-----------------------------Heaton

Bardsley------------Tark -------- Gibson or Long ............ ?

? ................ ? ..............Cork? ..........................Joey

and 5 others

Heaton
Bardsley Tarkowski Mee Gibson
JBG Hendrick Westwood Brady or Lennon
Barnes Vydra

Dyches team

Hart
Bardsley Tarks Mee Taylor
JBG westwood cork hendrick brady
Barnes or wood

Pope
Bardsley Tarkowski Gibson Taylor
JBG Defour Westwood Brady
Barnes Vydra

whoever he picks it'll be hoofball rubbish

Heaton

Tom (to keep the sentimentalists happy)
Bardsley (borderline him and Lowton to get a red card even though it's never happened) Tarks Gibson AN Other
JBG (if fit) Hendrick Westwood Brady (if fit)
Wood Barnes

Heaton
Lowton Tarkowski Gibson Bardsley
JBG Cork Westwood Hendrick
Barnes Vokes

Heaton
Bardsley Tarks Gibson Taylor
Brady Cork Westwood JBG
Barnes Vydra

Hart
Taylor, tarks, mee, bards
Brady, Hendrick, cork, lowts
Barnes, vydra

Heaton
Bards, tarks, Gibson , Taylor
JBG, Hendrick, westwood, Brady/Mcneil
Vokes, vydra

Heaton
Bardsley Long Gibson Taylor
JBG Westwood Hendrick McNeil
Vydra Barnes

so far from the consensus of above...
Heaton starts.
Bards and Tarks

8 others

Isn't Lowton suspended?

Heaton
Bardsley Long Tarks Gibson Taylor
Westwood Cork
JBG Vydra
Barnes

Heaton
Long tarky Gibson
Jbg Brady
Westwood Hendrick defour
Vokes Barnes

Blacklaw
Angus Miller Cummings Elder
Adamson Harris
Connelly McIlroy Pointer Pilkington

We all know what Dyche`s will be!

For me though...

Pope (if he is ANYWHERE near fitness)

Bardsley Tarkowski Gibson Taylor

Gudmundsson Hendrick Westwood McNeil

Vydra

Barnes

Pope
Bardsley Tarks Gibson Taylor
JBG Hendrick Westwood Barnes
Vydra
Vokes



But it won't happen

HiroshimaClaret wrote:We all know what Dyche`s will be!

For me though...

Pope (if he is ANYWHERE near fitness)

Bardsley Tarkowski Gibson Taylor

Gudmundsson Hendrick Westwood McNeil

Vydra

Barnes

Pretty much this if Brady isn’t still injured

May as well have a real go.

I'd go with the formation that got me such success with Real Betis in FM2017

4-2-3-1

Heaton
Bardsley Gibson Long Taylor
Westwood Hendrick
Guðmundsson Barnes Brady
Vydra

We may as well go all out attack from here.

1. We need to revert to 4-4-2 which worked well against Liverpool and Brighton.

2. Although Wood hasn't been playing particularly well combining him with Barnes is currently our most threatening forward line.

3. Bring back Bardsley and Long.

4. Pope might not be 'quite ready' but start him nonetheless.

5. If Brady isn't fit then start with McNeil.

Pope
Bardsley Long Tarks Taylor
JBG Westwood Cork Brady
Barnes Wood

Gonna keep 3 at the back

----------------------?----------------
---------Long-Tarky-Gibson
JBG---Westy---Hendrick-----Taylor
----------Vydra-------Brady
----------------Barnes

Long, Tarky, Gibson are a real threat at set pieces, all being 6ft2+.
JBG could actually play wingback and imo be decent at it.
I can't face watching Cork play again so he's making way.

