FA Cup: Gillingham vs WHUFC -- January 5th, 2019

terrible free kick from Lanzini... a daisy cutter across the ground goes straight to the Gillingham keeper...

Fredericks looks like he's done his hamstring...

I guess that's as positive as I can be about that one...

west Ham attacked... Fredricks got easily dispossessed near the Gillingham penalty area... he waves frantically for a free kick but doesn't get it because Gillingham just wanted it more...

not getting the free kick, Fredericks puts on a spurt to get back to try and defend... and in running... he pulls his hamstring and having to be helped off the pitch unable to walk on his own.



So, Fredericks has gone...

Zabaleta is coming on to replace him.

That was a slow 'walk' off... Fredericks is not in good shape.

He does not look happy...








Haller fights his way through the defense, whistle blows as he drags a defender to the ground but he still rounds the keeper and puts the ball into the empty net... guess he coulda been booked for that but fortunately isn't.


3 minutes to go till the half... plus whatever those injuries to Fredericks and Balbuena add on.

I'll let Twitter take one the positivity... oops... nearly a chance for a chance... but we can't get any kind of shot off at all...

46 minutes gone and still not a shot on goal...

Here's how the twitters are seeing things from around the world... apologies ro Arran if the global view of this game is not entirely positive...

"Lackluster, boring, lethargic performance. Haller isolated as usual. Both managers didn't/don't have the balls to start Ajeti and Haller."

"40’: Gillingham 0-0 West Ham.
We’re close to half-time, now, and the visitors are yet to have a shot on target.
The Gills can be very proud of their efforts so far."

"Why do the Gillingham players seem to constantly have time to bring the ball down!? I’ll answer my own question and say we still look unfit. #GILWHU #FACup"

"Reminds me of every other recent
@WestHam
cup game. How is it possible that we are this bad? #GILWHU"


"Have we had a shot yet...
#GILWHU"

"In other news, defence needs some serious work. We're playing three CBs against a League One side but Dec keeps having to drop in, their strikers are causing so many problems #GILWHU"

"Well this is look onerous.
We are more than capable of nose diving out of the F.A Cup today .
#COYI
#GILWHU"

"Any West Ham man ever mentions Masuaku playing as a winger or even a defender over Cresswell again just unfollow me.
Absolute imposter of a footballer #WHUFC #GILWHU #FACup"


wow... the ESPN+ stream isn't even going to bother with 'highlights' - just goes straight to commercials...

aww... this is nice.. we have a girl pony as a mascot... the gillingham horse still wanders around with his head down even when being sidled up to by a fine looking west ham filly...

looks like 'Arry the 'Ammer got shafted in favor of a pony... which is about as accurate an illustration of our footballing prowess as you'll ever get.

Well the only good point from that half is it's showing Moyes what lazy players we have.
About time some of our so called hero's did some thinking on the pitch.

Not the most Comfortable 1st half for West Ham but more importantly it`s still 0-0 at Half Time...Shame to see Federicks go off with what looks like a serious Injury.

I think we`re see a better 2nd half from West ham after half time. This game was never going to be easy against lower oppersition but the longer it stays 0-0 the more our quality and fitness will show against Gillingham.

I`ll be happy if we nick it 1-0 or even take it back to the London Stadium in a replay if we have to....As long as we can keep another Clean sheet I`ll be happy.

comms is really struggling to come up with anything positive or interesting to say about this game... they're picking over the stats at the moment...

Lanzini... 28 passes... only 7 of them 'forward'

it's true... stats don't lie

that means 21 of 28 passes either sideways or backwards... if that doesn't just highlight how "not-so-positive" we have been this half...

fupp me... been sold another wrong 'un... this isn't even the last cup tie of the weekend... there's Arsenal vs Leeds tomorrow...

west ham start with a cool ball through to Haller... he gets into the box and then basically digs in his foot and skies the ball way over the top of the stadium...

Zabaleta wins a corner...


we've done more in this first 2 minutes than in the entire first half...

but a terrible corner...

The guardian's view...

"46 min: Haller is sent racing through on goal after a lovely dink into his path from Anderson. He takes one touch and shapes to shoot before wedging a hopeless effort around 10 yards over as Bonham rushed out at him. That was truly shocking."

"49 min: On the subject of that Haller miss, Ian Sargeant writes: “That missed by a metre for every million we paid for him.”"

oooh... Haller hits the post.

That's a positive right?

well kinda... but it was a poor back pass that allowed him in rather than a West Ham attack.

we attack again and Anderson's pass out to the wing for Zabaleta is slow and ponderous and gillingham easily intercept and defuse the danger...

gillingham attack again... in the midst of a melee of four West Ham players, the Gillingham layer has no chance except for...
except for Snodgrass bundling him to the floor and conceding a free kick

the Evening Standar has a rather witty take on things...

"Much better from West Ham in the second half.

I mean, the only way was up after the first half."

New Brompton FC vs Thames Ironworks...


apparently that was the last time we met in the FA Cup... both teams were so old they were under their old club names... but Zabaleta was still playing for us.

an hour gone... half an hour to make a difference.

we've had 74% possession in the last 15 minutes... resulting goals... none.

Charlie Ham wrote:Well the only good point from that half is it's showing Moyes what lazy players we have.
About time some of our so called hero's did some thinking on the pitch.

as true as that might be Chas... the worrying thing is... what other options does he have?

Antonio is a shoe-in but his mysterious car crash injury is a worry...

Sure Noble will always get a game as poor as he is - but he's injured

Fabianski keeps us a live but isn't even fit enough to train...

there's really only Fornals - but it's weird that his past two games have arguably been his best performances for us and he gets dumped to the bench.


The was a very telling moment... long cross field ball from Masuaku to the unmarked Zabaleta... the ball was well over hit and despite Zab getting to it... the ball just bounces out of play...


but back to the options we have to change things up... there's none at the club.

so it's going to be down to bringing in new players... and even if we have money left to spend, it's not like our last big three signings have exactly set the place on fire...

half way through the 2nd half... another West Ham attack breaks down and Gillingham clear.

and another West Ham attack and another West Ham pass goes wide of all WHUFC players and out for a gillingham throw.



Fornals does indeed make his appearance, replacing Snodgrass.

The way your posting stuff you`d think we`re getting outplayed this 2nd half but we`ve been all over them this 2nd half and as I write this Zabaleta has put us in the lead....A lead which has been coming.

And it's the old man of the sea... Zabaleta whose cracking shot beats everyone and goes into the back of the net off the keeper's elbow.

and gillingham slam the ball off the cross bar... but it was way offside.

Arran wrote:The way your posting stuff you`d think we`re getting outplayed this 2nd half but we`ve been all over them this 2nd half and as I write this Zabaleta has put us in the lead....A lead which has been coming.

well it's not like we weren't... possession means nothing if you do nothing with it.

take a look at the game of football... see how many teams have won this season while having the minority of the possession of the game... might surprise you.

we're playing our strongest team against a team two leagues below us... the fact that we managed only 1 shot on goal (not on target) in the first 48 minutes is pretty piss poor...

we've been much more attacking in the 2nd half... but we've also pissed away the ball away too much under no pressure - hence me pointing out the times we play the ball out of the play under no pressure at all... against a 'good' team we'd be ripped to shreds.

On the night of the Golden Globes... Zabaleta tries for late entry into best perfjoamcne by a leading man going base over apex theatrically in the box... the ref has none of it.

11 minutes to hang on and have everyone reaching for their rose colored glasses...