Relive every moment of every first team game since the beginning of the 2005/06 season. Our archive of matchday threads originally posted in the General Discussion Forum.
prophet:marginal wrote: ↑Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:49 am
Ashby had a good game in parts, but must take some responsibility for the goal we conceded; the bloke crossing the ball had acres of space.
That felt like a breakdown in communication as much as anything - the man went past Cornet on the halfway line originally.
I'm not sure that Moyes would expect Cornet to track him all the way back to our box (maybe he would?), but at the very least Cornet needs to make clear to Ashby that there's an extra runner coming on the overlap and the defence needs to be reshuffled for Ashby to get out to mark him.
They'll be watching a lot of video of that today I'm sure. :shock:
Re Coventry, he was asked to play a specific role yesterday and did it reasonable well. It was his first competitive start in a West Ham shirt so anyone writing him off needs to give their head a wobble.
I'm not saying he'll go on to be a mainstay in the side, just that it is way too early to make any judgement.
Same with Kehrer being "too lightweight". It was one incident when we were exposed on the opposite flank which allowed the cross to come in and it is Coufal's man who scores it. Too much is being made of the tangle Kehrer got into with their striker.
The need for absolute views on here is really annoying. Leads to conjecture and extrapolation based on, usually, very little.
chigwells finest wrote: ↑Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:15 am
enjoyed the game , they looked far sharper than we did , and were technically very good imo, with rice back next week i expect us to pick up more 2nd balls in midfield , benrahma was excellent when he came on , outside of that i thought the midfield was scratchy , still nothing improves confidence more than a win , so looking forward to brighton on sunday
Rice is suspended for the second leg too.
Moyes and Cresswell are both back next week, but only one of them is likely to make the starting XI.
Scratchy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 19, 2022 12:01 am
Kermit wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 10:33 pm
Posotives ? Coventry is good enough to be a squad filler, might even be wort a run alongside Rice as Soucek's replacement.
Post by Scratchy » Thu Aug 18, 2022 11:01 pm
Strongly disagree. He played the safe, negative pass every time.Strongly disagree. He played the safe, negative pass every time.
Absolutely nothing wrong with playing a safe ball when there is no alternative. Better to retain possession than risk it humping a hopeful ball forward when there is no obvious alternative. And of course he may have been playing to instructions.
Last edited by Kermit on Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
StevePottsGoalsReel wrote: ↑Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:20 am
Rice is suspended for the second leg too.
Moyes and Cresswell are both back next week, but only one of them is likely to make the starting XI.
thanks for that , i didnt realise, we def need a playmaker , Cornet made so many runs & got caught offside , only to have to check back , because there was no through ball .
Early doors, but what has happened to our corners? We had about 6 last night, a couple didn't even the clear the first man and we didn't pose a threat from any of them.. It was much the same against Foresr too
wizzo_66 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:37 am
Coufal should be watching over his shoulder at Kehrer. That's the position he will thrive in for us.
I’m hoping it pushes him another level and we get the Coufal from a couple of years ago. Competition for places will obviously be a very good thing for us in that area.
chigwells finest wrote: ↑Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:37 am
thanks for that , i didnt realise, we def need a playmaker , Cornet made so many runs & got caught offside , only to have to check back , because there was no through ball .
That was my biggest problem with Lanzini last night, but TBF that isn’t the type of pass he plays very often which is part of why I struggle to see him in that role for us without another "10" on the left.
Cornet seems to need that ball in front of him. Coufal did it a couple of times (not easy with your right foot from there) and Fornals hit a few once he came on. The timing will hopefully improve with games.
With Benrahma chomping at the bit as well, we have two good and different options on the left but agreed the 10 role needs something. I hope Fornals grows into it as we seem to be struggling to bring in someone with sufficient quality.
