[Tom Cato]

Basically, we relied on a moment of brilliance.
Great pass from Rashford, while Scott McT happened to run onto a ball and struck it without any backlift or an extra touch, which left the GK no time to react.
Ole had no tactic to break WHU down, at all.

Manchester United had 17 shots last night. West Ham had 3.

Did you expect us to run rampant with the 2nd string team? At some point you have to rely on the players on the pitch to do simple things like connect a pass and see running lanes for through balls.

West Ham did nothing, created nothing and deserved nothing. They're 5th in the Premier League and have won what.. 7 out of their last 9? They're not a bad football team. How about we give the boys some credit for completely nullifying a good football team?

 

[kafta]

It was the kind of the game where had we lost, it would have been 2 hours of my life i couldnt get back.

Through to the next round, all that matters now.

 

[red4ever 79]

Had to stop watching at 90mins. I just couldn't put myself through anymore of this 2 holding cdm's at home to fecking west ham. Dire beyond belief

 

[Toad]

The amount of games we’ve won where post match comments say we were rubbish.. again today.

If it was a league game it’s 2 points dropped to be fair

 

[OLLY ORANGE]

We needed to score early with the first half domination we had to stop the game being a 0-0 bore again.
Would have been a much better watch.
After watching Declan Rice once again he is not an improvement on what we have. Even last night when i thought Fred had one of his poorer games for a while. Please utd stay well away from he is not the answer for playing one holding midfielder in the future in stead of the two.

 

[Red_Aaron]

For 35 mins or so I thought we played really well, dominated them high up the pitch but didn't manage to score.

The first half eventually fizzled out, west ham had a good 10 mins then the game became a real grind. The quality disappeared from both sides and it was a painful watch. Pens looked nailed on.

When the goal came it was a great touch from rashford and lovely finish from Scott who played really well when he came on, he's having a very good season.

Defensively we barely gave up a single chance which was a positive after Everton. Up front we lacked ruthlessness without Bruno and Cavani.

We got the job done and we're through which is all that matters

 

[McGrathsipan]

We won that's all that matters.

 

[Oldyella]

We won while resting several of our more important players against a team which showed zero ambition. Will take it but it was a chore to watch. Some of the players who came in looked rusty but big concern around Martial and to a lesser extent Rashford.

And for West Ham, you can see why Moyes has a bad record against bigger clubs, if ever there was a game to try and push for a win this was it, they are in good form too.

 

[No Spring Chicken]

And for West Ham, you can see why Moyes has a bad record against bigger clubs, if ever there was a game to try and push for a win this was it, they are in good form too.

Yeah I though they were curiously negative, it felt like they were going for penalties from the beginning. I saw them against Villa the other week and they were excellent, I thought they'd give us problems, but instead they started playing with practically a back 6 from the start of the game. Maybe its become a real mental block for Moyes.

 

[Jezpeza]

Was dull but dont get what some peoples issue is its a cup game at the end of the day. In the next round, squad rotated. Doesnt really matter if you dont get a shot on target and win 1-0 off of a goalkeeper clearance getting caught by the wind and lobbing the opposition goalie. Cup competitions are always about getting your hat in the next round. They arent a margin of consistency like the league. Its how teams like birmingham and wigan have won cups in the same year as being relegated.

 

[Oldyella]

Yeah I though they were curiously negative, it felt like they were going for penalties from the beginning. I saw them against Villa the other week and they were excellent, I thought they'd give us problems, but instead they started playing with practically a back 6 from the start of the game. Maybe its become a real mental block for Moyes.

I wouldn't be surprised. Hes been around for a long time now and always done poorly. And no wonder tbh if last nights anything to go by.

 

[PieCrust]

Really need some challengers to Rashford. He just can't be on the teamsheet every match; he's not good enough. I like him a lot and hope he can become a consistent player, but right now he needs someone pushing and challenging him for a starting spot.

 

[Peterfeeter]

Awful game, but we are through.

West Ham didn't want to attack at any point.
We had so much possession but didn't create much.
I feel sorry for Van Der Beek, he's having a terrible time.
A forgettable match.

Vdb looks lost but there is a good player in there.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

We simply need to learn to love the ball with a consistently quick tempo vs packed defences. We'd get so much more joy out of it

 

[Hughes35]

Absolutely dire game. Good to go through though.

