Change is the word on everybody’s lip – change from defence to attack…change from bad body language to at least interested and change in the boardroom!
More immediately I want to see a change in formation and approach tomorrow at Leicester and it will take more than words to make it happen.
Quite simply West Ham have become far too predictable and easy to deal with over recent games – the results show it.
David Moyes must change and not only from an ultra defensive mindset but in where he positions personnel to do key jobs – and the the first of those is down the right side where Edi Fernandes has been appalling.
Here’s where I’m gonna run into trouble because for me the only person he can change that for him for is Marko who has operated very reasonably down on the right in the past, linking well with Manu Lanzini.
With Andy Carroll fit and Masuaku and Cresswell able to provide an aerial supply line from the left and Arnie from the right we will carry a totally unexpected and probably unplanned for offensive weapon.
We have to do something different as I imagine all week the Foxes have been working out how to deal with loan raider Arnie when the game kicks off tomorrow.
All of this of course means that David Moyes has to change and doing something unpredictable, dramatic and outside of his comfort zone so I ‘m not holding my breath.
I hope I’m wrong and that the dour Scot manages to shake off all negative and predictable thinking as we bid to finally end our relegation anxieties and seriously confuse Leicester City’s thinking tomorrow.
However, here’s the side I expect him to pick: Hart; Zaba, Rice, Oggy, Cresswell, Masuaku, Noble, Fernandes, Kouyate, Lanzini, Arnautovic
CandH team: Adrian, Zaba, Rice, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Masuaku, Arnautovic, Noble, Kouyate, Lanzini, Carroll.
I think Leicester will give us a pasting the way we are defending, they are still dangerous on the break and they have the pace to upset our relatively slow defence and midfielders, if Andy Carroll is the answer when he hasn’t been previously against Leicester then I would be very surprised, maybe if we go ahead early their fans might get on their backs but they are already safe from relegation and have zero pressure on them but some like Vardy want to be on the plane to Russia so they have to keep their intensity high, I hope for the best but fear the worst in this one, we can’t even afford to let them put more than a couple past us. Sorry for the gloomy post hard to be optimistic about this season based on the last few performances.
Sorry Hugh, but I would only use Carroll as a sub..
I’d keep Arnautovic as central striker together with Marcus Browne as co-striker in a 4-4-2.
Even Arnautovic with Lanzini up front with Joao Mario behind as an a central attacking midfielder would be better than using Carroll, who is capable, but unpredictable.
I’d also prefer Mario in place of Edimilson Fernandes, who has done very little lately.
Another possibility could involve using Nathan Holland on the midfield right.
I am a bit more optimistic than my fellow WHU fan,, no.32, but we must start fast and try and score the first goal. More creative diagonal passing required!
Sometimes I despair.
What you are suggesting is the old formula, used for the past six years, which just doesn’t work. As soon as Carroll is fit, let’s move everyone around, out of their positions to accommodate him, no matter how well they may be playing. Arnie is doing a good job up front, so let’s move him so we can give the role to Carroll who will now doubt be injured again before the end of the season. Let’s put Carroll before everyone else, especially as he threw a strop last week when he didn’t get his own way.
This is exactly why we need to get rid of him. At the end of the day he is a five goals per season striker. We don’t need to pay £85k per week to find another one of those.
Yes it is cos the new one has worked once in 8 games. I want to get rid of Fernandes and have attempted to come up with a formation which may surprise. Arnie has scored three goals in nine games and if we play one up today we again show we are entirely reliant on a player who they will have laid plans for. I am not a Carroll fan but believe after the events of the week he will be up for it.
the more game changers in the team the better, but not at the cost of defensive solidity. in the absence of collins carroll does a great job clearing the ball away defensively. he is also the best we have at getting his head on things offensively at the other end. arnie will still score goals as a winger, as he did at stoke. hes made a career out of it. i would like to see carroll winning and holding the ball up which hes good at, or providing knock downs for arnie and lanzini playing off of him and exploiting the inevitable space carroll creates when defenders try to mark him out of the game at all costs.
This one I see really dividing opinions.
The debacle v City was always going to happen when Moyes set up to concede as few as possible. Let’s defend deep, give them possession and hang on in there – didn’t that work well. 99/100 they were always going to beat us so I would have had both Carroll and Arnie as a double spearhead from the start. Would we have lost by more than three if we gave their defence something to think about? I don’t know, maybe, but at least it would have shown some intent.
Consequently, I would do the same v Leicester with Masuaku on the left and Lanzini on the right providing cross after cross.
Vardy is probably the best goal snatcher in the Prem – it would be dire to do the same old Moyes Alamo defence and concede in the last few minutes, but I can see it happening unless we set up to give them something to think about at the other end of the pitch.
…and for the Carroll thumpers…if we stay up on goal difference or by one point, which might well be how it goes, you can put that down to his technically excellent late goal v Stoke.
What would the answer be if you asked the Leicester defence if they would prefer Carroll to play or not?
In reality, at this point, we don’t have the luxury of not playing him.
Carroll has a place but not at his wages for the amount of time he is fit, if he was fit for every game of the season or even 75% then I would have no issue with him. he is a game changer and World Class at what he does but really we should be building a team to play like City / Liverpool / Spurs etc we need a selection of players that are mobile, athletic enough to press for 90 minutes most games, if we were to have a specialist striker we would be better with Austin than Carroll, he will score more goals a season and be fitter for longer but I doubt he would come after Sullivan’s stupid remarks.