West Ham United FC v Boro

Not going to be an easy game and to be honest I`d be happy with just a Draw today just to bring an end to our losing run we are currently on.

I can see Downing scoring against and can see them nicking it 1-0 Tbh tho I hope I 'am proved wrong !

Reece Oxford is playing for the young hammers team playing in the Cup against Leicester today.

WEST HAM UNITED: Adrian, Byram, Collins, Reid, Ogbonna, Obiang, Noble (c), Kouyate, Tore, Payet, Antonio
SUBS: Randolph (GK), Arbeloa, Feghouli, Lanzini, Zaza, Fletcher, Fernandes  

MIDDLESBROUGH: Valdes, Barragan, Gibson, Chambers, Friend (c), Fischer, de Roon, Forshaw, Downing, Rhodes, Stuani
SUBS: Guzan (GK), Ayala, Espinosa, Clayton, Negredo, Ramirez, Traore

Clean sheet at half time......Noble hit the bar........that is all.

Not impressed with the first half apart from the last 10 min,s and I would,nt call that part impressive they just seem to have woken up a bit . 0 0 , I,m happy for now , just sort it out FFS

Disappointed. Goal behind and if it was not for Payet may well have lost. Just cannot see how Bilic works out his team.
I think he will have to go.

Anyone that say`s that Slav needs to go are fupping mad !! , How many times under Fat Sam did we have this sort of run ... the answer is quite a lot and look how long he stayed with us for !
Bilic is the best manager we1ve had for years and I believe if we hadn't of suffered all the injuries we did at start of season we would of started similar to last season Tbh , the injuries have hit us hard and now that we have them all coming back things will only improve for us

Carroll , Sakho and Ayew are back we will be much more of a threat going forward with the likes of Payet , Lanzini , Tore and Fegoulie etc we will be mid table or higher come xmas I personally think

Arran H wrote:Anyone that say`s that Slav needs to go are fupping mad !! , How many times under Fat Sam did we have this sort of run ... the answer is quite a lot and look how long he stayed with us for !
Bilic is the best manager we1ve had for years and I believe if we hadn't of suffered all the injuries we did at start of season we would of started similar to last season Tbh , the injuries have hit us hard and now that we have them all coming back things will only improve for us

Carroll , Sakho and Ayew are back we will be much more of a threat going forward with the likes of Payet , Lanzini , Tore and Fegoulie etc we will be mid table or higher come xmas I personally think  

Fupping mad am l? What makes me mad is seeing our team out played in midfield by Boro. How can you leave Lanzini on the bench and choose Tora, Noble and Kouyate over him? Team selection makes me mad.

Arran H wrote:Anyone that say`s that Slav needs to go are fupping mad !! , How many times under Fat Sam did we have this sort of run ... the answer is quite a lot and look how long he stayed with us for !
Bilic is the best manager we1ve had for years and I believe if we hadn't of suffered all the injuries we did at start of season we would of started similar to last season Tbh , the injuries have hit us hard and now that we have them all coming back things will only improve for us

Carroll , Sakho and Ayew are back we will be much more of a threat going forward with the likes of Payet , Lanzini , Tore and Fegoulie etc we will be mid table or higher come xmas I personally think

The injuries we have had haven't been to players who play in the area where we have struggled most though. Our centre backs and centre midfielders have been woeful so far this season and all Slaven has done is switched them around. He looks like a desperate man to me. Tore starting and Antonio upfront looks quite desperate when we have Fletcher and Zaza on the bench. Tore starting ahead of Lanzini looked like he was hoping to get something out off Tore to justify chasing him all summer.

It's not all Slavs fault though, the players have to do their bit. Antonio losing the Boro man for the goal today a prime example. Antonio needs a spell on the bench for me, for all his effort, pace and headed goals when the ball is at his feet 9 out of 10 times it's going to be given away or end up in row z. Noble needs to step back as well but we never drop our captains so I can't see that happening.

Charlie Ham I wasn't actually meaning you mate I was just stating as a whole people who have starting saying that Bilic should go are mad considering what we have had to Put up with - Not many other many Managers would of done any better then what Slav has done with the Injuries we suffered.
If come Xmas we are still in and around the relegation Zone with a fit squad THEN you could start to question Bilic but until then we should all back Bilic and hope that once EVERYONE is back Bilic can turn things around and we start to see the West ham off last season.

Kray JR I know we haven't had any injuries at the back but what I`m getting at is I think the Injuries hit the squad hard and it`s affected the way we played and had to Set Up for games ... I mean If Sakho or Carroll were fit then Zaza would not be starting that for sure , I think Tore and Fegoulie need more time especially Fegoulie considering he had picked up an injury during pre-season.