Much better when Fernandes and Mctom came on.

Must feel horrific being a West Ham this morning, to lose after watching that dross.

 

[Peterfeeter]

Basically, we relied on a moment of brilliance.
Great pass from Rashford, while Scott McT happened to run onto a ball and struck it without any backlift or an extra touch, which left the GK no time to react.
Ole had no tactic to break WHU down, at all.

I loved the way he took that goal. I have the feeling if Martial or Rash had been in his place they would have dithered and lost the ball.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

I loved the way he took that goal. I have the feeling if Martial or Rash had been in his place they would have dithered and lost the ball.

Do you now? How long have you had these feelings?

 

[Manoucha09]

I thought we played alright and were always in control. It wasn't the best performance, but all that matters is that we're through to the next round.

Don't know of it was because of the conditions that our play was really sloppy at times with a quite a few misplaced passes. That's why I still think a deep-lying midfielder should be a priority this summer. Be interesting to see how Garner continues playing with Forest.

Martial is definitely a worry. He just looks completely shot confidence-wise. He seemed more interested last night but put him in a few of those attacking situations last season and he would have scored a couple.

Great game from Greenwood again. He needs to find his shooting boots from last season though.

My biggest concern is how poor our squad replacements are, particularly VDB and Matic. We're going to need our full squad for the upcoming period with Europa added to our schedule. Ole doesn't make many subs, but I found it odd that he was reluctant to use James or Amad. It was obvious we were lacking on the wings and both Rashford and Martial were knackered. Maybe Ole was as confused about the subs rule as we were?

 

[Mickson]

Yeah I though they were curiously negative, it felt like they were going for penalties from the beginning. I saw them against Villa the other week and they were excellent, I thought they'd give us problems, but instead they started playing with practically a back 6 from the start of the game. Maybe its become a real mental block for Moyes.

What were they supposed to do? They don't have the squad and with Antonio gone, they don't have a striker. They are knackered.

Utterly predictable game. You can see how bad our style of play is when we miss some good players. Always feel like he just puts out 11 players and then hopes that they will win. We are always underwhelming when he rests Bruno and some other key players. Great to see McTominay improving by the game, and also good for Henderson to keep a clean sheet. He maybe shouldn't be dropped after this.

 

[Redlyn]

Everyone except Telles was awful, even Ole. No creativity, weird subs changing both full backs, wasted energy playing into extra time when we should of wrapped it up earlier against a really poor West Ham side. DVB tried but is not match fit and he is not a number 10. Good result but same issues persist. I feel the bubble is going to burst soon, hopefully we keep edging forward. This is the weirdest team in a while, great talents on paper, average performances most the time but we are grinding results.

We've won 3 games in our last 6 so what bubble? If it's yet to burst what kind of train wreck are you expecting ? We have a decent squad with some holes and are actually playing at that level. Score loads while shipping loads. It's so bad that I don't think that's going to get worse.

 

[Tom Cato]

Absolutely dire game. Good to go through though.

Much better when Fernandes and Mctom came on.

Must feel horrific being a West Ham this morning, to lose after watching that dross.

It's almost as if one team kept the other pinned down by possessing the ball. Not like West Ham had any chances at playing better than they did, or else they would have.

 

[No Spring Chicken]

What were they supposed to do? They don't have the squad and with Antonio gone, they don't have a striker. They are knackered.

I just assumed they'd play like they have done most of the season, they've always been pretty feisty when I've seen them. Last night they were totally passive. I appreciate Antonio is a key player for them, but equally he's missed half the season with injury & they've still done pretty well during that time, so they're far from a one man band.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Absolutely dire game. Good to go through though.

Much better when Fernandes and Mctom came on.

Must feel horrific being a West Ham this morning, to lose after watching that dross.

A team I positively hate but TBF to them they could have caused a shed load of problems if they hadn't been blighted by injuries prior and during the game.
Maybe it's our lucky year in the Cup....

Having said that, we'll get Chelsea or the like and City will get Sheffield Utd

 

[simplyared]

Thought Ole gambled too much with that starting line-up. Frustrating 1st half where most of the play was going through Fred. He hasn't the skillset to play that roll and we weren't getting anywhere. Subs should again have come on earlier and killed it before extra time kicked in. We won yes, but it could well have gone tits up.

