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Crossover Special: West Ham
41 Plays5 days ago
Gavin joins Tom and Jacob from the Daily West Ham podcast for a chat about both clubs as we head into this London derby where east meets west. Together, they also give their combined XIs and predictions for the game itself.
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Transcript
Crossover Day Game: West End vs Fulham
00:00:09
Speaker
hello guys and welcome back to another episode of the daily gspn west end podcast i'm joined by jacob sailor jacob hello how you doing i'm doing well i'm also joined by gavin from the daily film podcast how are you doing mate yeah not too bad guys not too bad so yeah So today, crossover day, game coming up, West End Fulham, it's going to be an interesting one. I think if we had been recording this a couple of weeks ago, if the fixture had been there and it would have been, um I think a much easier result to predict because I think most people would have said that Fulham would have steamrolled us, you know, because earlier in the season we didn't do very well. But new manager for us, hopefully bringing a little bit of positivity
00:00:49
Speaker
So we're going to start by asking Gavin some questions that we have about Fulham generally. I think for me, what what do you think the kind of most important aspect of your team has been this season? Because you've been really good across the pitch, like you've you've had really good players like show themselves to be high quality. you like You look at the players that have come from Arsenal, you know the the other players that you've had shine this season. Who do you think is the most pivotal player to your squad this season?
00:01:22
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, there's been a lot of good performers, some stand out above others. If I were to pinpoint sort of one or two individuals and they may have an impact in this game, for instance, you're looking at Anthony Robinson, who I think has been the most consistent left back, the best left back for me in the Premier League this season. He just seems to get better and better season after season, game after game. You just, I've never, I rarely see a player with such an engine like his and he doesn't stop running. He must be a wingers nightmare to play against because you're just like,
00:01:47
Speaker
give me a give me a break, give me a break and he's like that non-stop throughout the game and the other one who's just been a little bit quiet in the last couple of days is probably Alex Awobi, who's definitely playing the best football of his career, he's been in the Premier League a long time now hasn't he, Arsenal and Everton played over 100 Premier League games from both of those sides and now you're finally seeing the fruits of the fruits of his labour and what he can do at his best now that he does have ah I guess that feeling that he knows he is going to play every week, which he probably didn't have when he was at Arsenal, but just in terms of the overall team performance, I think what's been impressive this season is the belief they have when they go into games, when they play a lot of the big sides. They don't go into those games overall and with an inferiority complex, um but there has been some disappointment as well. They are ninth in the league, but they no doubt a lot of fans will be disappointed because I think the stats will prove that they've they've dropped more points from winning positions than any other team in the league.
00:02:38
Speaker
Yeah, it is interesting. like If you were going to kind of pinpoint where it started to go right for you, what would you say? Is it a signing? just kind of things clicking? Is it the manager doing something different? What would you say it is?
Fulham's Premier League Rise
00:02:52
Speaker
Yeah, i think it's the I think it's the manager. I think we've got to understand as well that Fulham were known as a yo-yo side a few seasons ago before Marco Silva was at the helm. And and when he take up when he took over instant promotion back to the Premier League, and then you have the doubters, don't you say, Oh, yeah, they're gonna go straight back down. And it's just been two seasons of
00:03:10
Speaker
Really being comfortable never been involved in a relegation scrap the fact that they finished top half the first season back and then 13th last season and then it's just steady improvements and I think a lot of people feared probably from the outside losing a play like jow palina in the summer how that would it how that would affect things and even mitra bitch in the season before but they just seem to keep going and you know even if the replacements may not appear ah quite as good on paper they just have a way of gelling as a team and performing week in week out the fact that they've only lost four games this season ah which is you know less than Manchester City and um I think only Liverpool get better that.
00:03:48
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's pretty incredible, isn't it? How quickly things can change, like the the way that you mentioned going from being seen as a yo-yo club to kind of stepping out of that viewpoint. I think it's such a difficult step and it's something that so many teams suffer with. And if they do manage to get out of it, it's usually only for one or two seasons where it's like, oh, they might push on and then they kind of regress back and yo-yo up and down. So it's really impressive the work that Marcus always done. ah Jake, have you got any questions? Yeah.
