West Ham United 1 Chelsea 1

[JaneB]

Please use this thread for all posts relating to our Premier League match against West Ham United at the London Stadium before, during and after the game.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 12:30 hours on Saturday, 11th February 2023 (Local UK time/date) (Live on BT Sport)

[Rob B]

A whole week until our next game!  😭

Good for GP, the new signings and the players come back from injury but bad for the fans who have to stew on last night’s performance for ages.  

I think they’ll be further changes for this one.  For example, Joao Felix walks into our first 11 at the moment, and you can take your pick from Mount or Havertz on who loses out.  Sterling and Madueke both looked pretty sharp yesterday so I suspect one of them could be in for Ziyech, whilst I wonder if Chuk or RLC would be a better fit next to Enzo in a pivot.  Gallaghers best work is done further up and I believe Chuk has played that role for England. 

On a more positive note, 3 clean sheets in a row mean that defensively we don’t need to change much. Reece would get another start to build up more minutes in the tank, with Chilwell probably getting longer than yesterday off the bench.   I’d probably just about persist with starting Havertz but wouldn’t hesitate to hook him for Fofana after 60 if it’s not working. 
 

                           Kepa

    James.   Silva.   Badiashile   Cucurella 

            Chukwuemeka.  Enzo 

  Sterling.            Felix               Mudryke

                          Havertz  

[thevelourfog]

West Ham look absolutely dreadful this season. 

I'd just like to see some indication that we're actually being coached. Some rehearsed set pieces, wide and post runs being made when the ball is in midfield, overlapping and overloading, the odd passing triangle. Just anything that tells me something is happening at Cobham. 

[Mark Kelly]

8 minutes ago, thevelourfog said:

West Ham look absolutely dreadful this season. 

I'd just like to see some indication that we're actually being coached. Some rehearsed set pieces, wide and post runs being made when the ball is in midfield, overlapping and overloading, the odd passing triangle. Just anything that tells me something is happening at Cobham. 

They're a terrible side , we need to be beating them and playing some decent football along the way. Set pieces are a real bug bear for me , our corners against Fulham were ludicrous and when we get a free kick absolutely nobody has any clue what we're going to do. It's a concern to be sure. I thought against a well coached Fulham side we did show some green shoots if recovery , we attempted or seemed to attempt far more vertical passes than I can recall us trying in the recent past. I think the main issue really is that we still have some horribly limited players in the side , Mount is knackered , Ziyech and Gallagher are embarrassingly one footed and Havertz is barely alive . GP has to start getting some ideas across as despite what I think are some small signs the players for the most part appear to be rudderless which is on him.

Thankfully the defence seems to have been invigorated with the inclusion of Badiashile and with James and Chilwell returning I have a small hope for the future.

[Ham]

1 hour ago, thevelourfog said:

West Ham look absolutely dreadful this season. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Mark Kelly said:

They're a terrible side , we need to be beating them and playing some decent football along the way. 

Dr Chelsea will see you now 🧑‍⚕️

[Holymoly]

Looking forward to progress in this game. Joao Felix in for Hakim Zyech.

[My Blood Is Blue]

We have to see some progress in this game. Potter has had all these players for a week on the training ground now and so we must see a more coherent and expansive style and plan for this. I’m not saying we should see the finished team, but I don’t think we can have as many excuses around ‘players never playing together’. At this level, with this kind of quality, a week on the training ground should be enough to make an impact and so we have to see some improvement.

[Ham]

1 hour ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

We have to see some progress in this game. Potter has had all these players for a week on the training ground now and so we must see a more coherent and expansive style and plan for this. I’m not saying we should see the finished team, but I don’t think we can have as many excuses around ‘players never playing together’. At this level, with this kind of quality, a week on the training ground should be enough to make an impact and so we have to see some improvement.

Agreed. This is the first game where GP will have no excuses. I gave him an allowance v Fulham because Enzo has just rocked up and RJ and BC were in 3rd gear on their returns.

 

[Thiago97]

Some of you guys watch a different West Ham to me. I respect the table says they are bad, but they really are not a bad team. They have underperformed this season, but they are a top10 side and starting to get things right with some very good players.

This is not an excuse by the way, as I think we will win. I think a lot of our problems are down to lack of cohesion in attack, so I fully expect to see us perform better way from home during the remainder of the season. Even more so now with the pace we have added to our attack and the potential for them to play with more space.

1-2 victory with goals from Mount and Felix

[exiledblue]

On 04/02/2023 at 11:14, Rob B said:

 

                           Kepa

    James.   Silva.   Badiashile   Cucurella 

            Chukwuemeka.  Enzo 

  Sterling.            Felix               Mudryke

                          Havertz  

Definitely not a Cucarella fan so would like to see Cahill back in the team but we should have more than enough against this years west ham

[JaneB]

3 minutes ago, exiledblue said:

Definitely not a Cucarella fan so would like to see Cahill back in the team but we should have more than enough against this years west ham

Cahill? Wouldn’t we all?