 

[Mickson]

I just assumed they'd play like they have done most of the season, they've always been pretty feisty when I've seen them. Last night they were totally passive. I appreciate Antonio is a key player for them, but equally he's missed half the season with injury & they've still done pretty well during that time, so they're far from a one man band.

I mean that they can't replace him. They did well because they had Haller, which they now have sold. They don't have a striker. That's why they played that way.

 

[Ayoba]

Boring and bad isn’t necessarily the same. I agree it was a boring match because our offensive play was very slow and safe most of the time: very boring possession play.

But I don’t think it was a really really bad performance considering we dominated the match and had full control. That’s why I mean it was a very average (or maybe a bit below) performance. We expect more.

It’s a really really bad performance when we get outplayed, do many mistakes and loose.

Fair enough and you make a good point about being outplayed versus being dull. Although there was a period in the 2nd half, whilst we weren't necessarily outplayed but we hardly threatened and west ham were all over us.

 

[adam118]

I can see why we won so many penalties last year. All Rashford and Martial do is charge into the box with the ball and hope for the best- defenders are wise to them now. They may as well wear blindfolds. We need something else next season if we want to challenge for titles.

 

[Ronaldo's ego]

Not a great game but we won. On to the next.

 

[Hughes35]

It's almost as if one team kept the other pinned down by possessing the ball. Not like West Ham had any chances at playing better than they did, or else they would have.

I'm not sure I agree tbh. I think West Ham played incredibly poorly, rather than us being fantastic.

A win is a win though and I'm happy we went through.

 

[Lee565]

This may seem like nothing but around the 107th minute west ham got behind our defence and whipped a low'ish cross into the middle of the box and I saw our keeper diving outwards to punch it away and thought oh no because I have gotten use to de gea's feeble punch clearances but Henderson's clearance was punched properly out of danger.

 

[OleTheGreat]

WHY THE HELL ARE WE SO SLOW IN POSSESSION? That game was so slow and it put me to sleep. I missed McT's goal because I was snoring with the TV on. I don't know if we will survive the onslaught from the teams below us in the PL. I think we still win games in a particular moment and individual brilliance but overall we are still a shaky team. That was so awful to watch and I'm tired of the mistakes even when there is no pressure on the ball when we are in possession.

 

[Silverman]

If Noble barged into me as I took a throw in, I would be straight over lambasting the referee demanding action be taken.
Why are we so passive at times like that?

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

If Noble barged into me as I took a throw in, I would be straight over lambasting the referee demanding action be taken.
Why are we so passive at times like that?

That was so strange and what dick move by Noble. No reaction was very weird, agreed.

 

[Gator Nate]

This game is a result of the weirdness that is tournament ball, and specifically football tournament ball. Tournament play is always different from League play, because you lose and you're out. You have to win to continue. But because football tournaments are played during the season, unlike end-of-season playoffs, different clubs have different motivations driving their priorities.

That said, I'm not sure what West Ham were trying to do yesterday. They're a good team doing great in the League with an outside shot at European cup play next year. Not having three more FA Cup ties could benefit them. Moyes obviously thought going uber-Morinho would accomplish something, but I don't know that 0-0 after regulation was it. On the other hand, Lingard has been a huge contributor for their offense in the two games they've had him, but he wasn't available for this game and they had nothing going forward.

On the other hand, Ole put out what was obviously not the best XI. The whole thing turned weird, because we didn't have the midfield to break down eight or nine in the final third, which seemed Moyes' prevailing tactic. Donny is not Bruno. Sorry. He's a very good player, but he's not that creative passing spark where Bruno sits. Donny was making runs that Bruno doesn't, but there was no one to pass to him, which Bruno does. Telles still isn't as bold as Shaw. Matic is Matic. Ole's lineup would have worked fine against a more open team, but Moyes didn't cooperate one bit and Ole was stuck for an hour.

So I'm not going to criticize Ole's tactics or the play on the field because I think I understand why he put that squad out there. The game was going to be weird and it turned out to be so. I do think, going forward, that trying to sub in the stronger players for the last 30 minutes when needed is not working and he shouldn't do it any more. I think it's paid off, like, once. Otherwise, we've gone to extra minutes. I'd rather score goals early, then sub them off at the half, especially when you have 5 subs available.

