Saturday 11 September 2010

West Ham v Chelsea. The season starts today.

Rob Green has had his operation, the transfer window has closed, the international break is out of the way...it is time to kick off the new season in style against Chelsea!

Lampard is out. That is great news. Terry is back. That is not a disaster. Chelsea were unstoppable before the international break but some of that impetus may now have evaporated. We were in a trough of despair, but the two weeks will hopefully have allowed Grant and the players to get their heads straight.

Selection is obviously key. If Grant goes again with the Zola detritus then God help us. Der Hammer isn't available but, apart from him, some faith has to be shown in the new signings. My team would be 4-3-3 and would read:

Green: Jacobsen, Da Costa, Upson, Ilunga: Parker, Dyer, Behrami: Obinna, Cole, Barerra. (Actually, that's still only 3 new signings but Dyer feels like a fourth!)

The team would be flexible in play and could become 4-5-1 or 4-4-2. I would use Behrami to anchor and encourage Parker to get further forward when we are in possession. Chelsea might rip us apart and score five or six, or alternatively, we might just put them on the back foot and pull off a surprise. If Grant plays it safe and packs his team with Spector, Kovac and Boa, God help us!

3 comments:

Deane said...

hear hear

Essexhammer said...

Should be an exciting game to watch today.I do not think it will be all one-way traffic,WESTHAM will give them a fight.Looking forward to the new signings :JACOBSEN,OBINNA,like you say DYER,BARRERA,BEN HAIM,REID,PIQUIONNE........and of course the new look McCARTHY.The formation will be interesting,hope GRANT does not play safe and pack the team with the old crop of players.Can't see the point in that anyway when he has bought new ones in.My team would be:GREEN,JACOBSEN,REID,UPSON,ILUNGA,DYER,PARKER,BARRERA,OBINNA,PIQUIONNE,COLE........

Tom said...

I hope its all change at the Boleyn today ... we have nothing to lose and we csan use the next three games to give game time to Jacobsen, TBH or DaCosta and One Benni ...

For me though I think we'll as we set up against Bolton ... 4-2-3-1 ..

.............Green..............

Jacobsen - TBH - Upson - Illunga

.........Noble - Parker.........

....Barrera - Dyer - Obinna.....

............Macarthy............

Keep Parker and Noble restricted to defensive duties and allow the pace to dictate play ... if not Macarthy for his intelligence to lead the line then have Cole stand on Alex and have Dyer running at terry like the Germans did at the WC ... If and its a big if .. Avraam get his tactics, section and formation correct then I see us having a good chance ... if as Avraam does .. he sets out to contain Chelski then we'll get mullered ... no team in the world can contain teams like Chelski Manure le arse ... so why do it ... in Europe they go at them from the off ... thats what we need to be doing today for and hour then ring the changes ... Berahmi into midfield LBM on the left and play Obinna off Cole or Piquionne up top ... 2-2 for me with a Terry OG and Drogba to equalise in injury time ... Spector and Kovac to have the day off ...