Evening news round-up for Saturday 05/11/16 by 337hammer.
Adrian blunder costs Hammers as Bojan takes advantage.
After the trials and tribulations of the past month, West Ham’s future remains no clearer – and Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Stoke undoubtedly reaffirmed the uncertainty surrounding the club. Today’s match was a must-win for the Hammers, with an upcoming fixture list that makes for a daunting read. Up next, the Hammers have Tottenham at home, Manchester United away, Arsenal at home and Liverpool away as their next four league games – with another trip to Old Trafford in the EFL Cup for good measure. independent.co.uk
What does our future hold for the remainder of this season? How many points do you think we will get out of these next 4 league games? Are we now staring a relegation battle in the face? Or, will we up our game against the bigger clubs and get enough points on the board to steer clear of the bottom 3?
Slaven Bilic blames ‘cheap goal’ as Stoke hold West Ham.
Slaven Bilic blamed a flat performance and a “very cheap goal” as West Ham were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke in east London. The Hammers struggled to get going before half-time but took the lead moments after a Bilic reshuffle as Michail Antonio’s header deflected in off Glenn Whelan. But Adrian gifted Stoke substitute Bojan an equaliser as he rushed from his goal and was beaten to a long ball by Jon Walters. The error denied West Ham a third straight win in front of their own supporters, and Bilic told Sky Sports: “It was a mistake. Mistakes happen, and unfortunately he made one because he misjudged the timing.” skysports.com
Just what was Adrian thinking? Adrian has both his fans and his critics; where do you stand with him? Is it now time for Randolph to step in and try to stake his claim as our no 1 goalkeeper?
Bojan Krkic pounces on Adrian clanger to earn point for Mark Hughes’ side.
This wasn’t even one for the purists, for those that love the subtlety of a chess match. Sometimes in football, very little happens at all. This, sadly, was one of those occasions. Mark Hughes suggested the pitch was slow but Bilic was harsher on his team. ‘It wasn’t a particularly nice game of football,’ Bilic said. ‘Neither team deserved to lose or to win. First half, we were flat, simply not good. I can agree the pitch was slow but we were still slow in the first half. We played with too many touches, and that has little to do with the pitch. I was expecting to start better than we started.’ dailymail.co.uk
Slaven says we were ‘flat’ and ‘slow’ in the first half; in how many more games is the same thing going to happen? Is it down to Bilic’s tactics, his skills at motivating, the players poor confidence or something else? What are your thoughts?
Noble frustrated by Stoke draw.
“We are a little frustrated,” the skipper said. “It was a goal that could have been avoided, and having managed to get ourselves in front, three points would have been massive but we didn’t come away with them. “I’ve always said in this league that you respect the point. Obviously we’re not happy that we got a point on Saturday, but at the end of the season it could be a massive point for us. Adrian knows he probably should have stayed on his line, but he’s bailed us out of trouble a lot of times over the last couple of years. The small margins didn’t go our way on Saturday, but we’re four games unbeaten at home and we’re looking forward.” whufc.com
Which side do you look at; the positive that we got a point or the negative that we lost 3 points? Are you worried that Noble is stating ‘ at the end of the season it could be a massive point for us’….? Is he worried about relegation? Should he be worried about relegation? Should we? Should the board be?
Michail Antonio blasts West Ham after Stoke draw.
“It’s points dropped. It was a bad mistake for the goal, we’re making too many of them. To concede a goal like that is stupidity really.” He also felt aggrieved that he didn’t get the credit for scoring today after his header went down as a Whelan own goal. “It should have been my goal. I’m on a bit of a drought,” he added. dailystar.co.uk
West Ham paying for poor summer as Stoke draw highlights more problems for Slaven Bilic.