More options centrally with one mobile striker, I want to see some movement

Pope

Lowton
Tarkowski
Gibson
Taylor

JBG
Hendrick
Cork
Brady

Barnes
Vydra

Heaton
Bardsley
Tarkowski
Gibson
Taylor
JBG
Hendrick
Cork
Westwood
McNeil
Barnes

Pope (Heaton if unavailable)
Bardsley Long Gibson Mee

JBG Hendrick Tarkowski McNeill
Vydra Barnes

A strong tackling centre mid to win headers and break play up alongside midfielders who's first thought is
to go forward rather than backwards/sideways .. coupled with a forward line with a bit of pace and guile ..
It could be a masterstroke or end in disaster no-one knows but we have to try to mix it up and try different
things .. We have nothing to lose UTC

442

Heaton(Capt)
Bards Tarks Gibson Taylor
Westwood Hendrick Cork JBG
Vydra Barnes

CoolClaret wrote:Gonna keep 3 at the back

We haven't been playing 3 at the back.

Heaton

Bardsley
Tarkowski
Gibson
Taylor

Westwood
Hendrick

JBG
Vydra
McNeil

Barnes

(Brady for McNeil if fit)
Don’t like the idea of Taylor at fullback, I just don’t think he’s got the fight in him

Heaton, Pope, Tea lady
Bardsley's Long Gibson Taylor
JBG Westwood McNeil Brady
Barnes Vydra

Is Brady injured,?

Watching West Ham play Southampton.

We need to target Antonio (if they play him right back like tonight).
He has mistakes in him.
JBG could tear him a new one. JBG and Taylor both have the beating of him.

Reasoning

Pellegrini has one tactic that he relies on "the best form of defence is a good offence". This always leaves his teams weak at the back. If an opponent can withstand the onslaught and get in behind they can have a field day. At the moment West Ham have a weakness at right back, whether it is Antonio or the ponderous Zabaletta. We should look to exploit this. Injuries have depleted their strength a bit, but their obvious danger man is Anderson who we will need to handle.

Assessment: We can win this one

Heart -> Heaton

I think the main reason that we performed so badly in the last game was a complete mental breakdown born from frustration. Tom is a commanding presence in terms of organising his defence and being vocal in his demands. Heart seems to be a bit more laid back in that regard. It is speculation on my part, but I think if Tom had been playing in the last match we would have recovered from the first calamitous mistake quicker than the 20-30 minutes it actually took. We lack solidity at the moment and a commanding presence in goal could give us that.

It should also be pointed out that West Ham know Hearts game inside out, because he played for them. Granted, Heaton is also a known quantity, but if they set up with the expectation of facing Heart a change could spoil some of their plans.

Dropping Heart would also re-enforce the idea that the keeper Jersey is up for grabs and the fight for it still exists. I don't think Heart has been bad overall, but now is a good time to give Heaton a chance to regain the shirt.

Tarkowski

Playing Tarks in front of the back four as a defensive midfielder will strengthen our defence and our midfield. He can stop anything that gets through midfield and drop back to assist the back four should we need it. Having him slightly in front of the back four will also place him in the path of Anderson if he cuts inside. On the attacking front he can move up into a deep lying central midfield position that will allow Hendrick to push forward.

Wingers

I went with JBG on the left, because I agree with HunterST about their weakness at right back and he is the best player we have to exploit it. Brady could do similar, but I would prefer to see him marking and tackling the Anderson threat. Brady also did very well for us least season on the right and when Hendrick and Brady play together they feed off each other and seem to perform better.

Lowton -> Bardsley

At the moment Bardsley is the steel we need in the team, providing that he can keep the aggression below red card level. Having him and Brady on the right, with Tarks covering the inside route, should be enough to keep Anderson quiet.

Cork / Westwood -> Westwood / Hendrick

Cork seemed to be tripping over his own feet a lot in the last game so I would replace him with Jeff who looked better. I also think Hendrick has greater stamina to push forward and drop back, with experience of doing so. He also seems to be mentally stronger and more up for a fight. Cork strikes me as a cultured gentleman type of a player, were as Jeff is more of a give it all you've got street fighter. The latter is more what we need at this moment. Jack has been a bit up and down this season, but I think if we put Jeff next to Brady we will get the best out of both of them. Westwood has been playing reasonably well and if he can handle the shift to the left we will benefit from his through passes and retain a degree of midfield aggression.

Taking into account what we have available to us this is the best I can come up with.

Are you after SD's job Long Time Lurker?

Definitely not, my feet aren't big enough to fill the Gaffers shoes. I would end up looking like a clown

Just thought I would chip in with my idea for a lineup, which is no more valid than anyone elses.

