WHUFC vs Everton -- March 30th, 2019

ooh, loverly jubbly... a nice late star, so get to sleep in, walk the dog, go out for coffee, sit in the sun for a bit...

let's take a look at the line-ups for the game against the team that beats us more than they beat anyone else...

1 Fabianski
5 Zabaleta
23 Diop
21 Ogbonna
3 Cresswell
41 Rice
11 Snodgrass
14 Obiang
10 Lanzini
7 Arnautovic
27 Pérez

so the first team looks a little different... after Arnie being a bit of a let down recently, he is rewarded with a starting line-up position... not entirely comfortable with that... but let's see which Arnie turns up.

Perez hasn't done a lot but looked up for it last time out so not entirely surprising he's being given a chance to shine.

No Noble - you know I'm not gonna complain about that.

Biggest surprise I guess must be the omission of anderson... reasons? no idea... but he's been such a lazy passenger recently that this might be the kick up the Arsenal he needs - or he's been injured in training...

What's the subs' bench look like?

4 Balbuena
13 Adrián
16 Noble
17 Hernández
26 Masuaku
30 Antonio
45 Diangana

I guess the biggest surprise is seeing Chicharito not starting after he singlehandedly saved our arses last time out... well social media is up in arms about him being dropped and I'll admit my initial reaction was the same.. but then logic kicks in and it's not like his last game was the Huddersfield debacle... he's been flying round the world playing international football so maybe he just isn't up to a full 90 minutes in the prem.

Antonio being dropped is a bit of a surprise... he's been one of our more consistent players...

Other than that, injuries notwithstanding, I guess it's as solid a team and bench as we could hope.

Life don't always do you a favor, but it has to us today... since everyone has already played, we know exactly where we stand...


7 - Wolves -- 31 0 44
8 - Leicester -- 32 -1 44
9 - Watford -- 31 -3 43
10 - West Ham -- 31 -5 42
11 - Everton -- 31 1 40
12 - Bournemouth -- 32 -15 38

Can't say fairer than that... a win and three points for us and we're up to 7th in the Prem...

A draw and we go nowhere

A loss and Everton spring above us and we top to 11th.

we've only finished in the top 7 once in 17 years... so despite all the dire, shitty performances we've had to endure this year, it still could be one of our better campaigns...

which just feels kinda wrong...

nothing to really shout about so far...

only one long, wayward ball over the top that Arnie was never going to get too...

holy shit...

first Everton attack... they get behind us and win a corner...

nothing order... but we decide not to bother defending it so the Everton player (only his 2nd ever for the Toffees) has the easiest job to rise and head into the corner of the net...

typical bullshit performance by us... giving all the impetus to the opposition...

5 minutes gone and we're a goal down...

There's just a sad inevitability about us...

we have all the incentive in the world to do well and do nothing...

Everton now have their tails up... we're looking like a bunch of strangers...

another corner to Everton so it could get worse...

A third corner for the Toffees...

we get this one out but all three corners have seen Everton get to the ball first...

Fabianski saves us twice as Everton carve us open down the wing and play the ball into the area...

Fabianski saves again as Everton cut through on the opposite side...

The crowd are starting to get anxious... you can hear the groans starting turn to boos...

Fabianski goes down again and the ball is frantically cleared from the open goal...

The defense is all over the place...


Pellegrini is apoplectic on the sidelines... the crowd are now starting up 'bubbles' to try to bring some sanity back to the team..

we get the ball forward... Arnie is one on one with the defense but then slips over as he tries to cut back inside...

15 minutes gone...

possession 60-40 in favor of Everton

shots on goal 5-0 in favor of Everton...

and we almost concede again...

20 minutes gone... we've had 2 chances... Arnie's slip and Lanzini getting bundled off the ball when he should have taken a first time shot...

Everton are carving us open with ease... as I type this the ball rolls across the almost open goal...

halfway through the half... we've pulled back a little in the possession stakes and have managed a couple half attacks... but it's still the same...

Everton are comfortably in control

Free kick to the toffees just outside the penalty area... well, not 'just'... but we're so woeful that it might just as well be...

foul on our defense, so we escape there...

and there you go.. the ball slammed into the back of the net...

0-2 down with 32 minutes gone...

what a fupping joke...

once again the opposition get down the wing ahead of all our defense to play an easy ball across the goal that is then converted into a goal by a player beating our defense...

the goalscorer gets his first goal in the league... for fupp's sake...

oh yeah... Snodgrass is playing... completely forgot about him till he started shouting at Fabianski...

without the keeper we'd be struggling to avoid relegation...

ooh... a throw-in... how remarkable...





we do nothing with it

again Everton attack

again they get beyond us down the wing

again the ball comes in across the 6 yard box

again we only survive because of Fabianski...

5 minutes to halftime...

might be worth just asking if we can call it quits and go home early...


Snodgrass hooks a long range shot just wide

Free kick for a foul on Lanzini and that do we do with it?

Snoddy just lofts it over the wall, the defense... everyone and it just bounces out for a goal kick...

three minutes to hold on without making this worse....

hoping we can maybe turn it around in the 2nd 45...

but there's nothing to give that much credence....

ending the half with a couple of corners... so we have the possession... but don't do much with it...

We have been fupping Shocking and Everton fully deserve their 2-0 lead. Just what was Pellegrini thinking when he selected this Line Up as well.
I`d make all 3 changed at Half time .... Perez off for Hernandez , Arnie off for Antonio and Obiang off for Diaganna

May as well go out all for attack as we`ve got nothing to lose now.

Boos to end the first half...

someone needs to throw some tea cups and hairdryers...

Arran wrote:We have been fupping Shocking and Everton fully deserve their 2-0 lead. Just what was Pellegrini thinking when he selected this Line Up as well.
I`d make all 3 changed at Half time .... Perez off for Hernandez , Arnie off for Antonio and Obiang off for Diaganna

May as well go out all for attack as we`ve got nothing to lose now.

totally agree...

if only there was some way to replace the entire defense as well...

From the BBC:

45+2 mins
HALF-TIME
West Ham 0-2 Everton
The boos ring out at the London stadium. The West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has a big team talk coming up here.


From the Guardian:

HALF TIME: West Ham United 0-2 Everton

... nothing occurs. The half-time whistle goes, and the hosts are sent packing with boos ringing in their ears. They have been as utterly woeful as Everton have been sharp and effervescent, and can count themselves extremely fortunate to be only two goals down. If Fabianski had forgotten to pack his gloves, the half-time scoreline could have been anything.

well only 2 out of the three subs starting the 2nd half...

Antonio & Chicharito replace... Perez and Obiang?

oh crap... noble is warming up... that's the kind of negativity we need in the middle of the park...

so we're playing a 4-1-5

our defense needs to step it up... we're gonna plow forward and so leave them even more exposed...

wow... we actually defend a corner properly...

but then give away another...