[xceleryx]

4 hours ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

We have to see some progress in this game. Potter has had all these players for a week on the training ground now and so we must see a more coherent and expansive style and plan for this. I’m not saying we should see the finished team, but I don’t think we can have as many excuses around ‘players never playing together’. At this level, with this kind of quality, a week on the training ground should be enough to make an impact and so we have to see some improvement.

We need to see some structure and direction to move forward with. As it stands I couldn't sit say how we're going to play because I genuinely haven't a clue of what direction Potter wants to take us. If we don't have a desired style in place to work towards then it's difficult to see us building anything coherent and effective. 

[Sciatika]

As a positive, I think there is much more solidity in our defence. I think that's mainly as a result of Badiashile putting in some good performances. Great teams are built on a solid defence.

[DannyLB]

Not accepting anything less than a win. Already on the fence with Potter and in my opinion, this is his biggest test yet. There are genuinely no excuses. 

[xceleryx]

10 hours ago, Sciatika said:

As a positive, I think there is much more solidity in our defence. I think that's mainly as a result of Badiashile putting in some good performances. Great teams are built on a solid defence.

He's definitely added some additional calmness, but I do think the defence as a whole can get better. The midfield still doesn't provide it with the best protection at times, and just as we did with Jorginho in the side, having Enzo isolated like he was in the Fulham game isn't going to always pan out well. Looking forward to the day where we've actually got a competently balanced midfield. 

[CarefreeMuratcan]

I forgot that Felix would be back for this. Going to be a very fun game for us I think. 

[My Blood Is Blue]

I think this all hinges on who we partner Enzo with. We need to be able to allow him to venture forward more and get involved with attacks, I think he can really hurt teams if he's allowed a more free role. We also probably need to try and get Koulibaly or Chalobah some minutes in this one as one of them will be needed for Dortmund, but I wouldn't start either. I would start with both James and Chilwell as they make such a big difference for us and we'll need them both match fit for Dortmund, for sure.

Kepa

James - Silva - Badiashile - Chilwell

Enzo - Kovacic - Mount

Sterling - Felix - Mudryk

I think (if fit) we're going to have to ask Kovacic to play the deeper role in midfield, so we can allow Enzo the freedom. He isn't ideal for it, but he's the best option out of what we currently have in my opinion.

[martin1905]

20 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

I think this all hinges on who we partner Enzo with. We need to be able to allow him to venture forward more and get involved with attacks, I think he can really hurt teams if he's allowed a more free role. We also probably need to try and get Koulibaly or Chalobah some minutes in this one as one of them will be needed for Dortmund, but I wouldn't start either. I would start with both James and Chilwell as they make such a big difference for us and we'll need them both match fit for Dortmund, for sure.

Kepa

James - Silva - Badiashile - Chilwell

Enzo - Kovacic - Mount

Sterling - Felix - Mudryk

I think (if fit) we're going to have to ask Kovacic to play the deeper role in midfield, so we can allow Enzo the freedom. He isn't ideal for it, but he's the best option out of what we currently have in my opinion.

It's a nice 11 that, but a lot of players that haven't played much football lately, I like it a lot but one hell of a gamble!

[My Blood Is Blue]

13 minutes ago, martin1905 said:

It's a nice 11 that, but a lot of players that haven't played much football lately, I like it a lot but one hell of a gamble!

Yeah, I did think that as I wrote it out, but it's all players we could probably do with being ready for Dortmund.

[Ham]

2 hours ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

I think this all hinges on who we partner Enzo with. We need to be able to allow him to venture forward more and get involved with attacks, I think he can really hurt teams if he's allowed a more free role. We also probably need to try and get Koulibaly or Chalobah some minutes in this one as one of them will be needed for Dortmund, but I wouldn't start either. I would start with both James and Chilwell as they make such a big difference for us and we'll need them both match fit for Dortmund, for sure.

Kepa

James - Silva - Badiashile - Chilwell

Enzo - Kovacic - Mount

Sterling - Felix - Mudryk

I think (if fit) we're going to have to ask Kovacic to play the deeper role in midfield, so we can allow Enzo the freedom. He isn't ideal for it, but he's the best option out of what we currently have in my opinion.

Kova's back 🙂

 

[CarefreeMuratcan]

10 hours ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

I think this all hinges on who we partner Enzo with. We need to be able to allow him to venture forward more and get involved with attacks, I think he can really hurt teams if he's allowed a more free role. We also probably need to try and get Koulibaly or Chalobah some minutes in this one as one of them will be needed for Dortmund, but I wouldn't start either. I would start with both James and Chilwell as they make such a big difference for us and we'll need them both match fit for Dortmund, for sure.