Everything was in place – or at least seemed so – with the new stadium on the way, an impressive first season for the manager Slaven Bilic with a seventh-placed finish, and an exciting crop of players. One or two top signings in the summer were set to take this side onto the next level. European football was there to attract players, as was the 60,000-seater Olympic Stadium. With the likes of Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini already tied down, a top striker and one more winger or creative type were on the agenda. Fast forward seven months – after the failure to land anyone on Bilic’s lengthy shortlist including Carlos Bacca, Christian Benteke, Michy Batshuayi, Wilfried Bony, Alexandre Lacazette, Jamie Vardy as well as Wilson and Ritchie – and the players they did sign are already out in the cold.
Andre Ayew aside, who has been out with injury, it’s been a disappointing start to the season for the Hammers’ new boys. Simone Zaza has been dreadful. Ashley Fletcher doesn’t look ready for the Premier League and Jonathan Calleri has hardly been seen. express.co.uk
Is this article correct? Are we paying for our failure to land a ‘top striker’? Was it realistic to expect to get a ‘top striker’ given our standing within the premier league?
Huge security operation at London Stadium as West Ham and Stoke fans are left ‘angry’ before kick-off.
Fans were left frustrated when they were prevented from gaining entry to the ground before 2pm. Technical issues with a public address system in the stadium delayed the opening of the turnstiles. mirror.co.uk
Where you affected by this today?
No arrests reported during West Ham’s draw with Stoke at the London Stadium.
There have been no arrests reported after security was strengthened at the London Stadium for West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Stoke. Metropolitan Police Officers were stationed inside the stadium for the first time in a bid to avoid a repeat of fan clashes which marred the club’s EFL Cup tie with Chelsea last month. skysports.com
Westley – We had the edge over Forest.
Terry Westley admitted West Ham United PL2’s victory over Nottingham Forest was difficult at times but said his team had the edge in the crucial stages. Marcus Browne’s late winner came after a frantic match with goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel producing a string of sublime saves to keep the Hammers in the contest. “It’s a good games programme this year. The Premier League should be congratulated for that. There’s regular football and we’re not going months without a game,” added Westley. “We are preparing these players to either go on loan or play for our First Team. If you’re on loan in the Championship, you play Tuesday and Saturday so you have to ready to play at that level.” whufc.com
The Tottenham game is away.
Yes, the Team is toothless and the Transfer Window was very disappointing – Ayew is not a main striker, needs someone to play off and above all he needs service. Zaza and Calleri have been a complete waste of time and should be discarded asap. Fletcher looks promising, tge game definitely improved after he came on.
On the turnstiles delay, I was one of the mob outside gate H until just before 2 pm, nobody had a clue what was happening – but it did give me a chance to have a look at this big screen that’s been erected on the outside, very nice but I don’t really see the point – who stands outside looking at a big screen (apart from when there’s a balls-up like yesterday of course!) – complete waste of money!
playing one upfront leaves the midfield holding the ball up for players to get forward ..to many square and back passes ad to the problem…play two upfront frees some space in the middle of the park and gives the other frontman someone to work with…of course this will not happen and we will continue to be lethargic in our play.
Hi Michael.
You are of course correct about our next game being away; the article and text came direct from the Independent newspaper. Hope the reporter turns up at the correct ground if he is planning on attending 😉
And as time goes on, it does look like our transfer business was poor last time around, at least when it came to players coming in and having an immediate positive impact; with Fernandes being the exception. I had hope for Feghouli, but he is not getting a starting slot so perhaps he is not so good after all. Yes, it takes time to adapt and you cannot always get as lucky as we did with Payet, Antonio, Lanzini ect, but so far, it’s not looking good 🙁
Thanks for commenting.
I don’t know if not landing a top striker was a major issue because we’ve been able to get goals from our mids. I think this has to go on the shoulders of Bilic: poor selections, wacky formations, and not prioritising the signing of a right back. Kouyate used to be able to bag us a goal, but now he’s playing in defense over giving oxford a run. Doesn’t make much sense to me but I’m not a manager. Adrian does crazy stuff but that’s also what makes him a good keeper, he’s saved us enough times for us to not punish him like he lost us the game when the team earned the point. I’d like to see Fletcher, Oxford and maybe Feghouli given a run, a switch to a back four, and two strikers played up top. COYI from Tallahassee, Florida.