Changing our whole team for one man, this is not Messi or Ronaldo it's bloody Andy Carroll.

Let them worry about Hazard Costa & Pedro, we should be focussing on our strengths and hopefully Courtois can control the box well and help his defense out. Like someone mentioned earlier let's just protect the wide areas and not let the cross come into the box in the first place rather than making drastic changes to the back line.

I wouldn't bring zouma in yet. I think our back 3 should be kept the same.

 

i would go with

 

courtois 

azbi luiz cahill

moses Kante matic alonso

pedro costa hazard

sub: begovic terry zouma fabregas Willian batsman chalobah 

bring on fabregas if they are playing a tight game.

think matic should start as he is better with against teams that play direct and high balls.

16 hours ago, pacquiao said:

Because West Ham will target him and Azpi as they won't be able to compete with Andy Carroll in the air, which is why Zouma should start at RCB and as Azpi is so good he needs to play so Moses is most likely to be dropped if Conte chooses to start Zouma

I get your thinking but come on this is West Ham, not bloody United or Spurs ffs  I mentioned them two because they have bigger players but are high calibre teams .

I know Moses can be frustrating with his play in final third but he still is an integral part of our attacking play and West Ham's defence down that left can be exploited with him there. Cresswell would be terrified to be coming up against both Moses and Pedro running at him. West Ham will be more scared of us than we are of them. If people are talking about Zouma at RBC then yeah can understand but suggesting he plays at RWB to drop Moses is ridiculous imo. Even Azpi. Moses for a game like this must start at RWB. West Ham have leaked goals for fun at home against the bigger teams and with our attacking quality we can add more misery. Moses has to start at RWB. 

Edited March 4, 20179 yr by STATS

20 hours ago, Carshalton Blue said:

What'd you mean you'll only accept a win by a 3 goal margin? what will you do if we "only" win 1.0? stand outside the Bridge with a placard?

No offence but you come across like a modern day fan who boo's the team off at half time for "only" winning 2.0.

I'll take any win over there, they are one of our traditional rivals in London & always will be, i hate losing to them as much as i hate losing to Spurs.

We need to perform to a high standard to win there, we havent turned up at Spurs the last few years, we need to play much much better at West Ham, i think we will but it'll still be a tough game, saying that if we get an early goal we could have a field day.

 Remember guys, never make a joke or tongue in cheek comment on a forum as someone won't get it and call you a 'modern' fan (Is this an insult? Should we be historic fans supporting a team in the 1920's 70 years before i was born?).

 

I also made a joke about them being a small team, would you like to get upset by that aswell?

5 hours ago, Don Conte said:

Moses has been an integral part to our formation change and has started every game since the switch. His Direct running and stamina are crucial for the formation to work. We have to stop worrying about his Flaws and appreciate his attributes which far outweigh his flaws.... Thats why he just signed a new contract. If we change just because of caroll it will be advantage westham. Then what next bench moses for Zouma against Man u because ibra is tall?  

Moses for me all day

He has but I can promise you conte will be looking for an upgrade on him in the summer, I was very happy to see him pick up and get his game and if you look early in the season I was full of praise for him, but a while ago I said he has peaked and is just not quite good enough, I said teh same about Alonso but he is actually changing my mind, I really quite like him at this point, think he has come on a lot, and at this time he is more reliable than moses and has the height.  I dont want moses off for this game in particular for me in big games Zouma, Dave on the right, dave is also full of energy and intense enough to play wingback, Moses is not good at any one thing but he tries hard 100 percent of the time and is a good all rounder, that contract will see him as a squad player and a backup in the future. 

Cautiously optimistic about this match. I never feel confident away from home against West Ham and this time is no exception.

Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Chelsea

22 minutes ago, DonAntonio said:

He has but I can promise you conte will be looking for an upgrade on him in the summer, I was very happy to see him pick up and get his game and if you look early in the season I was full of praise for him, but a while ago I said he has peaked and is just not quite good enough, I said teh same about Alonso but he is actually changing my mind, I really quite like him at this point, think he has come on a lot, and at this time he is more reliable than moses and has the height.  I dont want moses off for this game in particular for me in big games Zouma, Dave on the right, dave is also full of energy and intense enough to play wingback, Moses is not good at any one thing but he tries hard 100 percent of the time and is a good all rounder, that contract will see him as a squad player and a backup in the future. 

