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Surfinglizard 11:42 Thu Mar 21
3 years on - nothing has changed?

3 years ago we had played all the following teams in League and Cup and got 7 wins, 6 draws and ZERO defeats. Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea, Man City, Everton, Arsenal.

This season, we see the same pattern, great results against top teams, terrible cock up's against the "weaker" ones.

same problem, different manager, many different players.

Why is this happening?

Alex V 12:57 Sat Mar 23
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

Brucies_Star_Prize 11:37 Sat Mar 23

You say 'simply not true' but then seem to agree with me. Yes, we do raise our game against the top clubs - maybe some of the players actually decide to muck in for the glamour ties.

But this is not a new concept, so I need to see other evidence of this clear improvement you claim. We beat Everton, Chelsea, Spurs last season. I don't see any difference at all - a small handful of promising results and a bunch of average or worse displays. Statistically it's hard to find any improvement at all - possession, shots for or against, creativity etc.

We knock the ball around a little bit more, that's about the only plus and it's a minor change. A positive? It seems to have had a negligible effect to me.

penners28 11:48 Sat Mar 23
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

We’ve got shelves and popcorn now though?

#progress

Brucies_Star_Prize 11:37 Sat Mar 23
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

Alex V 4:27 Fri Mar 22

Simply not true.

Our record against the top 6 is decent enough. 8 points from 9 games. We also picked up 11 points from 7 games in the corresponding games of this upcoming "tough schedule."

Our biggest failure by some distance is vs the teams immediately around us. Zero points in 5 games vs Wolves, Watford and Bournemouth.

Plenty of room for improvement but clear improvement on the last couple of seasons.

Alex V 5:10 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

When I think through the games this season, what really are the high points? The away win at Everton (our best performance imo), and the home wins vs Man Utd and Arsenal. After that I'm really struggling. There seems to be a lot of positivity around considering how few examples there are to really back it up.

Alex V 4:27 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

What I will say, is that if we do go on a run of wins in this tough schedule against top half sides, I'll be much more impressed. Because we've failed to do that at all yet. Our success is really in dispatching the bottom 8 - 30 points against them this season.

RBshorty 3:49 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

Q Why is this happening?

A The SPIVS.

Until they get bought out. And someone else invest silly amounts of wedge into us. This is the level we are at.

ironsofcanada 3:45 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

Alex V 3:24 Fri Mar 22

"If we get 7th it really won't signify much imo."

In the end it is all about our transfer revenue, right?

Jaan Kenbrovin 3:43 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

"If we get 7th it really won't signify much imo."


If we get 7th it'll likely mean gaining between 50 and 60 points. In a season where we have never been able to field our best team once, with over 10 first team injuries for months of the season. In addition to that a better defensive record and an improved possession rate.

You'd have to be some sort of mental cunt to try and say that wouldn't represent significant improvement?

geoffpikey 3:40 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

It's the WEST HAM WAY.


We have a manager with more hair than ever before. I think this should be acclaimed as PROGRESS.

Alex V 3:24 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

If we get 7th it really won't signify much imo. It'll be a handful of games where results went for us. I personally can't get excited over whether we match or eclipse Allardyce's dour record.

What points you get is often a reflection of what the competition does - the table is not as bunched this season - the bottom two are adrift and the top haven't run away with it as much. So there's more points to spread around the rest. That's all it really signifies imo.

By most of the statistical measures I look at there's very little difference on the field between us now and previous seasons.

ironsofcanada 2:50 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

Our remaining schedule is tougher (we have one bottom third team left, I think)

I figured we would probably need to win 5 including Watford to come 7th and that was likely too much. I am not giving up however, and winning the next one and the last 4 would be an amazing season.

But I will be happy if we win out at home. Would be a great place to build on in coming years considering the problem we have had there in the past. And even that would be over 50 and decent one.

We have to get more consistent and we have to take our chances if we want to play as cavalier as we do. But I am happy and yet also agree we need continued investment to build on this.

Jasnik 2:40 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

Has anyone pointed out it is the WEST HAM WAY yet!

Brucies_Star_Prize 2:39 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

Unless we go on a late run?

If you took our current points per game average and applied it to our remaining fixtures we would end up with 51 points which (last season at Boleyn aside) is our best haul since returning to the Prem.

It's also not far off our other best seasons in the Prem 2005/06, 2008/09. You have to go back to the Redknapp era for when we consistently got 50+ points a season, and even then we didn't threaten to break 60.

Seeing as we have changed manager and had not insignificant player turnover, coupled with a woeful start, it's fair to say we're definitely going in the right direction.

If we were to actually go on a "late run" and pick up e.g. 16 points (in line with our best 7 game period of the season), then we would be looking at our second highest tally in Orem history, eclipsing the 57 achieved by Harry in our 5th place finish.

Now whilst I consider that pretty unlikely, it would much closer represent going on a "late run". Indeed, even if we were to emulate our worst 7 game period of the season (4 points), we'd still end up with 46, which is pretty average by our standards.

scott_d 2:27 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

Alex, I guess it's my fault for trying to make my point with stats that it could end up as evidence that there isn't a great deal of improvement.

But I do think allot of what has improved has also been in the philosophy and style that Pellegrini is trying to impose on the team. It still needs some work but I think he's done well without an overhaul but it looks like he might get a chance to do a bit more this summer which means that next season will be more of an indication of our progress.

I think we would have all taken a lower league position this season for an improved attitude on the pitch and I would argue that we've got that as well as maybe a slight improvement in points return.

Alex V 1:55 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

>>> If we get 2 more wins / 6 more points then Pellegrini has done better than all prior seasons with the exception of the final Boleyn season.

The counter to that is that unless we go on a late run we're going to end up in the same vicinity points-wise as most of our seasons since promotion. I don't see much improvement, if any, on those seasons.

Eggbert Nobacon 12:12 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

Everton too had a poor season

Eggbert Nobacon 12:10 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

*Chelsea

Eggbert Nobacon 12:09 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

3 years ago we were also aided by the worst Liverpool and Celase sides in the last 2 decades

Take them out and include Leicester and Southampton who came above us and the results aren't so good

Westham67 11:43 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

Alex G 9:04 Fri Mar 22

3rd round West Brom. Home,
4th Orient Away,
5th Swansea Home
6th Villa Home
Semi Everton Villa Park replay at Elland road what a game that was gives me goose bump just writing it, Devo's goal was outstanding team play

Takashi Miike 10:54 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

FH, it's the reason they got a replay. I think Rashford scored at our place

Fortunes Hiding 10:51 Fri Mar 22
Re: 3 years on - nothing has changed?

iT MAY HAVE BEEN A FREAK SEASON, BUT OUR RECORD AGAINST THE TOP 7,

we were top.

oops caps lock!

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