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threesixty 10:54 Mon Aug 28
The West Ham way…. Gone?

Is it gone?

I’m mindful of the fact that the more success we get playing the current style of football we are going to be known for it. Just like Stoke, Chelsea under Jose, Atletico etc

There is an art to it obviously, so it’s not easy to be successful with it otherwise everyone would be at it.

I think it’s effective primarily because no one else in the league is setup to play like that anymore. All the teams are playing on the floor, high line pressing etc.

But in years to come will it hurt when people say “you’re doing a West Ham”? We had a whole philosophy of creative football. Even if we didn’t achieve it most of the time, but we all yearned for it. I thought the defensive thing was a temporary way out of bad times, but I’m starting to think this will be our future identity.

only1billybonds 11:05 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

All depends on the approach of the next manager/coaching staff whenever that mey be but the way we are set up is here to stay in the short term.

Another question is would you prefer to see us hovering around the top 7/8 playing this current style of sterile dull football or prefer a care free flambouyant style that produced plenty of goals for and against but saw us as a team that finishes anywhere between 17th/10th in the league?

Not sure many people would care about others 'doing a West Ham', anyone taking offence by what others think of their club should probably give up on football and take up knitting.

BRANDED 11:13 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

Its how you find a way to beat the best that matters. As well as beating the rest. Not winning at Bournemouth was a cunt. Luton will be the next test.

Far Cough 11:14 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

Is it possible to press and counter?

Nagel 11:17 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

I doubt Chelsea or Atletico fans would be that bothered because they actually won the league playing that way. We're much closer to the Stoke end of things though and personally I wouldn't see us finishing 6 or 7th every year as an adequate payoff to sit through such dull, passive anti-football as we've seen in the last couple of years.

I've never been of of those who moan about our board's lack of spending and dying for a sugar daddy to take over. I would be perfectly okay with us being a mid table side, as long as we kept up with those long held West Ham traditions that we should be proud of: playing attacking, entertaining football and bringing players in through the academy. We're doing neither of those things under the present regime.

Eerie Descent 11:27 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

Has anyone got to hand Moyes' record away to the Sky Sports top 6 to show BRANDED how effective he is against the best over the years?

Since Man City got taken over, I think it's 0 (ZERO) isn't it?

Very impressive for a manager who's been at it for a couple of decades.

threesixty 11:27 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

Far cough

I don’t think you can press and play counter attack right?

The whole idea of low block counter attacking is to encourage a team push so far forward leaving room behind them to run into.

Pressing a team will push them back and mean you don’t create the space for a counter attack.

The benefit to pressing is just getting the ball back quicker. We literally want them to have the ball pretty much all the time!

threesixty 11:35 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

Where this style genrally comes unstuck is when smaller teams realise that they need to sit back against us. I think what happened last time was we didn’t know how to break down these teams. And they done us. Also, if the other team score first you have no choice but to attack.

Big teams like Man City etc. will be too embarrassed to sit back against us and will always attack. Which is where they play into our hands.

But if we get to Xmas playing and winning like this. The return fixtures will have everyone changing the way they play us.

Maybe that’s why our results tailed off in the second half of both seasons when we got 6th and 7th? People just worked us out.

This year with a better squad might mean we can mix it up if teams do decide to sit back against us though. We will see.

wd40 11:42 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

Closer to Stoke?
Million miles away

Closer to Stoke City..

Calm down

Gary Strodders shank 11:43 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

It's a results business at the end of the day

Playing the way we are is fine when we are beating Brighton & Chelsea scoring some great goals on the counter attack and sitting in the top four.

When we get turned over playing that way Moyes will get called a dinosaur and there will be calls yet again to replace him with a more progressive (?) manager.

In his defence he has alluded to wanting to play better football and I'm sure that is the plan once the team is more settled in terms of new signings bedding in etc I also think he will adjust the formation and style depending on the opposition.

As for the West Ham way, the teams I grew up watching apart from some notable spells under Lyall and Harry hardly set the world alight dipping in and out of the second tier and playing a mismatch of styles (Macari) we often liked to try and get it down and play and there was some good football but very often didn't have the quality of player to pull it off (Zola era )and whenever spoke about this so called West Ham way to others I was told "great but you never win anything" which at the time was true.

