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No shots on target for Leicester, Vladimir Coufal impressive on debut & more- Talking Points from LCFC 0-3 West Ham

October 4, 2020 By West Ham Blog 1 Comment

West Ham produced a near-flawless away performance as they handed Leicester City their first loss of the 2020/21 Premier League season. The Foxes, coming off a fine 5-2 win at the Etihad against Man City last weekend, were aiming to win the opening four games of a top flight season for the first time in their history, but were outclassed by the visitors at the King Power Stadium.

Here are our talking points from the game.

No shot on target for Leicester: Bizarre as it may sound, Leicester, who had put five past Pep Guardiola’s City in Round 3, failed to register even a single shot on target in this game. It’s only the third time the Foxes have failed to do at home in the modern Premier League era.

Brendan Rodgers’ men had nearly 70% of possession and 670 passes to the Hammers’ 291, but could simply not find a way through as the visitors defended resolutely. Harvey Barnes did manage to find the back of the net in second half stoppage time (a very nice team goal btw), but it was reversed by VAR.

For a team that’s been defensively vulnerable, especially on the road, this was a fine, fine performance from West Ham and a well deserved clean sheet for Lukasz Fabianski.

LEIWHU

Vladimir Coufal impressive on debut: The new Czech signing made his debut at right back in place of the injured Ryan Fredericks and put in a very assured performance here. Going up against Harvey Barnes away from home isn’t easy by any stretch of imagination, but Coufal set the tone for the game when he won an early 5th minute free kick against the Leicester winger.

In the 16th minute, he put in a nice tackle to stop Jamie Vardy in his tracks after the latter had turned Angelo Ogbonna inside out, and in the 22nd minute, he went over to the other side to stop a Castagne cross that could’ve easily resulted in a Leicester goal. [Read more…]

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Disappointing loss, Wilson continues to torment & More- Talking Points from West Ham 0-2 Newcastle

September 12, 2020 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

West Ham’s 2020/21 league season started on a disappointing note as they went down 2-0 at home to Newcastle United. Jeff Hendrick and Callum Wilson were on target for Steve Bruce’s Magpies at the London Stadium. Here are our talking points from the game.

Is the Grady Diangana transfer still affecting the players?

On paper, this was a very winnable game, and given West Ham’s tough starting fixture list, it was a game David Moyes would’ve targetted for at least a point, if not all three.

The players weren’t clearly happy with the situation regarding Grady Diangana’s transfer and one wonders if it’s affected their morale. With the next set of fixtures reading Arsenal, Wolves, Leicester, Spurs, Man City and Liverpool, there is every chance the Hammers might only get their first points of the season in November!

Hammers go in the same attacking formation as they did at the end of 19/20 season

Moyes made only one change from the side that had faced Aston Villa on the final day of the 2019/20 season, with Aaron Cresswell coming in at left back for Ben Johnson. That meant a repeat of the 4-2-3-1 formation with skipper Mark Noble again effectively playing as a 10, Pablo Fornals on the left wing, Antonio alone upfront, and the troika of Anderson, Sebastien Haller and Manuel Lanzini on the bench.

Lanzini didn’t even make it off the bench while Anderson, the club’s second most expensive player, only had a minute or so of action. [Read more…]

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Easiest win of the season for West Ham, Norwich relegated, All five subs used, first away win for Moyes & more- Talking Points from NCFC 0-4 West Ham

July 11, 2020 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

Norwich City were officially relegated as West Ham put four past them at Carrow Road earlier this afternoon. The 4-0 win for the Hammers, plus the 2-0 victory over the Canaries at the London Stadium earlier this season saw them complete a league double over Daniel Farke’s men- their first one over Norwich since 1973.

Manager David Moyes made only one change from the side that had lost 1-0 to Burnley, with skipper Mark Noble returning to take his spot in the starting lineup. Here are our talking points from the game.

Easiest league win of the season for West Ham: This was perhaps West Ham’s easiest league win of the 19/20 campaign so far. Norwich were abysmal- a side resigned to their fate, and much of the game, the second half in particular, resembled a training ground exercise for West Ham. Michail Antonio looked like prime Messi and scored four goals in the fixture- the only West Ham player to do so in the modern Premier League era. Antonio was also the first WHUFC player to score a hat trick since Andy Carroll four years ago. [Read more…]

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First start of the year for Yarmolenko, Burnley double over Hammers for the first time in 73 years & More- Talking Points from West Ham 0-1 Burnley

July 9, 2020 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

West Ham’ inconsistent run continued as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Burnley. Chris Wood, the Hammers’ chief tormentor in recent years, wasn’t even required as a goal off the shoulder of Jay Rodriguez gave the Clarets all three points at the London Stadium.

Here are our talking points from the fixture.

Burnley do a rare league double over West Ham: This was Burnley’s first league double over the Hammers in 73 years. They had beaten West Ham 3-0 at Turf Moor earlier this season, and this 1-0 win saw them complete a rare league double over their rivals.

The Clarets have now won four of their last five games against the Hammers, and seem to have become a bit of a hoodoo side for them.

starting lineup v burnley

Yarmolenko’s first start of the year: Andriy Yarmolenko’s performances against Chelsea and Newcastle, coupled with poor form from the likes of Manuel Lanzini and Felipe Anderson saw David Moyes give the Ukrainian his first start of the calendar year alongside Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen in a 4-2-3-1. We thought it would be with Fornals in the centre- the Spaniard has appeared isolated on the wing at times, but it was originally with Bowen in the centre, Fornals on the left and Yarmolenko on the right. [Read more…]

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Soucek & Antonio again on the scoresheet, Wait for two consecutive league wins continues & more- Talking Points from Newcastle 2-2 West Ham

July 8, 2020 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

West Ham took the lead twice, but had to settle for a point at St.James’ Park against Newcastle. The Hammers probably edged Steve Bruce’s side on the day and looked good for all three points, a draw wasn’t a terrible result either, especially given Newcastle’s form at home and West Ham’s abysmal run on the road.

Here are our talking points from the game.

Goals again for Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio: They got on the scoresheet in the 3-2 win over Chelsea, and Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio were again on target for the Hammers here. Antonio was virtually gifted his by Jamaal Lascelles, while Soucek finished well from close range after Declan Rice’s initial effort had rebounded off the bar.

The Hammers have struggled for consistency in the goal scoring department, and it’s rare to see players find the back of the net in consecutive league games.

Wait for two consecutive league wins continues: While goals have been tough to come by, West Ham have also never won two consecutive league games in David Moyes’ second stint. For a while, this looked like they might break the duck, but it eventually ended up being another case of points lost from winning positions (apparently West Ham have squandered 24 such points this season according to the commentators!)

Fornals error proves costly: It was an error from Jamaal Lascelles that gifted West Ham their opener, but it was a similar gift from Pablo Fornals that lead to the Newcastle equaliser. The Spaniard made a mess of the offside trap as he stood in the background- a costly, costly error. Fornals did some good things in this game- he had a crucial hand in the opener, but this was a disappointing mistake. [Read more…]

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