 

[Manoucha09]

If Noble barged into me as I took a throw in, I would be straight over lambasting the referee demanding action be taken.
Why are we so passive at times like that?

Reminded me of the Herrera incident under LVG when Noble carried him off the pitch. Just like then, there was absolutely no reaction from the player or any of his teammates. That's where you want your leaders to stand up for their teammates, particularly with how things are going for Van De Beek at the moment. Where's Keano when you need him?

 

[mitchmouse]

I was praying there wouldn't be extra time: I was tired and the game was such a massive bore I wasn't sure I could take much more. If this is the strength of our squad (and if Ole thinks it's good enough), well, we won't win anything ever again. Pity the poor editor who had to find more than five minutes of highlights!

Far too many bog-standard ordinary performances, except maybe from Martial who might as well not have tipped up at all for the first 75 minutes. The creativity when Bruno and Edi aren't in the starting line-up is about as close to zero as you can get - we made Noble look like Beckenbauer, when in truth he's et more and lore like a knackered cart horse every year. rue we were never in much danger of losing, but I expected more from Fred, Matic and Donny

This should hammer home the need for wingers (you, know the DNA of the club that I keep hearing Ole knows so much about), another top-class creative midfielder and a real goal scorer; not someone who continually tries to go through three or four players and that looks surprised to have lost the ball (Rashford and Martial guilty so many times I lost count).

Dull and about as much fun as watching mid-table team I don't care one iota about...

 

[Basa1987]

WHY THE HELL ARE WE SO SLOW IN POSSESSION? That game was so slow and it put me to sleep. I missed McT's goal because I was snoring with the TV on. I don't know if we will survive the onslaught from the teams below us in the PL. I think we still win games in a particular moment and individual brilliance but overall we are still a shaky team. That was so awful to watch and I'm tired of the mistakes even when there is no pressure on the ball when we are in possession.

Ah the moaning!!!!

You do understand that it takes a lot of energy to play a fast passing/pressing game? And we can't do that every week in and out? We were largely excellent in the first half against Everton and we dropped off in the 2nd half because it's virtually impossible to keep up your energy levels through 90 minutes especially in a compressed season like this one.

Even this game, we created a few well-worked chances in the first half. And may I remind you that this was just West Ham's 2nd loss in the last 9 (or 12?) games, so they are not a easy team to play against and they are in some decent form.

 

[Eric's-collar]

Thot VDB was playing to high up the pitch, beside Martial half the time, and didnt get on the ball enough, though it was noticable how reluctant others were to pass to him.

 

[iHicksy]

If Noble barged into me as I took a throw in, I would be straight over lambasting the referee demanding action be taken.
Why are we so passive at times like that?

This really annoys me. Outside of Shaw and Bruno we are the softest footballing team around. Why the hell did we not refuse to take the throw and run over to the referee saying he'd been thrown to the ground taking a throw in? It's the De Gea shove incident all over again. Players accepting getting physically thrown around outside of the rules of the game. We don't complain about it.

 

[tjb]

I thought we played alright and were always in control. It wasn't the best performance, but all that matters is that we're through to the next round.

Don't know of it was because of the conditions that our play was really sloppy at times with a quite a few misplaced passes. That's why I still think a deep-lying midfielder should be a priority this summer. Be interesting to see how Garner continues playing with Forest.

Martial is definitely a worry. He just looks completely shot confidence-wise. He seemed more interested last night but put him in a few of those attacking situations last season and he would have scored a couple.

Great game from Greenwood again. He needs to find his shooting boots from last season though.

My biggest concern is how poor our squad replacements are, particularly VDB and Matic. We're going to need our full squad for the upcoming period with Europa added to our schedule. Ole doesn't make many subs, but I found it odd that he was reluctant to use James or Amad. It was obvious we were lacking on the wings and both Rashford and Martial were knackered. Maybe Ole was as confused about the subs rule as we were?

Greenwood's only problem now is that he's finding it hard to get in the right positions to have those shots. It wouldn't be long till he can manufacture those opportunities consistently for himself and gets in the right positions to recieve an assist. He's clearly a striker, if he can find ways to score from the flanks, I think it will bode well for his career as he would be one of those top class strikers that can score from nothing. Good experience.