Another Saturday 3pm kick-off – I could get used to this! This weekend West Ham travel down to South Wales to play Swansea, for whom Andre Ayew will be trying his hardest to impress. Ahead of the game I spoke to IanABS94, PGFWhite, and Ottawa Swan of The Jack Army to discuss the match and other things.
Congratulations on your FA Cup victory during the week: Win the FA Cup and go down or get knocked out and stay up? The choice is yours?
Stay up for sure
5-4-1/3-5-2 Prediction: 1-1
Are you confident that you can make it two victories within a week against West Ham?
Optimistic, won’t be easy but home form is hard to bet against at the moment.
We’re not playing West Ham twice in a week!
Absolutely – we’ve been pretty solid at home with Carvahal.
We’ve both pressed the panic button and sacked our managers, I presume you are happy with your change? Tell us a bit about Carlos Carvalha.
Eccentric but in a good way. For the first time since Laudrup we have a manager who wants to be attacking and on the front foot.
He’s an enigma.
He’s attack-minded (sometime a little too much so e.g. Brighton) which makes it far more entertaining to watch than any recent manager and clearly has motivated the players to punch above their weight. He is adventurous with substitutions and flexible with formations to match up against the top clubs but not yet sure about the success of his tactics against the lower clubs. He’s got great turns of phrase for press conferences.
How do you rate our replacement for Slaven Bilic – David Moyes?
You needed a change but not sure Moyes is the answer. Similar to Pardew, not much to be impressed by.
He’s got experience at the highest level and should develop West Ham over the coming few seasons.
Boring and uninspired (and is presumably like that for the players).
It’s so tight at the bottom, who do you think (hope) will go down this season?
West Brom, Stoke & Huddersfield
Think: West Brom, Swans, Huddersfield. Hope: Stoke, Southampton, Brighton
West Brom, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield
Where do you think Swansea will finish at the end of the campaign?
12th-17th
18th
Just above relegation zone (again)
Where do you think West Ham can realistically finish the season?
12th-17th
11th
Bottom half but not relegated
Which teams will follow Man City into the Champions League?
United, Liverpool, Spurs
Man U, Chelsea,Spurs
Liverpool, Spurs and Man United
Are you happy with your transfer dealings during the window? You took back Andre Ayew from us, who no doubt tried his best for us, but couldn’t consistently show the form he did for you: are you happy with this bit of business?
He’s a quality player who didn’t seem to get a run of games for you. He was good for us but he’s a bit of a square peg in a round hole unless you’re willing to accommodate him.
Our transfer dealings have been shite for a number of seasons.
No, we failed to bring in a Sigurdson replacement and we needed a right back and a left back. Too soon to say about the other Ayew, he doesn’t seem to have as much to prove as he had when he first was with us.
Any particular memories of West Ham/Swansea games of the past?
Beating you 4-1 in what was supposed to be your final match at Upton Park
David Cross scoring for the Hammers, triggering 20 West Ham fans going crazy and getting kicked out of the North Bank. Trevor Brooking also scored in a3-1 victory at the Vetch Field. Swans winning 4-1 at Upton Park when the Hammers were chasing European football.
No
If you could have any current West Ham player in your first team who would you choose and why?
Lanzini, #10 with quality, something we haven’t replaced after selling Gylfi.
Arnatouvic. He’s big, direct and scores goals
Lanzini – fantastic playmaker
Which other teams/players how impressed you down at Swansea this season?
Man City I guess. We’ve been pretty poor (shit) until recently at home so no team would be “impressive”.
Man City
Burnley – they really have come together as a team this year, even though they are on a bad run at the moment.
Which Swansea player(s) has played better than expected, and who has not lived up to reputation?
Jordan Ayew has been fantastic lately, he’s always had the quality but he’s had the tendency to be inconsistent. Lately he’s been nothing but consistent in delivering good performances.
Better – Jordon Ayew Disappointed – Tammy Abraham_
Nathan Dyer since he came back from injury (has still got a great turn of speed), Jordan Ayew (although he still misses the killer pass sometimes by going it alone near the penalty box) and KI who seems to be really motivated by our new manager. Mesa (now out on loan) was a dud for us and Clucas has not lived up to expectations.
How do you expect Swansea to setup against West Ham on Saturday/ Team/formation prediction?
3-5-2 with both Ayew’s up top.
5-4-1/3-5-2 Prediction: 1-1
After getting burned at Brighton with three at the back I expect us to set up 4-3-1-2
Any tips for Hammers fans making the trip down to Swansea on Saturday?
It’s gonna be f******* cold!
Wear your long-johns!
Take a very warm coat and scarf
Well thanks to Ian |(who is keeping his eyes on The Swans from Canada) and the lads for their time. Interesting how two of them would prefer to stay up rather than win the cup, whereas Martin the Wigan fan of a few weeks back wouldn’t trade their FA Cup win for anything. I think that we can gain another crucial win against a team near us in the bottom half. Hopefully they will be feeling the exertions of their mid-week game a bit and so I am putting my money on a 1-2 win to the Hammers. COYI.