WHUFC vs Liverpool February 24, 2018

we don't beat Liverpool very often... but we have done so in recent history more than once - and sometimes done it with some style.
Possibly the most important stat - one which fortunately backs up my feeble recollections of the games - we seem to beat them when we score early.

come out of the gates and batter them. As my dear old TV dad used to say... "they don't like it up 'em"

02 Jan 2016 West Ham United v Liverpool 2-0 (1st goal on 10 minutes

29 Aug 2015 Liverpool v West Ham United 0-3 (1st goal after 3 minutes)

20 Sep 2014 West Ham United v Liverpool 3-1 (1st goal after 2 minutes, 2nd goal after 7 minutes)

admittedly they've stuck 4 past us on the last 2 meetings... but we've seen what happened when we come out of the gates and go for it.

so yes, I fully expect us to sit back and defend for 90 minutes and hope to hit them on the break...

this better be worth getting up at 6:30 on a saturday morning for...

Over the years I've wasted far to much time, money and energy going to Anfield to see us get battered by the bin dippers, being an eternal pessimist I can only see another battering on the cards. 
However, if the right West Ham turns up, if the team play with passion, heart  and desire, if we get an early break we could upset them again. In about a dozen trips up there over 40 years the best I've seen was a 0-0 draw, I'd take that tomorrow. Better still 0-1 with a goal in tbe 93 minoff Arnies arse! 

awroit, awroit... let's do this... friday afternoon... having a cup of rosey....

Let's look at tomorrow and see what we want to happen...

Leicester vs Stoke
- no way is this interesting or relevant enough to get up at 4:30 on a weekend to watch. The Foxes are 8th and I just feel in my bones that the current 5 point diff is too big a leap for our bunch to overcome. Besides... we need Stoke to be relegated - so we have to go for the Leicester win.

AFC Bournemouth vs Newcastle
- this is the tough one to call. No result here does us any good. If we don't manage a win then any result here is even worse for us... the Georgies are only 2 point behind us so a victory for them drop us below them and a victory for Bournemouth put them at a minimum of 1-4 points ahead of us... I know... we're struggling to even keep up with Bournemouth... how you like them apples?

Brighton vs Swansea
- another toughie... a victory for either team could leap them above is (more likely for Brighton than the Swans thanks to their terrible goal diff... but with the chances of us getting bugger all from the trip north... this is the week we can really least afford the loss.

Burnley vs Southampton
- if we can't catch Leicester in 8th with a 5 point advantage, I have to go with us being unable to catch Burnley in 7th with a current 6 point cushion... so the only result that really helps us is a Burnley victory - come on the claret and blue!!!! Otherwise Soton will be only a point behind us - if both games go our way that gap will be 7 points.

Liverpool vs West Ham
- only one result works here. West Ham win. Don't care how unlikely... we need it.

West Brom vs Huddersfield
- of course we love an under dog.. otherwise we couldn't love ourselves... but we really have to here... because a Brummie victory hurts us not a jot and it would keep Huddersfield at least three points behind us (hopefully 6 when we beat the reds.

Watford vs Everton
- it's tight. Happy to see both of these teams lose - which can't happen... but given the chance of us not getting three points, we have to go for the Everton victory to keep Watford within sight of us

Palace vs Spurs
- we have to go for the Spuds victory here - personally couldn't care what they do... - but we need to keep that cushion between us and Palace to stay safe.


see y'all at 6:45am or thereabouts...

Thanks Westhamonkey.

So a win is best for us however I just can't see that happening.

Next month is going to be quite hard.

well it's not like we decided to go at them... the Pool have just had one off the nudie of the post... fortunately Ginge put it to for a corner..

Crowded midfield, so even when we try to ping it about, we're overwhelmed and the Reds retain possession...

so Chicharito, Reid and Antonio only make is far as the bench...

Evra makes his debut...

pretty decent defending thus far... although it's been pretty relentless Liverpool pressure in the first 13 minutes.


this is definitely more of the 'sit back and hope' style of football rather than the 'get up at 'em'...

our manager has never won at Anfield... obviously if that was the case for the opposition you cold pretty much bet the bank that they'd beat us... but this is west ham...

holy shit...

Arnie just dinked a little chip over the keeper and was very lucky to see it hit the underside of the bar and bounce out instead of in...

and another decent West Ham effort... lots of possession in the Liverpool box... Arnie, Noble... just seemed like we are desperate for a goal poacher... but we don't have one... erm... on the pitch...

but even with all their up field players... the Pool manage to overwhelm us in defense as well and it comes to a shot wide of the post that no one can get an outstretched foot on...

but at least we are having a bit of a go...

prior to those two little nits of excitement, Liverpool had enjoyed some 80% of the possession...

some good dynamic / desperate tackling from Noble, Ginge and Kouyte... Milner is down injured as a result...


the Geordies have taken the lead which is one of those results we don't want to see happen...

well there was me about to write how we'd weathered half the first half... but then a concerted bit of Liverpool pressure ends in a couple of corners and would you 'ave it...

their 100th goal of the season... a header through traffic into the bottom corner...

ugh...

all that good work so easily undone...

now we're giving them way too much time to just dawdle around outside the box... we sit back with a bunch of players in defense but no one approaching or attacking the ball...

it's a horrifying combination of some good defense by us... but too much defending by us as we sit back and just allow Liverpool to do pretty much whatever they want...

nice shot from range by Arnie... corner to us

of course it resulted in a Liverpool attack and a yellow card for Ginge...

Let's end the half with a Liverpool free kick right on the edge of the area...

oh good. Kick went straight into the wall and out fo a throw in.

well as it stands, we're currently down to 14th with the Geordies and Brighton jumping above us...


at only 0-1 we're still in with a chance but we got to figure out how to play against a better team...

2nd half underway... Kouyate booked.

and there you have it...

Arnie tries his best although he's pretty much a team of one out there on his own as everyone else manfully tries to help him out...

but all it does is end up in the back of the net as Salah scores...

yup... when West Ham attack we're more of a danger to ourselves...

0-2

51 minutes gone

WTF...

where did that even come from?

oh... obviously...

West Ham goal kick

0-3

Adrian goal kick... out to the halfway line... West Ham player not paying attention gets robbed... two passes and the balli is in the back of the net.

Atrocious

and this is why no one knows anything about football...


I was just about to write "Lanzini off for Antonio because 0-3 is when you should decide to fight back"

and bugger me... Antonio only goes and scores with like his first touch of the ball..


1-3

15 minutes to go and we're fairly well entrenched in a 1-3

Liverpool are definitely having the best of it....

and as I type that... the fuckers score again....

1-4

ball played out wide... then a cross into the 6 yard box... past three west ham defenders to an unmarked Liverpool one...

shoddy football... crap defending

moyes the magnificent really put his stamp on this one...


might easily be 5 or 6

so chicharito replaces Arnie - because that's going to work

Rice replaces the pretty much ineffectual Mario

never understood the point of subs like this... 8 minutes to go... never going to change the game... maybe it's just to 'rest' our one decent player...

we were never in this one... mainly because we never tried to be.

Arnie did him best but we're not really an Arnie of one, well, we are.. .but that's not the point... you can't be an army of one in an 11 a side game...

3 added minutes for Liverpool to add to their record breaking goal tally...