[Albion] Contain Arnautovic

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I hope we start as we did against Fulham, get at them early, get our wingers forward with support from our fullbacks and try to take a bit of control of the midfield. Hopefully we won't miss any penalties.

Hopefully Solly March, having beaten his man, won't look across to the box and see not a single Albion shirt in that box, like against Spurs. Can't keep having to settle for deflected corners instead, especially as we normally do very little with them.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Like I said, he's decent on his day, but he certainly has plenty of "off" days as well when he doesn't turn up. He could rip us a new one tonight, but equally he could be totally anonymous, there's rarely very much inbetween from what I've seen of him. Some games he looks like he just can't be arsed, lets hope tonight is one of them.



Very much this. Come out of the traps like a home team and we'll give ourselves a great chance. Tiptoe onto the pitch a-la Spurs and we'll get nothing.

You implied he was rubbish in the first four games with the quote "but nobody was raving about him when they were utterly stinking the place out over the first 4 games this season". That's simply untrue, as I stated, with 2 goals in the opening 3 games. Every striker has off days - crikey, Murray has his fair share even when he's scoring - but to suggest he's still going missing with regularity "when he doesn't fancy it" overlooks the progress the guy has clearly made over the last year in terms of his attitude and consistency.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Hopefully Solly March, having beaten his man, won't look across to the box and see not a single Albion shirt in that box, like against Spurs. Can't keep having to settle for deflected corners instead, especially as we normally do very little with them.

I think that's my biggest frustration with this season so far, tactically at least. March, who's been pretty decent in all the games I've seen him in, has had so few options attacking the box for him to aim at. What's the point in playing an out and out winger if no one is going to get in there to attack the balls he's putting in? And if you're going to ask him to slow down so that others can catch up, then you've either got the wrong players in your midfield and forward line or you need to work out another form of attack as that just slows the whole attack down, making us much less threatening from wide areas.

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

Felipe Anderson is the player to stop. He is quality and most of their attacking threat will come through him - stop him and the ball won't get to Arnautovic. Yarmolenko is a luxury player, not worried about him but Anderson is a star, amazed he went there rather than a champions league side.

 

[Easy 10]

You implied he was rubbish in the first four games with the quote "but nobody was raving about him when they were utterly stinking the place out over the first 4 games this season". That's simply untrue, as I stated, with 2 goals in the opening 3 games. Every striker has off days - crikey, Murray has his fair share even when he's scoring - but to suggest he's still going missing with regularity "when he doesn't fancy it" overlooks the progress the guy has clearly made over the last year in terms of his attitude and consistency.

Ok ok. He's Messi. I'm terrified now.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Ok ok. He's Messi. I'm terrified now.

I honestly don't know how you've managed to find the words to build such a strong counter argument.

 

[Bozza]

Ok ok. He's Messi. I'm terrified now.

Think you're getting him muddled up with Will Grigg.

 

[CBWHU]

Like I said, he's decent on his day, but he certainly has plenty of "off" days as well when he doesn't turn up. He could rip us a new one tonight, but equally he could be totally anonymous, there's rarely very much inbetween from what I've seen of him. Some games he looks like he just can't be arsed, lets hope tonight is one of them.



Very much this. Come out of the traps like a home team and we'll give ourselves a great chance. Tiptoe onto the pitch a-la Spurs and we'll get nothing.

I think you're remembering his Stoke form

Since going up front only Salah has been involved (goals and assists) in more goals than him in 2018 (Arnautovic is level with Aguero and Kane)

This includes part of before Xmas

 

[Easy 10]

I honestly don't know how you've managed to find the words to build such a strong counter argument.

You say he's been fantastic all season, I think he's been his usual patchy self (like he's been his whole career), and happens to have come into a bit of form of late, but could just as easily disappear tonight as he is wont to do. His player ratings on https://readwestham.com/category/reportspreviews/post-match/ v the Muff, Wolves and Liverpool were all 6/10. Then he got a 7/10 v Arsenal, and a 9/10 at Everton, which pretty much backs up what I've been saying. He's come into some form of late and could be dangerous. But just as likely might not be.

Think you're getting him muddled up with Will Grigg.

Easily done.

 

[CBWHU]

You say he's been fantastic all season, I think he's been his usual patchy self (like he's been his whole career), and happens to have come into a bit of form of late, but could just as easily disappear tonight as he is wont to do. His player ratings on https://readwestham.com/category/reportspreviews/post-match/ v the Muff, Wolves and Liverpool were all 6/10. Then he got a 7/10 v Arsenal, and a 9/10 at Everton, which pretty much backs up what I've been saying. He's come into some form of late and could be dangerous. But just as likely might not be.



Easily done.

