Brighton vs West Ham October 5th, 2018

ooh, this is loverly jubberly - after two weeks of having to get up a fupp-nose-o'clock to watch us play... here we are with a friday night kick-off.

which probably sucks for all yous lot... but actually means I can sit here at mid-day eating me lunch and having enjoyed the required number of winks, prior to getting up.

Can we continue our current form?

Can we overcome "lower" opposition out on the road?

Can we make it three league wins out of four?

All these questions and many more will be answered, or at least pontificated over in my usual style...

but not until tomorrow...

I think today all depends on the players mindset going into this fixture. After beating United the other week they could go into this feeling abit cocky etc or they could go into the game with the same mindset as the united game.

I can see us winning tonight as I can`t see Pellegrini leting the players get head of themselves and will make sure the players take Brighton Seriously.

I personally would like to see Diangana start tonight against Brighton.

This is one of those matches where we expect to win and everything can go horribly wrong. This will tell us how far we have come for real. COYI! 'X'

Can't call this one.

If we can win it then MP has done well.

westhamonkey wrote:

ooh, this is loverly jubberly - after two weeks of having to get up a fupp-nose-o'clock to watch us play... here we are with a friday night kick-off.

which probably sucks for all yous lot... but actually means I can sit here at mid-day eating me lunch and having enjoyed the required number of winks, prior to getting up.

Can we continue our current form?

Can we overcome "lower" opposition out on the road?

Can we make it three league wins out of four?

All these questions and many more will be answered, or at least pontificated over in my usual style...

but not until tomorrow...

You West Coast now? I'm enjoying a slow spell at work and watching while I pretend to wrap things up for the weekend.

It would have been nice to have anyone marking anyone on defense there.

oh the best laid plans of mice and monkeys...

all set to go then got called to a meeting... aaarrghh...

so in full catch up mode watching the tape delay and fast forwarding were I can.

I'm at 16 minutes.... Brighton have way too good a record against us... fortunately as up for it as they are... they're not quite firing up front - which is good and long may it continue...

We've taken a couple of knocks.. Yrmolenko and Obiang but both are still playing.

Brighton just picked up their first corner.

We had one a few minutes ago... a nicely worked training ground routine that saw an Arnie volley deflected for another corner...

Too much head tennis in our 6 yard box for my liking from the Brighton corner... but we eventually clear i.

We look okay... not totally dominant like we did against ManUre but we're not quite firing on all cylinders...

Nice run from Masuaku ends in a wayward cross field pass that actually sets Brighton up for an attack but they blaze over the bar...

The only sound on the comms is the West Ham fans singing bubbles... as per usual.

Not a bad effort from Obiang there, just got the bounce angle wrong.

and there you go...

a kind of nothing game...

Brighton come at us... get blown for offside (oo... err missus)

then dispossessed Yarmo and a ball straight into the 6 yard box finds a Brighton player - Glen Murray - on his own, unmarked...

and so he deflects it past Fabianski...

24 minutes and we have it all to do.

That's what you get when you just take things for granted...

so of course the goal has given Brighton the lift they needed to get them a little more direction and purpose..

we're starting to slip back into the exact kind f performance that got us four losses on the bounce...

this is exactly where you got to step up and show what you're made of...

there's plenty of time in this game to turn it around... plenty of time (12 minutes) in the first half to get things back in order...

We can't have Lawro predicting this one right...

Yarmolenko works a triple step over but then the shot is kinda weak and straight at the keeper...


the traveling fans are now nice and quiet... everything is leaning towards Brighton...


and i'm all caught up on 37 minutes....

West Ham goal kick...

it just feels like a case of us falling into the trap of believing our own publicity... of course Brighton are up for it at home and trying to end a run of shitty results.

There's nothing really there from them to ultimately look worrying... it really is more a case of this is how we DIDN'T play against ManUre and so we're letting them into the game, giving them the space to pick up the 50/50 balls...

Cochese wrote:

westhamonkey wrote:

ooh, this is loverly jubberly - after two weeks of having to get up a fupp-nose-o'clock to watch us play... here we are with a friday night kick-off.

which probably sucks for all yous lot... but actually means I can sit here at mid-day eating me lunch and having enjoyed the required number of winks, prior to getting up.

Can we continue our current form?

Can we overcome "lower" opposition out on the road?

Can we make it three league wins out of four?

All these questions and many more will be answered, or at least pontificated over in my usual style...

but not until tomorrow...

You West Coast now? I'm enjoying a slow spell at work and watching while I pretend to wrap things up for the weekend.

Always been West Coast Cochese... 17 years out here. Sunny Los Angeles.

come on... 4 minutes to right the ship... West Ham corner.

Cochese wrote:It would have been nice to have anyone marking anyone on defense there.

you're only 45 minutes from where me little film is screening tomorrow afternoon...

1 minute to go... looks like we'll end the half on the losing side...

we're trying to pile on the pressure outside the Brighton box but they're a solid blue and white wall that we see to have no idea how to get past...

yup... we end up just playing the ball back and forth across the box... zero penetration, zero space to take a shot...

and so it's just as it was...

we're losing, look a little lost for ideas

and are gonna lose this unless something changes.

2nd half kicks off now...

45 minutes to save our season...

well... okay... it's not all lost just yet... but as always... we really need to beat teams like Brighton if we want to avoid a relegation struggle.

we can't afford any team doing the double over us... least of all teams like Brighton...

and yes, no offense meant to Brighton... and I think they should feel the same way about us... these are the games you HAVE to win to do anything, achieve anything...

nothing looks different so far.

Fabianski gets caught on the ball... Brighton win possession...

so it's not looking good thus far...

come on... step it up!!!!!!

see...

you step up the pressure...

Brighton get harried...

they make a mistake and we get a free kick just outside the penalty area...

but then see...

that's what happens when you just put the ball into the wall... suddenly a West Ham attempt on goal becomes a Birghton counterattack...

this is a little better...

there's no end product... but we're applying some pressure and consequently looking all the better for it.

not sure why so many people make a very simple game such hard work.

Arnautovic is head and shoulders above everyone else on the team.

He runs,

He challenges,

He thinks

He's doing everything the rest of the team should be doing... but they're just not at his level - especially Yarmolenko

great run by Anderson...
ball ends up floating across the goal mouth...
Yarmolenko alps at it...
Arnie (no surprise) busts his gut to try to reach it at the far post...

we win a corner...

and the TV goes blank...

nothing happened during the blackout... well... not in terms of scoring...

we're keeping up the pressure but not getting the goal... we're definitely getting closer...

Balbucean has a couple of near misses...


antonio comes on to replace Obiang...

I'll be honest... even a draw isn't good enough for me.

This is a game we need to win.

We're already down a place as we stand... we need to be climbing the table to get us out of trouble... not scraping a draw or losing to keep us in or put us in worse trouble...

ugh... turned on the "app" to try to watch while the blackout was in effect...

just noticed the TV is almost 2 minutes behind the app...

as Anderson balloons a free kick over the bar...

fortunately, living in the technological wonderland... I can stream the "app" to the TV... so although the picture quality isn't quite as good... at least I'm running at the same time...

64 minute gone and we're STILL losing...