Whenever I see Lanzini's name on the teamsheet, I feel hopefully today will be the day he will get it together and produce the goods, but it is hope against hope and I'm sorry to say it, but how long can we carry a player ? He has been with us now for 7 years
Coufal at left back - please no. If Kehrer and Coufal are to be the fullbacks then Kehrer plays left. At least he can do more than just stand on his left foot.
People want us to transition to a possession based team then moan because all Coventry did was retain possession. What last night shows for me is that we are still several players away from being a team who achieve more by retaining possession and passing the ball to death (City light) rather than one that is more likely to thrive on decent delivery from wide.
People want us to be more dynamic then are happy when Coufal (and others before him down that side) slow any momentum down when the ball is switched left by coming back inside into the heart of their team. This inevitably gives the opposition the chance to recover shape etc and exposes are weakness in opening up well organised defensive sides through the middle.
Perhaps Benny might not get past better defenders but by committing them high up the pitch he created space and caused issues. I will not complain if, that high up the pitch, he tries because that is what he should be doing rather than just coming back inside time after time. Same for Cornet albeit to my mind he looked far less comfortable when switched to the right which is an area to work on.
Saw this bit on the BBC match report from last night:
"With Billy McKinlay taking charge in his absence, manager Moyes watched from the stands and was seen handing bits of paper to another of his first-team coaches, Kevin Nolan - Uefa's regulations say there should be no communication with technical staff during the match."
Please don't tell me we are going to have another Mannygate on our hands?
The obvious problem last night is that there was no pivot between defence and attack soucek, Coventry and Lanzini failed to get the ball to the forward line in good positions.
No problems with passing sideways keeping the ball etc… but at some point you have to move it to the attackers.
Home at 2am this morning. Kids had a great time and even got on the big screens!
Highlights for me, apart from the goals, were Ogbonnas comedy tackle in the second half, and the bloke sitting three or four rows behind us who kept referring to Cornet as "kor nit"!
It was an interesting game, they did all the things well that we generally dont. For most of them, it was the biggest game of their careers and thought they gave a good account of themselves. We will need to get used to being the favourites in european games this season.
Main positive is our forwards getting 3 good goals after last week
Not writing Coventry off, nerves, tactics may be why he played it safe although hard to see him playing deep in that midfield two right now as he looked abit lightweight. Still, best way to learn is by doing and thought he did OK.
Ashby seems the most likely breakthrough though, thought he gave us good energy going forward.
Pleased for Angelo, doesnt seem shaken by his injury and Cornet looked good, refreshing to see some pace on our left.
We do surrender all influence in midfield when rice doesnt play. Even when he does, no matter the opposition, we are always in the game but we just never seem to be in control of it. Need to set this right before the window closes.
Just got back from an overnight trip with my son for his first game there. Managed to snag front row seats which he was very excited about but not an ideal position to view the game so will need to find the highlights later. Bit weird when the linesman is in your way!
Before the game I predicted to him 3-1, Scamacca, Bowen then a 3rd from a sub - should have put a bet on!!
Romfordboy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 19, 2022 10:29 am
The obvious problem last night is that there was no pivot between defence and attack soucek, Coventry and Lanzini failed to get the ball to the forward line in good positions.
No problems with passing sideways keeping the ball etc… but at some point you have to move it to the attackers.
I agree with all of this.
Thing is when we did look to go into feet to Scamacca he usually laid it off to one of theirs. Numerous reason for this - wrong runs, to much space to Bowen or Cornet but it is clearly a long way from being effective. Currently we are exploiting one aspect of his game, his physical presence inside and outside the box. I do not doubt more will come but it takes months of work not just a shortened pre-season, people need to learn patience.
As for the sideways passing - want to be a possession team it is what you do. You look to work an opening.
We are far more than just that linking midfielder (AM or CM) away though. Not only do you need that player of real quality but you also need a back up who is similar to cover for injuries suspensions etc. and others who appreciate how to exploit this. Many of the so called “lesser”teams have one player who is good at this (eg JWP at Southampton) but they are not successful with the style.