This season - played 6 scored 4 assists 1

Since going up front last December - played 24, scored 15 assists 9

lets hope this patchy form continues

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

You say he's been fantastic all season, I think he's been his usual patchy self (like he's been his whole career), and happens to have come into a bit of form of late, but could just as easily disappear tonight as he is wont to do. His player ratings on https://readwestham.com/category/reportspreviews/post-match/ v the Muff, Wolves and Liverpool were all 6/10. Then he got a 7/10 v Arsenal, and a 9/10 at Everton, which pretty much backs up what I've been saying. He's come into some form of late and could be dangerous. But just as likely might not be.



Easily done.

He's scored 4 in 7, with all of those coming in different games. If 6/10 is average, he's never dropped below that according to the subjective ratings of a website that has no effect on anything. According to Whoscored.com he was their best player last season - this year he is their 5th best player (both times he's been rated well above Glenn Murray, who's our best striker). He's also their top scorer, as he was last year. I've never said he's the best player ever, but to suggest he's not been consistent so far this season, and then to use a subjective opinion of a journalist whose opinion states that he's never dropped below an average performance as the evidence to back up your point highlights just how weak your argument is.

As for the "he might perform tonight, or he might not" argument - it's so whimsical - any player in any division can turn up and have a bad game at any point.

 

[Easy 10]

I've been bored into submission tbh. I've had him pegged as a moody inconsistent forward, but was unaware of the fact that he has apparently now morphed into a different player, probably the best striker outside the top 6, and has been ripping it up all season. All that had completely passed me by.

Should be a treat to watch him tonight.

 

[Perry Milkins]

I've been bored into submission tbh. I've had him pegged as a moody inconsistent forward, but was unaware of the fact that he has apparently now morphed into a different player, probably the best striker outside the top 6, and has been ripping it up all season. All that had completely passed me by.

Should be a treat to watch him tonight.

Throw a Fondant Fancie or Chelsea Bun at him if you have the 'armage' from where you sit.

 

[CBWHU]

Dunno how you missed praise has been all over the place really

Compared to Cantona (admittedly by Garth Crooks though) - http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/10/0...s-west-hams-marko-arnautovic-with-eric-canto/

"There is something of Eric Cantona about Marko Arnautovic - but without the intimidating stare," he told BBC Sport.
"The only other difference between these two mercurial characters is that one played for Manchester United and the other should have done. In the meantime, Arnautovic ripped United's "fragile" team to shreds."



Compared t Di Canio and Tevez by Keown - https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/f...-Paulo-Di-Canio-Carlos-Tevez-Match-of-the-Day

“Gary, he's so powerful and strong. He's really in the mood and he seems happy now.
“When you think of the players they have had in the past, the Di Canios, the Tevezs, he's up there.
“He's the focal point. He's the fans' idol, he makes willing runs and he's so strong and powerful.
“He has that confidence now. They can go into him. They can feed him. He protects the ball, stretches a strong paw out and pushes his opponent off him.
"If you're going to get tight to him you better be quick because boy is he quick. He's willing, showing, full of imagination with his flicks but it's his power, really. The strength that he has."
If you look at strikers in the Premier League, he's up there with the best of them.
“He's really going from strength to strength.
“It's coming late for him as a player but he's just so important for West Ham.”

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Hopefully Solly March, having beaten his man, won't look across to the box and see not a single Albion shirt in that box, like against Spurs. Can't keep having to settle for deflected corners instead, especially as we normally do very little with them.

Maybe somewhat unfairly I’m not a huge March fan, but I really felt for him against Spurs, two or three times he had Trippier on toast but had zero to aim for.

 

[LlcoolJ]

Throw a Fondant Fancie or Chelsea Bun at him if you have the 'armage' from where you sit.

Or a CABBAGE.

 

[Easy 10]

Throw a Fondant Fancie or Chelsea Bun at him if you have the 'armage' from where you sit.

West Upper, so would certainly be a challenge. I doubt they even let you in these days with so much as a slice of battenburg though. That marzipan crust can go hard quite quickly, once you've opened the wrapper.

 

[Perry Milkins]

West Upper, so would certainly be a challenge. I doubt they even let you in these days with so much as a slice of battenburg though. That marzipan crust can go hard quite quickly, once you've opened the wrapper.

Smuggle your goodies in, in a flask!

 

[Perry Milkins]

Or a CABBAGE.

Now you are just being silly. We are having an intelligent debate on who to contain from the mighty Hammers and you go post a daft thing like that.

 

[Easy 10]

Maybe somewhat unfairly I’m not a huge March fan, but I really felt for him against Spurs, two or three times he had Trippier on toast but had zero to aim for.

Yep. And then we took him off.