Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 034 - Who saw that coming?! Newcastle Match Reaction
10 Plays24 days ago
In this episode Tom and Jacob unpack the amazing win on the road against Newcastle on Monday night! How refreshing it is to hear the boys having a positive discussion about a convincing win?! Listen to their thoughts on the game and where this leaves West Ham going forward this season.
GSPN Daily West Ham Links:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/gspnwestham/
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@GSPNWestHam
X (twitter) - https://x.com/GSPNWestHam
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@gspnwestham
Zencastr
Built for quality - Designed for growth
A new era for creation is here.
The only complete audio + video platform to get best-in-class recording, intuitive editing, AI-powered growth features, and top-tier distribution tools — all in one place.
Get started for free!
We highly recommend it!
Global Sports Podcast Network - Creating the world’s first network of 30-minute daily podcasts for the world’s biggest sporting export, the English Premier League.
For advertising and sponsorship details or to learn more about the scale and demographics of our audience – email Ken Davies, VP Business & Development at:
www.globalsportspodcastnetwork.com
Copyright | 2024 | Global Sports Podcast Network | All Rights Reserved
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:09
officialgspn
Hello guys, welcome back to another episode
Podcast Introduction and Positive Win Recap
00:00:11
officialgspn
of the Daily GSPN West End Podcast. I'm joined by Jacob, say hi Jacob.
00:00:14
Jacob
All right, how you doing?
00:00:15
officialgspn
I am doing very well. What a game. Obviously we have just come off of the amazing 2-0 win against Newcastle. Very unexpected, very positive, exactly the sort of performance we needed going forward because we've been desperate some for some positivity.
00:00:34
officialgspn
you know It's been such a ah difficult time and we've been performing really poorly. So what are your kind of general thoughts about how the game went and where it kind of leaves us now?
00:00:43
Jacob
Yeah, it it was kind of exactly what we needed really just to see a team that comes out and fights and you know actually looks like they know what they're doing. um'm I think it puts Lopategi's position you know, but staying as a manager much stronger now with that win, you know, going away to St. James's Park is one of the toughest places to go and to play the way we did um and the performance overall, you know, not just a result, the performance from basically every single player. I think we can feel proud of that one um and hope that
00:01:34
Jacob
it's not a one-off and it's going to continue for the remainder.
00:01:39
officialgspn
Yeah, I completely agree. I think it's like we've been saying, it's exactly the sort of thing we needed, especially when it has been such a turbulent
Lopategi's Tactical Success and Player Praise
00:01:47
officialgspn
time when it comes to all of the pressure has piled on Lopategi's shoulders and you know us included have been searching for reasons to praise him. and It's been really difficult when everything around the club has been positive, you know, good signings. We've off the back of a very successful time in Des Moines.
00:02:08
officialgspn
we were getting to the point where it's how can we go forward with a manager that isn't giving us any reason to praise him and to get behind him. But but this game was perfect. I i actually think that Lopategi played it perfectly. That midfield is such a ah risky move, not playing a recognized dm But it paid off massively. ah I love the connection between Solaire and Paquetta. They seem to be really in tune with how they played. And then um obviously Thomas Ucek with the goal. We'll get on to more specifics about the game in a bit. but
00:02:43
officialgspn
Going back to Lopategi, I just think he deserves a lot of praise, so much praise, because, yeah, I think he played it perfectly. The starting 11 was really good. Everyone, I think, had a really good performance.
00:02:53
officialgspn
There was some that maybe weren't as amazing as others, but, like, overall, the team played really well. And, you know, the changes were good, I think. The substitutions they brought to the game, what we wanted them to, and they made an impact.
00:03:08
officialgspn
And, yeah, just generally really positive. How how are you feeling about Lopategi now?
00:03:12
Jacob
um ah I think generally, I don't think anybody's sort of real opinion of him will have changed, but he's it's definitely going to swing um in his favour in terms of whether people think that this is something that's going to come more and more um normal.
00:03:36
Jacob
you know were used to We had been used to not knowing what we were going to get. and But if if this is something that is going to you know be on a week or weekly basis, then I think that his people's opinion of him is going to shift a lot. So, yeah, you're right in what you said about the way he he set up and the way um you know he structured the team. I think the the balance was very good playing as a mainly like a 4-5-1
00:04:09
Jacob
um And you know Antonio at times looked a little bit isolated, but um you know he also made himself available at all times. He he worked so hard, he made some important tackles and you know put great pressure on those Newcastle centre backs and that made all the difference in the world and they just looked like they were playing with a lot more freedom. I don't know if you agree with that. They they looked like a team who had been putting in performances like that all season. I'm not sure what you know what has changed or what the you know what the message was from the manager for them to to go out and play the way they did but
00:05:01
Jacob
whatever it is it worked and I think we're all very relieved that that leaves us in a slightly better place you know not not necessarily moving up the table but it's definitely more comfortable.