I am still torn between whether Bilic got "lucky" last season with his signings, which, coupled with a poor Premier League (Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool not even qualifying for Europe and Leicester winning the league) put us in a false finishing position and whether he has been badly let down by the players this season so far

What I do blame him, and the owners, for is the following:-

• Making it public to the world that we were after a "World Class striker" and making us look fools when none of them wanted to come to us
  
• Burying their heads in the sand when our goals against column since Xmas resembled one of a team in a relegation battle. We conceded 2 or more goals in about 8 of our last 10 league games
  
• Failing to recognise that we desperately needed a proven senior right back - until the last day of the transfer window
  
• Failing to recognise that we had no cover for Cresswell at left back (until he got injured - then they acted)
  
• Signing Tore
  
• Signing Zaza
  
• Playing Antonio at right back
  
• Selling Tomkins with no intention of playing Reece Oxford ahead of Ginge or replacing him, even in the short term
  
• Having Noble as a permanent fixture both as player & captain making him undroppable. He has taken him off in most games. Tells me a lot
  
• Tinkering with the back four this season whilst failing to recognise the gaping hole that is left in front of them because we don't have proper defensive midfield players who are willing to stay in position and protect them. Nordtveit was bought to play there but has played in every position but the one for which he played in Germany
  
• Treating Obiang like a bit-part player which, had they played him, would go a long way to solving the previous point
  

Yes, the players have a lot to answer for this season but I believe that their false confidence early on in the season stems from the fact that they somehow believed that all they needed was a "world class striker" to turn them into a top 4 side. They have not worked hard enough in or out of possession this season whilst the so-called lesser clubs work their collective nuts off. Our position is not a false one in the league. Perhaps 7th last season was

To Some degree I agree with the points you have made Tony. I do believe the board and Slav were wrong to Publicly say that we were after a " World Class Striker " this Summer and I do believe that Byram was actually brought last season to be played this year as a replacement for Jenkinson as Arsenal had made it clear that we was not going to be allowed Jenkinson back again so yea your right that yet again the club acted in a desperate measure to bring another Right Back in Arbeloa and also the same for the Left Back with Masuaku so that we had cover in both Positions.

I think after the international break once we get Cresswell back I think we will become a lot stronger in defence as I think Slav will stick with a back four of Arbeloa - Reid - Ogbonna - Cresswell unless he is forced to change through injury or suspension`s etc.

Obviously the poor season the Top Clubs had last year did help us out and probs as you`ve said put us in a higher position then what we would of been had all the top clubs perform etc.

I`ve always back Noble but even I`m starting to see that he isn't performing no where near to the standards he was last year and maybe needs to be dropped to give him a kick up arse but having him as Captain is right as he knows what us Fans are feeling at the moment and their will no player in that Squad feeling more pain at where we are in the league then him.

And I do feel sorry for Obiang as when he plays , he does really well and I hope he gets more game time as he is a good solid midfielder so unlike players will just sit and protect the back four.

Signing Zaza and Calleri were both Desperate moves by the club and both so far have been mistakes as nether have done thing that makes me think they will be good for us.
Fletcher however is a very clever signing as he looks good and is deffo one for the future and Ayew is a good signing but not worth the price we paid for him and think his injury was just unlucky I think he will become a good signing for us once he come`s back from his injury.

Arran H wrote: Charlie Ham I wasn't actually meaning you mate I was just stating as a whole people who have starting saying that Bilic should go are mad considering what we have had to Put up with - Not many other many Managers would of done any better then what Slav has done with the Injuries we suffered.
If come Xmas we are still in and around the relegation Zone with a fit squad THEN you could start to question Bilic but until then we should all back Bilic and hope that once EVERYONE is back Bilic can turn things around and we start to see the West ham off last season.

Kray JR I know we haven't had any injuries at the back but what I`m getting at is I  think the Injuries hit the squad hard and it`s affected the way we played and had to Set Up for games ... I mean If Sakho or Carroll were fit then Zaza would not be starting that for sure , I think Tore and Fegoulie need more time especially Fegoulie considering he had picked up an injury during pre-season.

Arran take no notice of me, l just had the hump after Saturday game. I don't like to see anyone go but our present troubles started last year and have just got worse. Playing Antonio as a right back said a lot about Bilic who seem to be the only person who thought this right. This I feel had a major effect on our transfers during the break in which the only import so far who has shown some form is Masuaku with the others making no difference at all. In fact I can think of two, Zaza and Tore who are a waste of space. Bilic seems to mess around with changing the wrong players from the team. Noble and Kouyate need dropping and we may start seeing a difference in team performance.

Personally I don't think a partnership of Reid and Ogbonna is going to fix our problems.

Both struggle with decision making and getting caught out of position too often.

I didn't rate Tomkins but I saw him play on Friday at Everton on tv and watched him chase a ball out wide and smash it into row Z, I couldn't help thinking to myself Ogbonna would have kept it in play and smashed it straight to the opposition in a dangerous area.

If we can keep our heads above water till January then a centre back with some bollix who is going to lead and demand from his team mates is a must over any other position.

To be honest I`d feel much more comfortable with a back four off Arbeloa - Reid - Ogbonna - Cresswell then any other combination.

I just hope that Tomkins is given a good reception by our fans as we all know given the choice Tomkins would of stayed with us if knew he was going to get game time etc.