Edit: I also wanted to give https://www.buildlineup.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; a go after seeing it used on an earlier post, because the output looked pretty.

We’ll probably deploy the same starting team and tactics that beat Brighton 1-0, and hope West Ham have a bit of fatigue in their legs, as Brighton did that day.
Brady started that day and I guess he’s doubtful, so McNeill as a straight swap for me.

Hart unless Pope is ready
Bardsley Tarks Gibson Taylor
Westwood Hendrick
JBG. McNeil Barnes
Wood

I’d let Barnes play an advance wide attack role (similar to city away in fa cup last year) to try and pin Antonio back and instruct McNeil to fill the gap if he’s caught too far forward (if Brady was fit I’d have him on the left and Barnes instead of wood).

Hart

Bardsley, Tarkowski, Gibson, Taylor

Gudmundsson, Westwood, Cork, McNeil,

Vydra

Wood

I call this the Christmas Tree formation. Granted, the big day has passed, but if we set up like this West Ham might have a bit of festive spirit left over and gift wrap us some scoring chances.

I'm not sure that Ashley is quite right for the role of central fairy, but we have some extra Wood on the bench if we need to make a substitute.

Pope
Bardsley - Tarkowski - Gibson - Taylor
JBG - Westwood - Cork - McNeill
Barnes
Vokes

jedi_master wrote:Heaton
Lowton Tarkowski Gibson Bardsley
JBG Cork Westwood Hendrick
Barnes Vokes

RVclaret wrote:Pope

Lowton
Tarkowski
Gibson
Taylor

JBG
Hendrick
Cork
Brady

Barnes
Vydra

You might want to rethink your right-back for two reasons. 1) Lowton has been horrendous recently 2) he's suspended

As much as I don't want Ben Mee at left back, I'd go

Heaton
Bardsley Tarkowski Gibson Mee
JBG Westwood Cork McNeil
Hendrick
Barnes

I’m presuming Brady has been ruled out definitely on Sunday?

I used to dread watching Bardsley playing away but at home to Liverpool and Brighton (to a lesser extent) he was most assertive and agree with someone else that he is the one player in defence who looks really interested in getting stuck in these days.

ClaretTony wrote:You might want to rethink your right-back for two reasons. 1) Lowton has been horrendous recently 2) he's suspended

As much as I don't want Ben Mee at left back, I'd go

Heaton
Bardsley Tarkowski Gibson Mee
JBG Westwood Cork McNeil
Hendrick
Barnes

If we play Hendrick anywhere other than his natural central midfield role we may as well just give up. There is no sense in playing him in a role that he has demonstrated that he struggles with

MRG wrote:If we play Hendrick anywhere other than his natural central midfield role we may as well just give up. There is no sense in playing him in a role that he has demonstrated that he struggles with

and I'll repeat that was where he was playing when we were getting all the good results last season.

Heaton
Bardsley Tarks Gibson Taylor
JBG Cork Hendrick McNeil
Vydra
Vokes

South West Claret. wrote:I used to dread watching Bardsley playing away but at home to Liverpool and Brighton (to a lesser extent) he was most assertive and agree with someone else that he is the one player in defence who looks really interested in getting stuck in these days.

I was absolutely astonished when Bardsley was left out against Everton. I like Lowton but he's been dreadful this season. He was left out after his performance at Palace which was as bad as anything I've seen from him and he came back against Everton and was just as bad.

ClaretTony wrote:and I'll repeat that was where he was playing when we were getting all the good results last season.

Doesn't mean he's any good in that position.

Murger wrote:Doesn't mean he's any good in that position.

It means the team was playing better and I thought that was what it was about.

ClaretTony wrote:You might want to rethink your right-back for two reasons. 1) Lowton has been horrendous recently 2) he's suspended

As much as I don't want Ben Mee at left back, I'd go

Heaton
Bardsley Tarkowski Gibson Mee
JBG Westwood Cork McNeil
Hendrick
Barnes

Must admit you're not far off their CT. I'd like to see us start Vydra but that clearly won't happen so this is probably the next best thing.