00:05:17
officialgspn
Yeah, definitely. He's a step in the right direction, which is something that we've been crying out for for so long. And in a game where people basically wrote us off, I think, watching the game, um it was on Sky and Theo Walcott was one of the pundits. He gave us basically no chance of winning the game. And then afterwards, 2-0,
Strategic Outlook: Arsenal and Momentum
00:05:38
officialgspn
he kind of was left with egg on his face. And that's exactly the sort of performance you want from your club. You want your club and your players and your team to prove people wrong and I think we've done that really nicely here.
00:05:51
officialgspn
A Newcastle team who were informed when I did the crossover podcast with the guys from the Newcastle podcast, they didn't give us any chance. One of those guys predicted a 4-0 win to Newcastle.
00:06:01
Jacob
Yeah.
00:06:01
officialgspn
So that's exactly the sort of thing that is so satisfying and it's It's so positive, generally, just for moment momentum. If you're gaining points where you don't expect to, that's a brilliant thing towards creating positive momentum for the club and hopefully leading us in a positive direction.
00:06:11
Jacob
Yeah.
00:06:18
officialgspn
We've got a really difficult game next with Arsenal, so maybe points aren't on the table. well i think that I think they are. I think we could get points out of it, but if we don't, it's not the end of the world if we can just continue with positive momentum if we can just play well if we can put up a good fight that then leaves us continuing this positive momentum train that we can start to build and also i think generally when you you look at the the way that we played it's it seems like something clicked that we've just been waiting to click it's it's not necessarily in the
00:06:50
Jacob
Yeah.
00:06:53
officialgspn
in the previous games that we've been playing a system and we've been playing badly it just doesn't look like we've had any sort of system so we've just been generally poor now we seem to have found our system obviously it's only one game so that it could change very quickly but in this game we seem to understand how we wanted to play in the the intricate passes were so well executed at times i think we
00:07:00
Jacob
Yeah.
00:07:17
officialgspn
maybe defensively there was some some risky business happening. um But generally, I think particularly in the midfield, the the little intricate one, two passes that were happening were really nice. And that's, it shows that something that's happening on the training pitch is now hopefully gonna continue to translate into matches like it did today. um Okay, we're gonna go to our first advert and then we're gonna talk about the game more specifically.
00:08:07
officialgspn
okay so talk to me about that first goal what a brilliant way to start the game
00:08:11
Jacob
Yeah, so that, um I mean, that is typical that is a typical Sioux check goal, really, just being in the right place, you know, accurate header, leaving the keeper with no chance of of getting an arm to it.
00:08:27
Jacob
And yeah,
Set Piece Brilliance and Key Performers
00:08:29
Jacob
that's the first, I believe that's the first um set piece Newcastle have conceded from this season. So that, you know, that just shows that, you know, with
00:08:38
officialgspn
Good luck.
00:08:40
Jacob
we've got the ability to do things that other teams haven't yet been able to do. So that's a massive plus for us. And we've always, not this season, obviously, but that yeah over the last few seasons, that's been a massive strong point for us being able to make the most of set pieces when we get them because of our height and, you know, ability to attack the ball with big physical you know, players, defenders, midfielders, everyone really has that ability in the team. So that was great to see. And yeah, I mean, we love to see Suchak score a goal. Um, you know, we love watching him celebrate and he's a, you know, he's a much loved player by, I'm sure the other players and all the fans as well. He just, he's one of those players that goes quite unnoticed.
00:09:36
Jacob
you know, throughout the league when you think of, you know, sort of big midfielders, he's he's not really in that conversation as being one of the best, but he certainly the work he does doesn't go unnoticed by us for sure.
00:09:50
officialgspn
Yeah, definitely. And when it comes to comparing him to other midfielders, it's really tough because he is so unique. his you know his physique is kind of tall and slender but the way that he plays isn't like a ah slow like sluggish physical player he's very mobile he he gets up and down the pitch a lot and technically I think he is really solid and then when he contributes with those goals like he has done this season and many seasons in the past it's such a useful asset to have and then I also want to give praise to Emerson because that delivery was
00:10:13
Jacob
Yeah.
00:10:24
Jacob
Yeah.
00:10:25
officialgspn
perfect it was right on the money and then also the the coaching stuff because you know you you'd like to think that the the first set piece in a game is one that's come off the training ground and clearly they've done their homework and they've figured out a corner routine that's been able to exploit new castle's weaknesses which is exactly what happened and
00:10:35
Jacob
Mm hmm.
