezza65]

It's no coincidence that the games where we haven't been at it are the one's that our opponents have had plenty of rest due to playing the Covid game.

Southampton had 10 days rest before we played them and got a similar result to today.

When we played Arsenal and Spurs,they'd had plenty of rest prior to one game before playing us.

We have played ALL our games over a congested period and it hasn't done us any favours at all.

Yes,we are also entitled to a few bad days has well.

Leeds fully deserved their victory today and tbf to them,they had a lot of players missing..Maybe Moyes should be rotating a bit more and mixing a few youngsters instead of using the same dead on their feet XI?

[sendô]

:The impression I get is Moyes indulging Rice isn't good for the team in terms of results and team morale. He's best guarding the back 4. That is no slight on him or his ability. Just a feeling/opinion

Yeah, to be fair Rice looked good charging forwards at times today, but we were wide open in midfield all too often.

Why not play Kral in the middle sitting if Rice is going to do that?

[Samba]

Proves we need reinforcements badly to the dildos, brings some of the entitlement and expectation levels back down, highlights other clubs cheating their way out of playing even more.

G&S must already have known that, Walth. We knew that we needed more reinforcements in the summer.
Especially playing in the Europa. I know some came in but clearly not enough.

[Ethanadict]

I think a huge factor today was the midweek game we had that they didn’t. Time and time again today, our defenders looked short of options to pass to. The balls played up front to Fornals, Vlasic and Antonio were won far too often by Leeds, who then pounced on us, with our players left trailing in their wake.

It’s easy to criticise the defenders for poor passing but they lacked options to pass to. Leeds we’re winning most 50/50s played to feet. The usual energy was missing in our midfield. And today we missed Soucek. Can’t blame the players too much, they just looked a bit jaded.

What annoys me is that we are doing the right thing by playing the games, but putting ourselves to a disadvantage by doing so. I’m really gutted Arsenal got away with their cancellation of the game with so few Covid cases, it’s effectively cheating. Like Liverpool with their one, when so many of their cases turned out to be false positives. Pathetic.

I don’t want us to cheat like them. I want those clubs penalised. But the Premier League let’s them get away with it, while we play on with a knackered looking team doing the decent thing.

[Hugh Jargon]

Not a great day for us.

Moyes set the tone pre match. He has got a bee in his bonnet about the rescheduled Norwich game. This can have a negative effect on the team (sublimely excusing them for not matching Leeds)

Poor subs. How the hell we can be chasing a game and switch Fornals and Vlasic for Arthur and Yarmo is beyond me.

Diop was awful. Coufal not much better. Fab hesitated coming off his line and Jim missed an open goal.

We will beat Man U Sat.

COYI

[Samba]

We will beat Man U Sat.

PARDON?

[hammerman11]

We need to now.
A few days rest will does us some good

[Crossd_Hammrs]

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.

Quite.
We were very slow starting and they took an easy lead - that was disappointing in itself.
The first half was just like the cup game: they started strongly, butafter an early storm, we took control and it was just like the cup game where we were buzzing around their box a lot but not quite managing to finishing anything off - would a goal come or wouldn't it?
The difference was they scored in their early spell this week. Fortunately their other chances were squandered (as were a lot of our own chances).

Unlike the cup game, Leeds managed chances in the second half, scored again seemingly easily, then it reverted to us in dominating possession but would we manage to score? And if so, how many? Just as the first half.
We did score, but then we gifted them yet another chance they finished off. This time however Leeds stayed on it - turning up their efforts and their press, and looked as though they might run rampant for fifteen mid-second half minutes.
It was quite an impressive turn from Leeds at that stage of the game - I'm inclined to question what was in their half-time cuppa!

I don't understand the posters saying we were lucky, or saved by VAR for their disallowed goal: it was offside plain and simple - they hit a shot into the crowded part of the box and it was more lucky (for them) that it didn't hit one of our players and get blocked than it was unlucky it hit one of their players. And it wasn't really similar to the Dawson/Duffy/Antonio incident as that was a goalbound header that the defender managed to deflect into a player that otherwise wouldn't have been offside, and even then it took 3-&-half minutes to decide it "brushed his sock" without affecting the ball in any way.

Leeds couldn't sustain the agressive press though, and once again it turned into a very open game that could have been 5-5, but in the end, largely thanks to our shockingly bad defending, Leeds won and probably deserved it.

We had so many poor appearances today... and for the first time I really have to say we need one or two better centre backs if we want to play at the top end of the table, (the table which now flatters us , because our rivals only need to get half the potential points in hand to overtake us).

Someone said that was our sixth league match since Christmas Day, but only Leeds' second - if that's correct it helps explain why we looked so ropey and they had so much more energy in the second half.

What's happened to our squad though? Why were so many missing? Have we had a COVID outbreak too?

[Crossd_Hammrs]

Moyes was a bit negative before the game. Moaning about the midweek game. Alluding to not being able to call games off?

He might have got into the players heads. Unfortunately he has previous on this.

Moyes was a bit negative before the game. Moaning about the midweek game. Alluding to not being able to call games off?

He might have got into the players heads. Unfortunately he has previous on this.

Defence is a joke. And he brings on Arthur.

Bad day at the office for Moyes. Moaning before the game. Amd somehow he has managed to take Fornals and Vlasic off and put in Arthur and Yarmo.

Moyes set the tone pre match. He has got a bee in his bonnet about the rescheduled Norwich game. This can have a negative effect on the team (sublimely excusing them for not matching Leeds)

Poor subs. How the hell we can be chasing a game and switch Fornals and Vlasic for Arthur and Yarmo is beyond me.

Pardon?
Did Moyes say something about the midweek game?

[wwipe2001]

The same can be said of Leeds though which is hugely worrying as they have been toothless without Bamford this season.

- James was clean through on about 40 minutes and laughably clipped his shot into Fab’s arms.

- We were incredibly lucky not to go 4-1 when their shot hit Rodrigo on the line and VAR rules it out.

- Rafinha’s free kick was an inch away from going in.

We weren’t unlucky today, we were poor.

I agree Leeds were value for victory but - James is not Rice, Rafinha’s free kick didn’t go in, and Rodrigo was offside just like Bowen was. If Mellier parries to Yarmo and not Bowen, we score… if for their first it gets a touch from the sliding Rafinha it’s possibly offside, etc. There are moments like that all over, in every match.

My point though was that those two misses - inside 6 yards, open net - were huge chances. Bowen’s miss had an xG of 0.82. For comparison, a penalty has an xG of 0.75! The miss was really that bad.

My point was that we created enough big chances to win, the opposition did not. We beat them at theirs with an even worse performance.