[Albion] Positives from Today (West Ham away)

[hans kraay fan club]

Ward-Prowse was shit against us for the first time ever.

Outside of his outrageously good set pieces, he is a very limited, very pedestrian, midfielder. Last night we gave him no dangerous set pieces…

When Buonanotte (no Lamptey himself) went on that long solo run into their half, JWP chasing him, looked like he had a fridge on his back. In the end Johnson had to come across and take the yellow.

 

[nicko31]

Solid despite all our missing players. Clean sheet good, but WH threatened very little

 

[Change at Barnham]

It's a terrible football stadium, owned by us all, in the middle of no where, train links miles away.

Yes, it's a horrible stadium, but Pudding Mill Lane is next to the stadium (0.4 miles) and Stratford Station (0.9miles) is a 15 minute walk away.
Unfortunately the authorities make Pudding Mill Lane unavailable to the away fans and to get back to Stratford Station they make them walk there via Basildon.
The transport links are actually decent.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Steele immense again - please god RDZ notice this - possibly the since April stat might have something to do with what you’ve been doing with the keepers for 95% of that time

Immense… crikey, you’ve either got really low standards or you’re trolling.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

RdeZ got quite spiky when that was suggested weeks ago. Said Jack was in the first team squad for pre-season and is a first team player.

In the pre-Hammers chat, RDZ said he never expected Jack to have as much of an impact as he has had, nor to progress so quickly. Certainly one of the first names on the team sheet now, though...

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Largely down to not conceding any free kicks in dangerous areas.

That said, they'd have to have got out of their own half for that to happen.

This!

My big concern going into the game was the amount of free kicks and corners we were likely to give away, with a make-shift defence.
We were incredibly disciplined in that regard.

 

[Milano]

We always seem to play this fixture mid-week, I can't remember ever going there in daylight. Anyway it's a shit football stadium, expensive, rubbish atmosphere, worse than the Amex to get away from and for a stadium less than 15 years old the concourses/toilets/food are awful, and after last night's train fiasco I'm announcing that I'm done with this shitty away ground (until next season at least...)

 

[Hotchilidog]

One positive for me was the return to almost pure De Zerbi ball. I really liked the way we moved the ball around to create the opportunities for some incisive defence splitting passes through the middle. West Ham presented us with a wall of defenders for much of the game and we did will to carve out a number of decent opportunities.

It could hardly be described as a thrilling performance, but a genuine will to win was on display and I was pretty happy with it.

 

[Springal]

One positive for me was the return to almost pure De Zerbi ball. I really liked the way we moved the ball around to create the opportunities for some incisive defence splitting passes through the middle. West Ham presented us with a wall of defenders for much of the game and we did will to carve out a number of decent opportunities.

It could hardly be described as a thrilling performance, but a genuine will to win was on display and I was pretty happy with it.

Maybe, it’s just a shame Milner, Hinshelwood , Baunotte & Moder were rarely capable of beating their men and doing much with the ball to open them up

 

[Hotchilidog]

Maybe, it’s just a shame Milner, Hinshelwood , Baunotte & Moder were rarely capable of beating their men and doing much with the ball to open them up

They were often faced with two or three men to beat though, not just one. Also we missed Mitoma and Adingra in these positions. Facundo actually did beat people in the middle and impressed for his stint. As for Milner he worked well in front of Pervis and got in several decent attacking passes and crosses. Milner's cross for Gross was excellent, shame Pascal felt he had to turn his head for that one.

 

[Springal]

They were often faced with two or three men to beat though, not just one. Also we missed Mitoma and Adingra in these positions. Facundo actually did beat people in the middle and impressed for his stint. As for Milner he worked well in front of Pervis and got in several decent attacking passes and crosses. Milner's cross for Gross was excellent, shame Pascal felt he had to turn his head for that one.

Yep completely acknowledge most of those were not in their natural position, but did feel a bit predictable (ala Potter) and kept favouring one side for long periods. Moder looked incredibly nervous (we were lower tier , near the front on his side) which didn’t help

 

[Hotchilidog]

Yep completely acknowledge most of those were not in their natural position, but did feel a bit predictable (ala Potter) and kept favouring one side for long periods. Moder looked incredibly nervous (we were lower tier , near the front on his side) which didn’t help

Fair point, and I agree about Moder.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

I did enjoy Pervis pushing the perfect, behind the defence pass to the byline, for Mitoma to rush onto, only to realise it was Milner ahead of him.

 

[Blues Guitarist]

A fit and available Mitoma tonight and we win that, and that’s not meant as a slur on Milner, but Mitoma has a field day down our left tonight. Of course WHU could rightly counter that an available Kudus does the same for them.
Both teams had key players out, we looked like the home team for the entire 2nd half.

Mitoma supported by Estupinan is a fantastic combination. Teams can't afford to put too many defenders on Mitoma as it leaves Estupinan free.

Having said that - Milner did well yesterday.

 

[Seagull58]

In the pre-Hammers chat, RDZ said he never expected Jack to have as much of an impact as he has had, nor to progress so quickly. Certainly one of the first names on the team sheet now, though...

Maybe Jack is the long-term Gross replacement? He would have to be utterly incredible and master the Gross turn but the basics are there. He can pick a pass and finds good positions in space in and around the box.

 

[Seagull58]

One positive for me was the return to almost pure De Zerbi ball. I really liked the way we moved the ball around to create the opportunities for some incisive defence splitting passes through the middle. West Ham presented us with a wall of defenders for much of the game and we did will to carve out a number of decent opportunities.

It could hardly be described as a thrilling performance, but a genuine will to win was on display and I was pretty happy with it.

The "tika taka" short passing in and around their box in the second-half was impressive and could have resulted in 2 or 3 goals, even when faced with Moyes' double decker bus formation.

 

[Flounce]

Immense… crikey, you’ve either got really low standards or you’re trolling.

What could he have done better? This slagging off of Steele is starting to piss me off, his skill set is perfect for De Zerbi ball yet some still don’t get it

Nothing got past him, even offside shots where the WHU player was unopposed

He may not be the best shot stopper in the PL but is there a keeper with better ball skills?

 

[swindonseagull]

Have West Ham moved the bus yet? they will need it soon for an away trip.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

What could he have done better? This slagging off of Steele is starting to piss me off, his skill set is perfect for De Zerbi ball yet some still don’t get it

Nothing got past him, even offside shots where the WHU player was unopposed

He may not be the best shot stopper in the PL but is there a keeper with better ball skills?

Agree with this. With the ball at his feet, he's basically Ederson. His passing range and composure under pressure leave me breathless.

Added to that he's highly reliable, he doesn't make basic errors. This is a huge plus.

OK there are one or two, where a worldie save may have prevented a goal. Steele doesn't have much of a highlights reel, but actually, I'd just take a keeper who doesn't drop a simple catch for a Palace player to tap in, than one who will be brilliant one minute and terrible the next.

There's only one nagging doubt I still can't dispel. Is that a toupe?

 

[Freddo]

Yes, it's a horrible stadium, but Pudding Mill Lane is next to the stadium (0.4 miles) and Stratford Station (0.9miles) is a 15 minute walk away.
Unfortunately the authorities make Pudding Mill Lane unavailable to the away fans and to get back to Stratford Station they make them walk there via Basildon.
The transport links are actually decent.

Really? A couple of us got back to Pudding Mill Lane straight after the FT whistle and we got on the DLR straight away. Don't think we were the only Brighton fans doing it either.