Kepa

James - Silva - Badiashile - Chilwell

Enzo - Kovacic - Mount

Sterling - Felix - Mudryk

I think (if fit) we're going to have to ask Kovacic to play the deeper role in midfield, so we can allow Enzo the freedom. He isn't ideal for it, but he's the best option out of what we currently have in my opinion.

When I look at this XI it gives me goosebumps. 

[xceleryx]

14 hours ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

I think this all hinges on who we partner Enzo with. We need to be able to allow him to venture forward more and get involved with attacks, I think he can really hurt teams if he's allowed a more free role. We also probably need to try and get Koulibaly or Chalobah some minutes in this one as one of them will be needed for Dortmund, but I wouldn't start either. I would start with both James and Chilwell as they make such a big difference for us and we'll need them both match fit for Dortmund, for sure.

Kepa

James - Silva - Badiashile - Chilwell

Enzo - Kovacic - Mount

Sterling - Felix - Mudryk

I think (if fit) we're going to have to ask Kovacic to play the deeper role in midfield, so we can allow Enzo the freedom. He isn't ideal for it, but he's the best option out of what we currently have in my opinion.

That's probably the idea line up on paper, although as others have mentioned may be a bit risky with so many of them not having played much football of late. 

I'd probably not start Chilwell purely because he looked rough coming back from his knee injury earlier in the season, then to spend so much time out with his thigh issue on top you'd have to think he'd be massively undercooked. For this reason I'd slot Cucurella in at LB to start, then use Chilwell off the bench in the second half to give us a bit more against tired legs. 

The other big change I'd make, and this would be a gamble in itself, but I'd consider Chalobah in midfield to play that holding type role. Between Mounts shoddy form and Kovacic returning to fitness, starting both together doesn't excite me at this point. This would also let us utilise Enzo in more advanced areas, while again gives us a more senior option off the bench to turn towards later in the game. And if we're looking to really be bold I'd go with a midfield three of Enzo, Chalobah and Gallagher. Dropping both Mount and Kovacic to the bench, while rewarding Gallagher's more recent performances. 

 

Kepa

James - Silva - Badiashile - Cucurella

Enzo - Chalobah - Gallagher

Sterling - Felix - Mudryk

 

[My Blood Is Blue]

2 hours ago, xceleryx said:

That's probably the idea line up on paper, although as others have mentioned may be a bit risky with so many of them not having played much football of late. 

I'd probably not start Chilwell purely because he looked rough coming back from his knee injury earlier in the season, then to spend so much time out with his thigh issue on top you'd have to think he'd be massively undercooked. For this reason I'd slot Cucurella in at LB to start, then use Chilwell off the bench in the second half to give us a bit more against tired legs. 

The other big change I'd make, and this would be a gamble in itself, but I'd consider Chalobah in midfield to play that holding type role. Between Mounts shoddy form and Kovacic returning to fitness, starting both together doesn't excite me at this point. This would also let us utilise Enzo in more advanced areas, while again gives us a more senior option off the bench to turn towards later in the game. And if we're looking to really be bold I'd go with a midfield three of Enzo, Chalobah and Gallagher. Dropping both Mount and Kovacic to the bench, while rewarding Gallagher's more recent performances. 

 

Kepa

James - Silva - Badiashile - Cucurella

Enzo - Chalobah - Gallagher

Sterling - Felix - Mudryk

 

All fair points. I probably am getting ahead of myself with bringing all these players back in so quickly.

I thought about Chalobah as the holding midfielder, but I’m just not sure he’d be able to do it at this level, but you never know, could be worth a try.

I do agree about Gallagher deserving a start though, so I’d shuffle my suggestion and put him in for Mount.

I do hope Chukwuemeka at least comes off the bench tomorrow, he’s impressed me so far and I hope he isn’t the one to loose his game time after these signings.

[Mark Kelly]

I watched the highlights of the Manchester United draw with Leeds the other day and the thing that stayed with me was the sheer amount of times Man United shot on goal.

Now , we could argue that maybe if they'd been more considered they'd have won the game but I was just reminded how little shooting opportunities we take.

In a nutshell , if you don't buy a ticket , you don't win the lottery.

Maybe GP should be concentrating on getting shots off and practising set pieces and we'd be a better side for it.

[My Blood Is Blue]

47 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

I watched the highlights of the Manchester United draw with Leeds the other day and the thing that stayed with me was the sheer amount of times Man United shot on goal.

Now , we could argue that maybe if they'd been more considered they'd have won the game but I was just reminded how little shooting opportunities we take.

In a nutshell , if you don't buy a ticket , you don't win the lottery.

Maybe GP should be concentrating on getting shots off and practising set pieces and we'd be a better side for it.

Just one of the many issues with our team and the final third for so long now. None of our players seems confident to make the final decision in the final 3rd, nobody wants to take a shot, nobody wants to play that final killer ball, they'd all rather pass it sideways or backwards until one of our full backs decided to cross it in the box to absolutely no strikers. Frustrating and has been for far too long.