00:10:46
officialgspn
Suchak finds himself in space. And I think when you give him that much space in the box, it's really risky because he is so good aerially. So so yeah, I think the the backroom staff and the coaching staff does have a lot of praise because I think that was really well executed and hopefully we can continue capitalizing on set pieces because that's something that we've always been really good at. And I think it's ah such an underrated asset to be good at set pieces because it allows you to break your team down that otherwise might seem impenetrable. You know, if you,
00:11:15
officialgspn
If you get a corner against any team, and i I don't get who it is. If you've got a good set piece routine and you've got good takers and you've got good people in the air, there's always a chance you can score.
00:11:24
Jacob
Yeah.
00:11:26
officialgspn
You know, we're playing Arsenal next week and if if we can capitalize on set pieces, we can definitely punish them because we've got so many people that are good in the air.
00:11:31
Jacob
Yeah.
00:11:34
officialgspn
um Then as the the first half continued, we were under pressure quite a lot. Newcastle had a lot of decent chances. Pretty poor finishing from them. What do you think it is that? How would I wear this? What is it you think that Newcastle didn't do that allowed them to capitalise on the game? Obviously
Goalkeeper Dynamics and Midfield Performance
00:11:52
officialgspn
other than just poor finishing.
00:11:53
Jacob
um I mean, for me, I just ah just jen generally think that it was a ah combination of their players not taking the chances that they had and generally just a great performance from our are defenders and goalkeeper. you know They didn't have as many shots on target as us. So the ones, they the few they did have, they didn't take.
00:12:20
Jacob
and you know that's something that we've seen gets punished when you when you don't don't take those chances that you had. They had a couple of really, really good chances. And for a player like Ezak, especially, you know, so used to seeing him put everything away. um But Fabianski played very, very well. um I think he played an 8.4, I believe, which, you know, isn't bad for a 39 year old, is it really?
00:12:52
Jacob
So I think Ariola's probably on the bench thinking, am I, you know, have I lost my place here for a while?
00:12:54
officialgspn
You know.
00:12:59
Jacob
And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised as if Lopategi feels like Fabianski is a vital part of that team, then I'm sure he'll keep him in.
00:13:12
Jacob
You know, I don't, I I think maybe we should make the most of him while we still can maybe. And then once his time is up, that'll be Ariola's turn, but we'll see about that one. But yeah, generally just not taking chances from Newcastle when us being clinical with those two that we had, we had more, but at the end of the day, we only needed two to get over the line. So we did exactly what we needed to do.
00:13:42
officialgspn
yeah I absolutely love the Fabiansky praise. he's Since he's come back into the team this season, he's been so solid.
00:13:48
Jacob
Yeah.
00:13:49
officialgspn
His experience is unbelievable. He shows in the way that he plays. He's so calm and he was even coming out and you know making a 30-yard sprint to sweep him behind, which is you know not really something you'd expect from a 39-year-old goalkeeper.
00:14:04
officialgspn
but just really solid. And one save you made in particular, I think it was a Tadebo, poor clearance or attempted pass that ended up the feet of Ezak.
00:14:10
Jacob
Yeah.
00:14:15
officialgspn
And it's a save from, I don't know, about under 10 yards, about five yards, I think. And he he gets there with his legs and it saves like that that just keep you in games, which is is so useful.
00:14:28
officialgspn
And it's something that I think is gonna continue to help us. And I think has helped us maybe pick up some some odd points here and there that maybe wouldn't have you know you look at the the Everton game if he hadn't have played such a good game we definitely wouldn't have got anything out of that game and obviously pickford was good as well but having a goalkeeper that you can rely on it is so solid so so yeah really happy with this performance okay we're going to go to our second advert and then we'll talk about the second half
00:14:43
Jacob
No, no.
00:15:22
officialgspn
bit of technical issues there.
00:15:22
Jacob
seven
00:15:23
officialgspn
I think they have just played twice, but that's fine. and Okay, let's talk about the second half. So this is where I think we really started to come into our own. I thought Armid Field in this second half played unbelievably well.
00:15:36
officialgspn
I want to specifically give a shout out to Carlos Soler because he's someone that came to West Ham with not very much kind of there wasn't too much prior knowledge about him as a player and there wasn't that much enthusiasm about the signing. Everyone just kind of thought, oh, it's someone that's gonna, you know, probably be a bit of a bit part player and bolster the squad. And then we'll go back to PSG after the season and we'll never think about him again. But in this game, he was unbelievably good. The way that he was able, he was, I think it's the same with all of our midfielders. It was quite interchangeable. And I think players were allowed to kind of roam where they felt they were best needed.
