Leicester City 1 Irons 0
Match verdict
Well let’s be honest. They deserved something didn’t they?
But if ever a game showed you what’s wrong with the Hammers in the year of celebrity deaths it was the lack of a killer striker and I’ll tell you this – Andre Ayew is never going to be one!
We started badly with Leicester creating plenty before Slimani who had served notice by hitting the far post earlier, thudded an unstoppable header past Randolph.
Slowly we came alive with Antonio hitting the bar as the Hammers pushed forward time and again and in the second half we really should have made the pressure pay.
It was really difficult to understand why we weren’t throwing far more into the box at AC.
He was getting the wrong service with balls from the back rather than the sides and when towards the end he did get a near perfect cross in from Cresswell his header was inches wide.
We played plenty of decent football and the confidence is obviously rising but we need to up the tempo and make things happen more quickly.
Dimi Payet was again disappointing but a special word for Havard Nortveidt who has recovered from a poor start at the club to become a decent back four man.
However, a quality striker is a must if we can find him in this window but despite that I’m putting my head on the block because I have an insistent feeling that we will beat Man U on Monday evening.
COYI
Well we have been banging on about it all season and if ever a game showed up what is missing at the club today is that day.The creativity is there,RB still needs addressing but the elephant in the room going way back is the lack of a natural regular goalscorer(not taking anything away from Antonio who is great) but we desperately need a goal poacher in this transfer window and its as simple as that.
Ironically, I thought that was the best we have played for a while. We had some bad luck coming to us after Burnley and Hull. Ayew was poor but we do need someone up top with Carroll and we’ve seen in the past he can finish. He may still come good, I wouldn’t give up on him yet..
Simple . Captain Terrible …Mark Noble in case of doubt … is the major problem . He slows the game down , gives the ball away and contributes nothing to the team. Disgrace today that Obiang and Lanzini on bench but the donkey started . So much better when he went of …long may it continue .
I think that despite some reasonable performances of late, we are still a bit disorganized in our overall play..
On the one hand Bilic is encouraging the players to get the long balls/crosses through to AC.
On the other hand, he is also try to get us to play the West Ham Way; quick diagonal passes, players running into holes, creative dribbling etc. Seems like the boys are not sure which model to follow.
Payet is floating too far wide, and remains fairly innocuous; we should be playing with a more stable and solid 4-4-2, with Payet behind the strikers.
I agree, it is not Rocket Science, but another couple of losses in January, will see us slump back into the relegation zone again.
The ‘Bubbles’ comments about Noble are a disgrace. The guy does not deserve vitriol. Was Bubs at Leicester today – I doubt it. Criticise by all means but to call him Captain Terrible after 300 plus games for the club is pathetic. Moves has been off form this season but still covers the yards and puts in the tackles. After all these seasons is service he should ld be cut some slack.
Cutting Slow-mo some slack has been going on for too long and that is exactly the problem Jonnyd.
Nobes has been wearing the armband and starting ahead of more deserving players simply cause he is a local lad… and that is just wrong. lt doesnt do anything for dressing room harmony and is costing us points on the field. For what?????
See how our game changed yesterday once he left and a proper player replaced him? There should be no misplaced sense of loyalty at the expense of the team.
For the good of the team
CPT TERRIBLE OUT…AND OUT NOW!!!
100% spot on Muckracker. Noble is overpaid and over rated . The reason he has not played for England is that a long line of managers do not think he is good enough . It is not a conspiracy against him or the club . Noble is rubbish and always has been . Now he is getting worse game on game . With a bit of luck the injury will keep him out long enough for Bilic to see that there are much better players in the squad . COYI Happy New Year to all true Irons .
Perhaps this season more Cpt Cautious than Cpt Terrible. He is not at his best – lacking incisiveness, passing sideways or backwards, holding on to the ball too long.
Purely objectively, we have other central midfielders who should be starting ahead of him now. If he is out for a few games, it will be interesting to see how Fernandes progresses. He is a genuine attacking option.
Ayew’s lack of presence is concerning, he needs to expect Carroll to win the ball in the air and be ready for it.
However, back to the point of this discussion, yup we need a striker.