⚽ West Ham Utd 0-2 Brentford (30/12/22)

[Bend it like Repka]

I still, and never will understand why Benny is starting. We are creating very little in the final third, and he is part of that problem. Last night it was the same old, get the ball on the left, feign a little dummy and then cut inside to roll a nothing ball square to a player.

His output and end product is minimal. I can't understand how he is starting after 3 seasons at the club where he wasn't first choice in the previous 2....

[costa75]

Genuinely thought Paqueta was our best player for large parts of that.

[Johnny Byrne's Boots]

^^^^Benny's natural form, for want of a better expression, is to cut inside and shoot. He has scored a few like that for us and many more in the Championship. Is it possible Moyes has told him not to shoot but to keep possession instead?

[bubbles1966]

I still, and never will understand why Benny is starting. We are creating very little in the final third, and he is part of that problem. Last night it was the same old, get the ball on the left, feign a little dummy and then cut inside to roll a nothing ball square to a player.

His output and end product is minimal. I can't understand how he is starting after 3 seasons at the club where he wasn't first choice in the previous 2....

Cornet is injured and Fornals last had a good game over a year ago.

[Diogenes]

A bit of a juvenile response to Wilko's post don't you think?
I agree with Wilko, Paqueta was fine last night. Ran out of puff after about 70 minutes, but some of his link up play and bringing others in was very good. Coufal, Bowen, Benrahma and Rice were also very good IMO.

[Crouchend_Hammer]

I still, and never will understand why Benny is starting. We are creating very little in the final third, and he is part of that problem. Last night it was the same old, get the ball on the left, feign a little dummy and then cut inside to roll a nothing ball square to a player.

His output and end product is minimal. I can't understand how he is starting after 3 seasons at the club where he wasn't first choice in the previous 2....

He created all the best opportunities last night despite not playing in his correct poaition

He should not be chained to the touchline tasked with crossing the ball. He is not a winger

Play him as part of a narrow interchangeable front three or behind the striker. Him and Bowen are being misused

[Wilko1304]

Charming. Good argument.

[Wilko1304]

Cornet is injured and Fornals last had a good game over a year ago.

Came off the bench and looked decent against Arsenal. Not the first time he's done that. The team isn't winning without him. How long does one deserve to be punished? Why can't the manager get him back to that?

Equally, we lack someone of his skill set. Quite possible that a Fornals at 50% makes the team better and the system work better than a few other options.

[Ozza]

Genuinely thought Paqueta was our best player for large parts of that. There were simple passes he made that none of our midfielders do. The only passes Dec makes that cut out more than one man are his floated passes out to the right, where Vlad is basically tasked with making something out of whatever situation he’s forced into.

His defensive work was pretty decent, too. He looked no less unfit than Rice, to me, who was running back through treacle at times. Numbers show he made more tackles and clearances.

We missed a man ahead of the midfield base. There was no one to receive his passes. It was only Scamacca, and he tuned out after 15 minutes, probably tired of watching crosses go nowhere near him or float aimlessly above his head for him to barely be able to get onto. Not a real excuse, but you can understand his lack of desire. Needed Fornals.

Looked like a great decision until they scored and our heads dropped, defo think he’s lacking fitness as well, thought he and Rice looked great for a while.

Our issue is our centre forward, Paq needs movement and show one to show for him….

Certainly doesn’t deserve some of the crap he’s getting on here

[S-H]

For me, Fornals is exactly the sort of player you'd want playing at the moment, even over Benrahma, who individually has been ok, but part of a team not so much.

Fornals can put a shift in, and can find a pass too.

Like everyone else, he is out of form, but for some reason he doesn't appear to be part of the manager's inner circle any more.

[bubbles1966]

In Cornet's absence I think our best front three is probably Antonio, Bowen and Fornals.

Wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see it start at Leeds.

[hammerman11]

Why did moyes not make more subs last night ? Firnals on for paq
Downes over soucek for me.

[daytimedave]

i think he just put soucek on just for his aerial threat , desperate stuff

[Wilko1304]

In Cornet's absence I think our best front three is probably Antonio, Bowen and Fornals.

Wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see it start at Leeds.

I worry about the wing for Antonio, who looks to lack the mobility he once had, but I would considering giving it a go just because the wing backs should provide width and we need goals. If the front three can operate as a tight unit, it might work out.

[ALIEN1X]

Since the new signings the performance has drastically dropped.
Surely there must me some form of disruption betweeen players and the new signings, cant blame everything on Moyes, the players have to take some of the blame.

Im not ipressed by the new signings and they do not appear to fit in.

I think Scamca is over rated and Kehrer

[Ilford Paolo]

We were in Row 14 directly behind the goal, that was a great save from Fab, as you say, the ball was really moving. Not his fault for that one or the second goal, shocking defending, especially from Cresswell. He was awful.
Greetings from row 13 in the centre of the goal

[Ilford Paolo]

A bit of a juvenile response to Wilko's post don't you think?
I agree with Wilko, Paqueta was fine last night. Ran out of puff after about 70 minutes, but some of his link up play and bringing others in was very good. Coufal, Bowen, Benrahma and Rice were also very good IMO.

Paquetta seemed better able to cope with the physical stuff than an experienced defender like Cresswll.

[Ironing Board]

He created all the best opportunities last night despite not playing in his correct poaition

He should not be chained to the touchline tasked with crossing the ball. He is not a winger

Play him as part of a narrow interchangeable front three or behind the striker. Him and Bowen are being misused

What is his best position? He was a winger for Brentford when we signed him. He is supposedly an inverted winger like Bowen but doesn’t have the required dynamism and tends to take the wrong option.

That said, he got himself in prime position to score and rather than knock it down for him Scamacca opted to try and score with a painfully weak backwards header instead. I think it was 1-0 at that point and would have been a decisive moment.

[D C]

Since the new signings the performance has drastically dropped.
Surely there must me some form of disruption betweeen players and the new signings, cant blame everything on Moyes, the players have to take some of the blame.

Im not ipressed by the new signings and they do not appear to fit in.

I think Scamca is over rated and Kehrer

The performance levels were just as bad for much of the end of last season. Fatigue was blamed then but now it’s new signings taking the blame

[Bend it like Repka]

Play him as part of a narrow interchangeable front three or behind the striker. Him and Bowen are being misused

So who is providing the width in this setup?

If he supposedly created all the best opportunities last night despite not playing in his correct position, they must have passed me by. We created 5 shots on target, one was a long ranger from Scamacca and another a header from Dawson. It's not a lot, but then it usually it never is from him.