00:16:13
officialgspn
And the, yeah, like I was saying earlier with the interchanges between all of Armoured Field and particularly with Paquetta and Solaire was that partnership was so nice and it felt really natural. And also it was creative and it was dynamic, which is all, they're all things that we've kind of lacked this season. So the fact that that.
00:16:34
officialgspn
new midfield without a recognised defensive midfielder played so well I think is so positive and again it's all credit to Lopategi for playing those guys and not and deciding that we don't need a defensive midfielder and just going for it and we did go for it and I think in the second half we really pushed ahead when it came to the quality in which we were playing.
00:16:54
officialgspn
How do you feel about the second half generally?
00:16:55
Jacob
Yeah, it was I think it was quite a big surprise really when we went into the we went into half time being under such heavy pressure and then coming into the second half and kind of I don't know it it felt like we were still in control and it felt like we had I think ah getting that early goal really helped us because we had something to hold on to and some of the
00:17:08
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:17:26
Jacob
you know, the
Second Half Dominance and Player Impact
00:17:27
Jacob
passing moves we were we were pulling out were so good. And we just looked the more confident on the ball. um You know, we weren't afraid to to build up slowly and play out from the back, which hasn't always been the case. We've we've looked nervy. We've looked rushed. We've looked, you know, like ah whatever player has the ball doesn't want to have the ball at that specific time and wants to get rid of it as soon as possible.
00:17:54
Jacob
um and going along constantly. and That was the complete opposite and I was very present pleasantly surprised by how we continued and actually got better as the game went on which doesn't normally happen. We normally start slowly and if we are going to get anything out of the game it is right at the end when it's nearly too late and Yeah, we were excellent. We were just excellent. um' The second half, I was expecting just to be dominated. They were going to get, you know, the hairdryer treatment at halftime and that wasn't the case at all. I think maybe they kind of started the second half a little bit like that, but then, you know, it was just dominance after that. um
00:18:48
Jacob
I'm so relieved really that his message to keep the tempo up clearly got through and you know those players worked so hard out there I think.
00:19:00
officialgspn
Yeah, I completely agree with everything there. It's where has this West Ham been all season because we were completely different to any way that we've played the whole season. We started really strong and then in the second half again, we started that really strong and that's the complete juxtaposition to how we've started every game this season because we've been really poor early on.
00:19:19
officialgspn
um So something has obviously clicked, which is what we've been hoping for for so long. And then as we go on to the second goal, someone else who deserves massive amount of praise is Aaron Mambasaka.
00:19:30
officialgspn
He's been an absolute revelation for us.
00:19:31
Jacob
Yeah.
00:19:32
officialgspn
I think he has, obviously there have been many games where he's been poor, but the whole team has been poor. So it is difficult to kind of say that it's him specifically that hasn't played well when it's in a team that's not performing but when we have played well and in Spurs where we've been positive he's been so pivotal for us his his attacking play has been unbelievably good and it's I just can't believe that Man United let him go and and what were they doing to him at Man United to stop him from playing the way that he's been playing. he was He's been so such a threat attacking and it's such a testament to him as a player that he's decided to move away from Man United and he's come to us and he's been amazing and I think also so many so many challenges from him you know he's like signature
00:20:18
officialgspn
lunge slide tackle and the ball goes into rosette. I think he did about five of those in this game, which is it's always amazing.
00:20:21
Jacob
Hmm.
00:20:23
officialgspn
They're the sort of things that lift the team when there's a big challenge and the ball goes flying and you know, the guys kind of high five each other and they they kind of galvanize and that's very telling of kind of the whole squad.
00:20:37
officialgspn
I feel like it was everyone was lifting each other up and people were making each other look better and play better, which was amazing.
00:20:44
Jacob
Hmm.
00:20:45
officialgspn
the The goal that he actually scored was such a good finish, by the way. You know, you wouldn't expect that to be a right back. He took the ball so well, you know, one of the attacking runs, Jared Bowen getting the assist, which, you know, it seems standard at this point.
00:20:58
officialgspn
He's going to score or assist, or he's going to have a massive impact in the goal. He doesn't really seem to have any games where he doesn't massively impact it. um Yeah, just brilliant.
00:21:10
officialgspn
All around really solid. Another thing that I really liked as well was how I feel like we forced Newcastle into being quite dejected. I think the way that we were playing in the second half, especially we played with so much freedom and we were so positive that as soon as we did get the ball, we would play it so comfortably and we would be so creative with it that it kind of stifled any chance for Newcastle to gain any momentum.