I think its time to forget about the old West Ham way and adopt a new one which is a winning one (regardless of style)

Alex G 11:45 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

We clearly aren't playing a possession based system, but to say that what we're playing is unexciting or unskillfull football isn't true. When we counter we play some beautiful stuff.

What we're doing is in some ways an extension of how Leicester won the league - sit tight and then be devastating when we get possession.

The interesting part will be when teams decide not to commit men forward against us and how we react.

Side of Ham 11:51 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

Another big factor that has been witnessed TWICE when his system is doing ok…once he has his determined 11 he plays them into the ground so there’s nothing left for what could be a final push…the players left out have little match sharpness and are expected to just slot in to work miracles and then he blames all of them for not working hard enough….

….just sold our soul….to win a poxy cup….

twoleftfeet 11:52 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

The West Ham way?

A yo yo team?

Everyone’s second favourite team because we get beaten by their no1 side every season?

Can’t travel anywhere North of Watford without getting smashed?

Never win anything and spend every season fighting relegation?

I’ll take this way thank you.

threesixty 11:54 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

Alex G

Yeah I agree.

Strangely, I really did like Simeone’s Atlético team even though they were defensive because they were actually very skilfully at the same time. The speed in which they played the ball out of defence, the technique was incredible. I think people don’t give them enough credit.

Looking at Alvarez clips yesterday make me think we could have the skills to give some “class” to defensive football.

zico 12:00 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

Gary Strodders shank 11:43 Mon Aug 28

I'd pretty much agree with that. Read a book recently where an old player, forget which one, said that Macari was unfortunate in many ways with the lack of support he had from the players and rather promote the long ball game all he wanted the team to do was to try and play football in the opponents half rather than play in their own half, lose it and concede goals.

Whilst under Greenwood we played some really nice stuff, we were considered "soft". Under Lyall a bit of steel was added but we only came close to the League once. That was the West Ham manager and side I grew up with and remember the good times but there were plenty of fans (not myself I must add) that wanted him out at the end. Redknapp played some great football but it was inconsistent and same with Bilic, some great stuff but again a bit hit and miss.

I've always thought the West Ham Way was just the players giving it everything, 100% whatever the circumstances and if it's not good enough at least they have played with a bit of pride. We would all love to see another 85/86 with the swashbuckling swagger but it only worked for 37 or so games and everything had to come together for that to happen.

It's not pretty at times but I'd rather be where we are digging out results that sitting at the bottom after throwing caution to the wind. That said I hope he finds another way of playing for certain fixtures and doesn't sit back against sides of similar/lower quality.

Takashi Miike 12:02 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

"The West Ham way?

A yo yo team?"


yo yo club. six relegations in 128 years, thick dinosaur loving cunt

Mike Oxsaw 12:14 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

I think the idea is to build a watertight defence (first) then layer on a springboard for attack.

When we don't (get the chances to) attack, it's fucking boring, but when we do? THAT'S the West Ham way.

scouse kid 12:27 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

Anyone describing West Ham as a yo-yo team is either fucking ignorant of our history or being thick on purpose for their own agenda

Side of Ham 12:35 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

Did the twofacedcunt even watch last season? It’s in the current way too……all after the ignorant ‘yo yo club’ comment….just hope the new players get used correctly and he learns to use squad rotation whether it’s PL or Europa League….

Takashi Miike 12:51 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

he'll deny it now, but on a thread last season he said he doesn't watch the games and fucks off out for a walk while the game is on. a twenty four carat oddball

Fauxstralian 1:02 Mon Aug 28
Re: The West Ham way…. Gone?

It will be interesting to see how we play against Luton.
With no disrepect we have better players and SHOULD have more of the ball.
You have to play in a way that suits you and is what hurts the opposition.
Brighton are a decent team but this is them with Gross and Gilmour in midfield ... not Caicedo and McAllister or Enciso ... Grandad Milner as a high right back. We exploited Milner but still want to see us with more control in future ... especially when we have 2 Ajax players in the team.

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