00:04:17
Speaker
I mean, yeah, I don't think, I mean, I mean, no disrespect by this at all, but I don't think I pictured being at this stage of the season and full of being above us, you know, based just based purely on the transfer business and and, you know, everything that surrounds that with the amount of money we spent doesn't necessarily mean you you're automatically gonna finish hiring the table, but I just I wouldn't have predicted it. And yeah, like you said, Tony lose four games, you know, I would buy your hand off if you offered that to us right now. Like we've been nowhere near that good. So a lot of credit's got to go to to Marco Silver and that sort of solid group of players that he's got. There's not been a huge amount of but movement there. And I think that's, that's definitely helped. And, and it's nice to see the likes of
00:05:14
Speaker
Jimenez, you know, having a, having a decent season as well, because, you know, we, we all saw what he went through previously and yeah, he's a great player. and But what I would ask is, do you think, I think the answer is no personally, but do you think there's anybody or a particular position that you need to strengthen um during this window to sort of Not to say improve because they've been great anyway, but you know just to sort of solidify that position Maybe work a little bit higher up the table is there is a one that no question I've been pondering that the same thing myself over the last couple weeks and they full them are to do business in in this month
00:05:58
Speaker
What that's likely to be and the truth be told I don't see much activity in terms of um incomes incoming or outgoings I think it might be the case one goes and then they might just have one to come in But I think it's just a bolster the squad if anything they they do seem a little bit light in the full back position at the minute Kenny teddy It's just had a setback in his injury looks like he might not be back until April on now and which leaves them short in that department because they've only got one fully fit right back now, which is Kostanda and one fully fit left back in Anthony Robinson. Orion Cessignon did a fill in job against Watford, but I think going forward, if if something were to happen to Anthony Robinson, you wouldn't want
00:06:34
Speaker
for instance Aunty Robinson going upbound injured the day of a game against Liverpool and Ryan Sessony on filling in the left back so I think you're looking at possibly full back as the areas ah that may need strengthening other than that I think there's been talk about possibly bringing in a centre forward but I think given the recent form of him and as he scored three in his last two now and you've also got Rodrigo Meniz who's come off the bench at times been impressive he scored in the Cup win against Watford they look okay in that department so I don't think there's any urgency to strengthen ah but it might be something in the fallback positions if there are incomings. Yeah, I think that's fair. The one worry I think you always have in January is you don't want to upset the apple cart. You don't want to disrupt the group of players that have been doing really well, so I think
00:07:20
Speaker
I think focusing more on keeping everyone I think is much more of an important goal than trying to sign anyone else because, you know, if, like you say, if you do lose Anthony Robinson, that would be such a huge loss. You can say that for probably so many other positions as well. You know, if one of the bigger Cubs comes.
00:07:37
Speaker
It's very difficult to try and persuade a player to stay. So, yeah, I think for this job is probably to keep as many players as they can in in this window. OK, so we're going to go to our first advert and when we get back, we are going to hear some questions from Gavin to the West End boys about West End. Here at the Global Sports Podcast Network, we spent a lot of time selecting our delivery plan.
00:07:58
Speaker
Zencaster came out the clear winner. With 4K video recording from your phone and AI editing that automatically removes all those ums and ahs, it's super easy to start a podcast that sounds great and is delivered efficiently. If you're ready to tell your story, check out the link in the show description to learn more about Zencaster. Gavin, take it away my friend.
Managerial Shifts: Lopategi to Potter
00:08:19
Speaker
Right, so I guess the obvious thing to ask is about the manager, the recent change they're going from Lopategi to Graham Potter. Before I come on to Graham Potter, the Julian Lopategi situation. I mean, it seems like he was under pressure from David Dot, doesn't it? I ah can't remember. I might have spoken to you earlier on in the season. You didn't sound convinced about it. A lot of West Ham fans so felt the same way. Do you think it was just inevitable that's the way it was going to end?