00:21:34
Jacob
yeah Yeah, I think that's they they were trying to do that and I think the way we played definitely surprised them and they weren't expecting that.
00:21:36
officialgspn
Do do you agree with that?
00:21:46
Jacob
They were kind of expecting to roll over us basically and we didn't allow that to happen and it goes to show what happens when you get that early goal and you just have that confidence that, you know,
00:22:04
Jacob
we can we can actually win this and I just want to see that every week from now because we we've seen that it's possible and we've i am we've watched those players play the way they did. So there's no reason why we can't get something out of the Arsenal game, you know, as much as that's ah its own challenge, um there's no reason why we can't based on what we've already seen. So yeah, that's that's my take on it.
00:22:32
officialgspn
Yeah, definitely. And the final thing I want to touch on about this game is the the kind of late-ish penalty shout.
00:22:38
Jacob
Hmm I I don't think that was ever a penalty.
00:22:39
officialgspn
What's your opinion about that for Newcastle?
00:22:45
Jacob
I think I think that's barely it that would barely be a free kick. So I Think that there's nowhere near enough contact to be a penalty um and that shows because they stuck with the with the rest decision so I I don't think, I know that the commentator said a little bit that they thought it was a foul, but
Late Game Controversy and Looking Ahead
00:23:13
Jacob
you know you've got ah you've got to back the referee in that scenario, and I think he was he was right. I can't see it going any other way, to be honest.
00:23:23
officialgspn
Yeah, I'm exactly the same. if If he gives it, you do understand. I think it would be unbelievably harsh if he gives it, but you could kind of see why, but in the exact same vein, you understand why he didn't give it because it it was just two players going for the ball. He didn't, you know,
00:23:43
officialgspn
push him out of the way and he didn't completely drag him down. He was just scrambling to try and defend the ball. And there is a coming together of players as they do when they're both trying to go for it. And that's, that is football. It's a, you know, it is a contact sport. It's not, you can't play it and you can't defend in the premier league without making any sort of physical contact. That's going to be impossible. So yeah, I think it was that whole situation was managed really well on field decisions, stick with that.
00:24:09
officialgspn
I don't think there can really be any more argument because if that gets overturned, like that's ridiculous.
00:24:13
Jacob
Yeah, that ah would have been crazy.
00:24:14
officialgspn
And I think especially when you look at, yeah, you look at other decisions that have happened and we need to be relying on the referee more. And if the referee thinks that's the decision, then that's fine.
00:24:25
officialgspn
And if if he goes to VR and he looks at it and he overturns it like, okay, you get it fair enough, but I think we should just try and trust the on-field decision to be honest.
00:24:36
officialgspn
um I think it's, I think what people will say is, I think especially people against West Ham is what about the penalty at Man United? It's like, well, that one is different because at no point does Mavropanos kick. It was Callum Wilson, wasn't it? Yeah. At no point does he just kick him in the leg when the ball's not there. What happens is they're both clamoring to try and get to the ball and they just come together as players do. But in that situation, it was completely different where
00:25:07
officialgspn
the ball bounces up and Ings gets kicked in the shin, which just is a foul. that There's no debate about whether you're allowed to kick someone in the shin. Like that's just not allowed. So I think they are completely different. And that's me kind of preemptively putting the defense there when people go, oh, but you know, the your decision got overturned by VAR when they didn't go with the on field referee. But you know, situations are different. This situation I think was managed really well. And I think it was the right decision.
00:25:36
officialgspn
Next we've got Arsenal. I think particularly when we've just beaten Newcastle and Newcastle beat Arsenal. So surely that means we could also beat Arsenal.
00:25:48
officialgspn
You get my meaning?
00:25:48
Jacob
yeah there's there's Yeah, like I said, there's no reason for us to be you know absolutely terrified of the prospect of Arsenal. um
00:26:00
Jacob
they've got a game as we, as we speak tonight. So, you know, we'll have slightly more rest than them. Um, and yeah, I, I feel, I feel better and I feel more confident and more trusting that we're going to want to carry this form on now, basically.
00:26:21
Jacob
Okay. So we'll, uh, we'll wrap up there.
00:26:23
officialgspn
Yeah, definitely.
00:26:25
Jacob
Um, Thank you very much for watching this episode of the GSPN Daily West Stand Podcast. Say goodbye, Tom.
00:26:32
officialgspn
Goodbye guys.
00:26:32
Jacob
ah Please rate this podcast five stars and check out all the social media that's linked in the description. um Also check out all the other GSBN podcasts. We've got the fantasy football pod, women's football, wrap ups in multiple different languages and the other pods for all the Premier League teams and we will speak to you soon.