You are right he has peaked, but that is just due to fatigue . even hazard has had more rest and moses covers more ground due to his position. You also have take into consideration that this is his first season playing this position. He will definitely improve and that is why he has been rewarded with a contract. I dont think we will buy an upgrade but instead someone who can compete with him for the position and allow him some rest while also putting pressure on him to improve his game.

3 hours ago, Don Conte said:

You are right he has peaked, but that is just due to fatigue . even hazard has had more rest and moses covers more ground due to his position. You also have take into consideration that this is his first season playing this position. He will definitely improve and that is why he has been rewarded with a contract. I dont think we will buy an upgrade but instead someone who can compete with him for the position and allow him some rest while also putting pressure on him to improve his game.

the squad compliment goal for next season with a CL campaign is going to need 2 top players for every position. Approaching world class for 1st team. Adding a Sanchez or equivalent high dollar up front , but I'm sure the board & Conte will want to big up the academy products and now try to promote from within saving on new investment while bearing the fruit of a 10 year academy development & loan strategy - Aina & Ake for wing banks, Chalobah & RLC in mid. Got loan players at Huddersfield now doing well in a promotion drive - Izzy Brown. Tammy at City. Christensen in bundesliga. Chelsea trousered the oscar money - that's why. Investing in a new stadium the board will look to the academy graduates to shore up the 1st team squad. As it should. Trust Conte to build a top squad over the summer. 

5 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

 Remember guys, never make a joke or tongue in cheek comment on a forum as someone won't get it and call you a 'modern' fan (Is this an insult? Should we be historic fans supporting a team in the 1920's 70 years before i was born?).

 

I also made a joke about them being a small team, would you like to get upset by that aswell?

 

Your post didnt come across as "tongue in cheek" 

I didnt say you WERE a modern fan, i said you come across like one, i also said no offence meant so it definitely wasn't meant as an insult. 

"Guys" you sure your not a modern day fan 

Carroll hasn't caused Arsenal and City problems, also other lesser clubs and I would prefer our defence. So let them worry about us, not some old fashioned long ball game to one player. Stop the source and have the goalkeeper dominate his box.

41 minutes ago, Richard P said:

Carroll hasn't caused Arsenal and City problems, also other lesser clubs and I would prefer our defence. So let them worry about us, not some old fashioned long ball game to one player. Stop the source and have the goalkeeper dominate his box.

He has actually. He scored a hattrick against them last season and this season of the bench where he played only 17 mins, he came on and scored. 

1 minute ago, STATS said:

He has actually. He scored a hattrick against them last season and this season of the bench where he played only 17 mins, he came on and scored. 

They didn't win though and our defence is better that was the point I was making. If he was that good they would be top of the league. I just think people sometimes worry about the opposition too much when their overall league position doesn't merit it.

14 hours ago, big blue said:

Why? Luiz has been class this season. 

 

So has Cahill. 

14 minutes ago, just said:

So has Cahill. 

What does that have to do with Luiz handling carroll? 

He has but I can promise you conte will be looking for an upgrade on him in the summer ...... I dont want moses off for this game in particular for me in big games Zouma, Dave on the right, dave is also full of energy and intense enough to play wingback, Moses is not good at any one thing but he tries hard 100 percent of the time and is a good all rounder, that contract will see him as a squad player and a backup in the future.

Dave is a much better defender than moses, but Moses is a far better attacker. I think dave is perfect in a back 3 and is unconvincing going forward, never penetrates much. Moses does although I'll agree his final ball can be average and he doesn't score many goals.

For this game I think once again the only questions are whether to play fab and which of Willian or Pedro to use. I also worry about hazards "training" knock.

Hazard has been off the boil again recently, so I would be tempted to go Pedro and Willian instead, as they will track back more as well.