00:08:42
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. Jacob, do you would you would you want to want to talk about a lot of things and talk about Potter? Because one of them is going to be a more positive one and one's going to be pretty negative, I think. Yeah, all um ah yeah I'll with the negative stuff. um Yeah, i think I think basically there was just a bit a little bit too much hope pinned on someone that I don't i think was quite obvious wasn't going to be able to but deliver what we needed. you know i Obviously we we've just done this as well, but I always have doubts about hiring a manager who has been unsuccessful at a different Premier League team. I know with Potter that is basically the same scenario, you know having spent very little time at Chelsea before you know losing his job. But yeah, I think just with the with the sheer amount of money we spent, I think that
00:09:42
Speaker
basically meant you know if if we weren't in a top sort of six position at this point, I don't think any West Ham fan or the board would have been happy. and We had great expectations at the start. you know We were saying about how we would been the best in the in the window, you know, not necessarily being the best, just spending the most. um And yeah, I think he has sort of struggled to get that cohesion and and show his, um you know, get his ideas onto the pitch, because at times we've looked, you know, like a semi pro team. So and um that might sound harsh, but
00:10:26
Speaker
i think I think from some of the performances we've watched um the change had to but change had to come. It was only a matter of time. I'm surprised they left it quite as long as they did, to be honest. um And the way they went about it wasn't really the best way to go about it. I think it changes things being midway through a season. you know I think they had to have somebody lined up for when they made that decision, which makes it more sort of disrespectful towards the the current manager, um when he probably knows he's not going to lose his job, but he has to sort of continue with his day to day tasks, you know, taking training and, you know, press conferences and that kind of thing. But it I think it's just sort of the ah way it was going to be. um And yeah, I'm hoping for better things. Tom, what are you
00:11:22
Speaker
What are your early thoughts? We've only seen part of one game. What do you think of how his start's going to be? It's so difficult to predict, isn't it? I think the way that you're talking about the expectations being too high, I think is a valid point. it's just It wouldn't necessarily be as bad if we hadn't played so bad. But like some of the performances were so poor where Yeah, our expectations were high, but I think most most fans of teams that aren't that great have, you know, they have expectations that are huge. But then as soon as reality kicks in, they understand that it's not going to be that, but it can still be a good season. We just instantly got put all the way down to zero because we had these expectations of European football and we're
00:12:14
Speaker
scraping a relegation battle which is seems like such an insane place to be when you say like obviously people think that we won the window as well so yeah it's really tough and i think I'm relatively confident that Potter will be able to do a good job. It's just how long that will take. And if it doesn't go well, how long will he be given to kind of implement his systems? I think it's probably the the main thing that I think. And I just question why we didn't get him in the first place, to be honest. You know, if it was it seemed relatively simple to get him now,
00:12:50
Speaker
I don't know why we wouldn't have gone for someone who has been successful in the league opposed to someone who hasn't really been successful in the league. I know Potter had, ah obviously you mentioned the bad spell at Chelsea, but yeah Potter has done good things in the Premier League and Lopate hadn't really. He'd done good things at Sevilla, but you know it's a completely different league and different way of playing. So so yeah, I don't know. I'm confident that he'll do well. I just don't know if it if we're going to be able to get anything from this season, basically. and Sorry to cut in, something you've both mentioned there is there's the word expectations. Do you think possibly the expectations were set too high and that they maybe saw the benchmark of being those top six sides and they wanted to be in that mix along with the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle, they saw themselves on that sort of pedestal and maybe the disappointment has come from the manner of some of those defeats against those those bigger clubs because they have lost those games quite convincingly, haven't they? Yeah, the frustration comes. Yeah, I've gone.
00:13:46
Speaker
ah okay sure the from fra you I think the main frustration comes from the fact that We have the ability to compete I think that's the frustrating thing like if we weren't good enough and we didn't have the players and we didn't have the fan base and You know, we didn't have the kind of platform to be able to compete then you'd understand it But you know, we've got the the new stadium which you know, we get the highest attendance in London on average every game like We've got players that were signing. We're signing players from good clubs. We had the best transfer window. We've won a European trophy. The trajectory was it seemed like it was only upwards. And there wasn't really a lot pointing to the fact that it was like a ah temporary kind of high, if that makes sense. It it seemed like we'd been working and improving year on year and consistently pushing forward.
West End's Ambitious Moves
00:14:40
Speaker
So
00:14:41
Speaker
when it comes to the expectations, I think the expectations are fair because I think that is where we should be aiming. And I i don't think the expectations long term should change. Obviously in the short and maybe medium term, you have to be slightly more realistic, but the aim has to be to get back there. And the one The thing that kind of makes me less angry about the situation is the fact that we had to move forward from David Moyes. That had to happen. we We're never going to consistently win European silverware playing the way that Moyes plays because
00:15:13
Speaker
Football just isn't really like that. How often do you see teams winning the Europa League and the Champions League playing defensive counter-attack in football? It just doesn't happen. And if you look at the same in the league, it's very unlikely that a team is going to have prolonged success playing a style of football that is more kind of tentative and more on the back foot looking to exploit on a counter-attack.
