West Ham v Wolves away, Saturday 3rd January, 3pm

Comments

• steve

  December 2025

  Wolves got a point at Man U yesterday ,so won't be a given
• Yeoldhammer

  January 1

  If we kick off 2026 with a loss here.
• Lukerz

  January 1

  2-1 Wolves
• Lukerz

  11:00AM edited 11:35AM

  This is going to be horrendous; a really nervy game for us. 1) because it’s almost must-win, 2) because we will be the favourites, so will have the pressure on us & 3) because we all know that, given Wolves’ situation, how ironic it would be if their first win is against us (which isn’t impossible as they’ve beaten us before this season). Then you throw in it’s Wolves first home game of the new year (fresh start?) & the Nuno factor of him facing a former club where he made his name. This is a day to stay away from all technology.
  
  I would be going the same 11 (minus Todibo) as we played against Brighton, as I thought we played fairly decently overall against a good side, with limited options. I would consider replacing Areola as I think Hermansen deserves the chance to play in our side now we are not completely abject & I am not convinced by Areola.
  
  Hermansen
  Walker-Peters - Mavropanos - Kilman - Scarles
  Potts - Magassa
  Bowen - Fernandes - Paquetá
  Wilson
• IronHerb

  12:23PM

  I'm not against Hermansen starting over Areola.
• steve

  12:23PM

  Me neither
• alderz

  12:29PM

  I know Areola has his moments of quality, but he’s so unreliable on crosses and with the ball that he’s definitely not the future for us. Meanwhile we have a young keeper on the bench who got rave reviews last year and we spent £20m on. To me it’s a no brainer that if you’re going to have a keeper that flaps at crosses you might as well invest the time in the young one and help him develop
• Yeoldhammer

  1:38PM

  Theres no way you put Hermansen in for this game surely ? imagine having your confidence rocked even more to bring him into a pressure game against a team who have not won all season.
• alderz

  2:09PM

  Yeah fair point. I just hope he comes back in at some point
• steve

  2:27PM

  Perhaps against QPR
• Lukerz

  4:02PM

  Yeoldhammer said:

  Theres no way you put Hermansen in for this game surely ? imagine having your confidence rocked even more to bring him into a pressure game against a team who have not won all season.

  If the alternative is Areola flapping at more corners & costing us goals v Wolves, then yes you do.
• IronHerb

  4:40PM

  Pablo is on the bus to Wolves, just don't know if he is registered or not. 🤷‍♂️
• Fortuneseeker

  4:49PM edited 4:50PM

  Did Hermansen not perform too well at corners and crosses earlier in the season? Don't think anyone did so to be fair. Anyway he was a particular pick by GP to play to his style of football, is that now the same way as what NES wants to?
• OutcastLondoner

  5:20PM

  Maybe bring Hermansen it as some point but Areola has had some really good games recently (not without mistakes altogether) and I feel just when we’re settling a bit performance wise we don’t need to make a change to a keeper who was awful the last time he had a chance. I’m not writing off Hermansen but it feels like the wrong time to make this change.
• jay_in_cpt

  5:25PM

  Areola has earned us a few points rather than cost us IMO...
• alderz

  6:40PM

  jay_in_cpt said:

  Areola has earned us a few points rather than cost us IMO...

  He’s done both, tbf
• BubblesNeverDies

  7:51PM

  The goal that Areola conceded from the corner was down to the defence not doing what it says on the tin, IMO only of course.
• jay_in_cpt

  8:07PM

  IMO Potter made the initial mistake of rushing Mads in too quickly, his appearances were nothing short of horrendous…
  Tomorrow is probably IMO the biggest game for us at the moment, the 3 points are there and we need to take them, IMO It’s not the right match to put him in again, let’s see what he’s like in the F A Cup 1st IMO…
• claretandbluesky

  8:15PM edited 8:15PM

  I think there is also the point that we need our keepers in the best possible place regard confidence and dropping Areola may not help that. If Mads comes in against QPR ( as would probably be expected for the second keeper) he gets a chance to earn the shirt rather than it just be taken from Areola.
• Lukerz

  9:42PM edited 9:42PM

  Throw Pablo straight in
  
  We know Wilson won’t start 2 games in 4 days, so I’d rather not Paquetá up top again
• claretandbluesky

  10:47PM

  I think start Wilson but have the new guy ready to go pretty soon after half time if needed. It's a huge ask to go straight in when he has likely not even had a training session with his team mates.