On 04/03/2017 at 12:21, STATS said:

I get your thinking but come on this is West Ham, not bloody United or Spurs ffs  I mentioned them two because they have bigger players but are high calibre teams .

I know Moses can be frustrating with his play in final third but he still is an integral part of our attacking play and West Ham's defence down that left can be exploited with him there. Cresswell would be terrified to be coming up against both Moses and Pedro running at him. West Ham will be more scared of us than we are of them. If people are talking about Zouma at RBC then yeah can understand but suggesting he plays at RWB to drop Moses is ridiculous imo. Even Azpi. Moses for a game like this must start at RWB. West Ham have leaked goals for fun at home against the bigger teams and with our attacking quality we can add more misery. Moses has to start at RWB. 

Doesn't matter if it's only West Ham, that's like saying we don't need to prepare for our game with Watford as it's only Watford, even if Barcelona was playing against West Ham I guarantee you they wouldn't play Mascherano at CB against Carroll, you are asking for trouble if you play a small CB against Carroll, Whats the point of us having a squad of players if we are not going to use them in a game that suits them? 

Zouma should play at RCB, with Azpi at RWB, we don't need Moses in this game.

1 hour ago, Zeta said:

Hazard has been off the boil again recently, so I would be tempted to go Pedro and Willian instead, as they will track back more as well.

Hazard was MOTM against Arsenal and was oustanding last week against Swansea.

3 minutes ago, pacquiao said:

Hazard was MOTM against Arsenal and was oustanding last week against Swansea.

Arsenal game he was good, but I remember feeling quite disappointed in his performances in the other few recent games.

1 hour ago, pacquiao said:

Doesn't matter if it's only West Ham, that's like saying we don't need to prepare for our game with Watford as it's only Watford, even if Barcelona was playing against West Ham I guarantee you they wouldn't play Mascherano at CB against Carroll, you are asking for trouble if you play a small CB against Carroll, Whats the point of us having a squad of players if we are not going to use them in a game that suits them? 

Zouma should play at RCB, with Azpi at RWB, we don't need Moses in this game.

Yeah but Moses is a big part of our attacking play which Zouma and Azpi can't do as effectively. And we will be taking the game to them. Like I said, starting Zouma at RCB is something I can understand even I don't think Conte will do it however suggestions to drop Moses I completely disagree. He and Pedro will cause Cresswell problems.

5 hours ago, Zeta said:

Hazard has been off the boil again recently, so I would be tempted to go Pedro and Willian instead, as they will track back more as well.

Are you Wenger in Disguise. lol

Win this is down to a 3 horse race. Fail to win this and we open the door, especially to city and Spurs. 

4 hours ago, pacquiao said:

Doesn't matter if it's only West Ham, that's like saying we don't need to prepare for our game with Watford as it's only Watford, even if Barcelona was playing against West Ham I guarantee you they wouldn't play Mascherano at CB against Carroll, you are asking for trouble if you play a small CB against Carroll, Whats the point of us having a squad of players if we are not going to use them in a game that suits them? 

Zouma should play at RCB, with Azpi at RWB, we don't need Moses in this game.

Play a high line and that's Carroll by in large nullified. Him winning a header on the half way line isn't exactly a huge deal.

2 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Win this is down to a 3 horse race. Fail to win this and we open the door, especially to city and Spurs. 

Yeah really hoped they'd drop some points today! Must win now so not to give them any encouragement 

7 hours ago, ozboy said:

 

Dave is a much better defender than moses, but Moses is a far better attacker. I think dave is perfect in a back 3 and is unconvincing going forward, never penetrates much. Moses does although I'll agree his final ball can be average and he doesn't score many goals.

For this game I think once again the only questions are whether to play fab and which of Willian or Pedro to use. I also worry about hazards "training" knock.

 

Well when has Dave had a run at RB to show us, he isn't the greatest attacking RB but Moses was far from the best winger, he literally cant get a cross in, I like that he runs at players, when we are high tempo it pins back the opposition, but Dave would put in far better crosses