00:15:34
Speaker
The fact that it didn't work to me is like we took a risk. It didn't work. But the reason behind taking the risk, I think was really solid. And I think we shouldn't steer away from that. Like if we'd got Mois back.
00:15:46
Speaker
it would have It would have been solid, it would have been decent, and we might have just snuck into Europe. But how are we ever going to kick on if we don't try to be better? If that makes sense. I don't know if that bit of a waffly answer, but yeah, it's tough. And it's just difficult. These things are tough. It's never as simple, I think, as people make it out to be. And you know we've tried something and it hasn't worked. And that happens. and we're not really going to get relegated so this season maybe look at it as trying to progress and hold on to the players so that next year we we can really kick on.
00:16:18
Speaker
Yeah, and one of the players that is out injured at the minute, he's ah the West Ham captain, a bit of a talismanic figure in Jaller Bowen, at least when I watch a match, is he seems to do his talking on the pitch, leading by example. And I do you think maybe there's been an over-reliance on him and some of the other attacking players, are the likes of Somerville, Pacattar, and Kudas. I'm a big fan of Kudas. I ah was saying earlier in the season, I could see Kudas playing for a Champions League ah caibre caliber club on a seat on every season, basically. but um Has that been disappointing? As you say, you do have a talented attacking players, but maybe they just haven't stepped under the plate and have possibly let the previous manager down. Yeah, I think and yeah definitely we've relied on them too much. You look at
00:17:06
Speaker
you look at some of the other teams that we think we should be in the same sort of and position as, you know, like you your villas and your brightens who have that ability to constantly change things around, you know, um whereas we have, even though we've done a lot of business,
00:17:31
Speaker
it we're still not really in a position where we've got room to to change things if they're not going but going well, and we have to rely on those sort of few players to come up with with um moments of quality. you know Like you mentioned, Prochetta and Bowen being out now is a huge blow for us because you know if we score a goal he's almost always involved in it somehow so it it just basically lessens our chances of getting points but um yeah we definitely do rely on them too much and I think that is just down to depth really and bringing in new players you know they're not jelling them not
00:18:20
Speaker
but, you know, performing under what the manager wants and, yeah, I think we've we've got more to be done this month to to hopefully change that. Yeah, that's interesting you say that, because that was going to be just kind of my final question, was um was if Brooke Graham Potter was going to be given back in this month to bring in players of his own or given the fact they spent so much over the summer, is he just having to rely on this set of players now and then having to wait until the summer to mould his own squad?
00:18:49
Speaker
I think that if if we hadn't had the injuries that we would have had, I think it would have been a much more of a make-do situation. But because Fullcrude's injured now, um obviously Bowen's injured. we've We were low light on setbacks anyway. um I think he will be given some money. It's just how much and how much faith the board will give to him to try and change something mid-season. It's a difficult one. like you you can quite easily see them saying no there's not really much money we spent so much in the summer you just have to kind of secure the ship and then in the summer you might be able to spend some money but at this point i don't know i would like to think that we do send some money if it was me i'd be focusing on youth because i think we've got like one of the oldest average ages in the Premier League which is really bad for a team that's looking to press on you know it's it seems very short term is to try and
00:19:43
Speaker
progress as a club when you're signing players of ah a certain older
West End's Transfer Strategy
00:19:46
Speaker
age profile. so Yeah, I hope that we can make some good young signings so that the mix of experience and then some new youth I think would rejuvenate the squad and hopefully give us a bit of a boost that Potter can then use to try and push on generally. I hope that happens anyway. My one fear is that we just don't sign anyone and injuries start to creep in and then we get really light towards the end of the season. That's when the wheels could come off completely. And then there's another manager sacking and yeah, it puts your club in a really, really risky position at that point.
00:20:19
Speaker
So yeah, okay, we are gonna go for another ad break and when we get back, we are going to do a combined 11. This podcast is part of the Global Sports Podcast Network, the only network bringing you exclusive daily news and views on your Premier League team, the Premier League, women's football and fantasy football. A unique listening experience that puts fans first, bringing you the very latest breaking news from your team. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and make us your first listen every day. Global Sports Podcast Network, every club, every day.
00:20:51
Speaker
Okay, getting into a Goodbye 11, I think this is gonna be a really balanced one, to be honest, but I think both both squads have a lot of depth. I think if you were going on form, not sure how many West End players would get in there, but if we're going on pure ability, which we are, we're also gonna, injuries doesn't matter, they can be injured, they can have, you know, they can have a leg that doesn't work, it doesn't matter, we're gonna put them in. We'll start with the goalkeeper. I think this is actually, it's,
00:21:19
Speaker
really sad for me because a couple like last season I would have said Ariola but this season I genuinely think Leno to be honest I think Ariola hasn't been good enough and you know when Fabianski is claiming the starting spot at basically 40 years old it it says something about how good your heap has been performing and I think I think Leno's been really good this season Kevin what do you think about that?
00:21:42
Speaker
Yeah, this is one of the tougher positions for me because I know about Ariola and his qualities. Of course, he was at Fulham a few seasons ago and one of the seasons they did go down. hes actually I think he was actually voted player of the season. So, but yeah, Leno has been, I don't think he's been quite as good as last season, ah but he has been called upon at times to make crucial saves. So there was a game against, I think Brentford as well, where he made a very important save lay on that led to them going up the ever ending score and securing the late two and victory.
00:22:12
Speaker
I'm probably going to edge it towards Leno. As you say, maybe based on this season, but on honestly, you're splitting hairs. There's not much between them at all, I don't think. Yeah, but and I don't think that's a bad one. I think they're both really solid. Both really solid. Okay, Jacob, I want you to take gro your back four. Okay. and I haven't even thought about it. So I think I'm going to go.
00:22:43
Speaker
two from each team because I think as poor as ours has been in comparison I still think we should get a couple and I think for me it would be I think it would be uh Wanda Saka and then I would go Anderson, Kilman and Robinson of course um Yeah, I think that's fairly self-explanatory. I think Anderson is one of the most underrated centre-backs in the league. and I think Kilman has shown
00:23:25
Speaker
how much worse we could have been if we didn't have him um and has been important at times for us. Juan Vasac has made a great start to his West End career. you know He's got a couple of goals, more than he ever did for Man United. I'm not sure how or why, but you know we're happy about it. um And yeah like you said earlier, Robinson's been playing his best football of his career, I'd say. so Yeah, I think that's that's quite an easy one for me. Yeah, I completely agree. Yeah, I actually you got the same four that I have. The only one I was going to not question was, I was going to ask you about Kilman. Do you think you you you sport for a lot of money from walls running? There was a lot of eyebrows raised you think he has sort of lived up to that price tag?
00:24:11
Speaker
I think it's interesting, isn't it? when When you look at defenders, I think especially ones that are more defensively minded, obviously it's very unlikely to get an attacking minded center back, but you're looking at fullbacks as well. if If they are more defensively focused, it is difficult for them to kind of shine.
00:24:28
Speaker
If that makes sense, you know, like he's he'd played every single minute up until a couple of games ago when he came off with a shoulder injury. He played every single minute for us. He'd been absolutely still war and he'd been really solid. And I think the one thing that he brings is kind of a calm to our defense, which is something that's been lacking a lot.
00:24:45
Speaker
I think another thing that also might have slightly diminished his performance is the fact that he's not really had a solid center back partner. is The back four is basically alternated between Tadebo and Mavropanos basically every game. But Kilman has been there the whole time and I think he has been really solid. it unfortunate that we've been so poor defensively because it makes him look bad but if if you actually look at him and his highlights during games here he's been really solid and he just does the simple things like not making mistakes and he's good at covering and he makes the last-ditch challenges and areally he's really solid and on the ball he's really calm and he can play a really nice long ball
00:25:25
Speaker
the conversation we've been having is we think he should be in like a conversation for an England caller because we aren't blessed with left footed Senate backs really we don't have a huge amount and he is someone that has been consistently really solid so I think if we do well under Potter I think that conversation massively increases but but yeah I completely agree with that back four and I think Kilman has just been unfortunate to be part of a defense that hasn't been very good, basically. Okay, Gavin, I'll go to you. I want you to name me up with midfield. Are you going for a four? Are you going for a three?
00:25:58
Speaker
ah I'm gonna go for a three. So I'm gonna go for... I don't know actually. I'm going to go for a cam and then I don't have to go for two sixes or one six and an eight. The midfield, the midfield two actually in there was one I'm having a bit of trouble with to be honest. so I mean you'll be able to tell me better because I mean I know some of the West Ham midfielders, they haven't really impressed me to be honest but that's probably based on this season and I know they've got some talented players and they're like Edson Alvarez.
00:26:26
Speaker
um But yeah, he yeah has he just hasn't blown me away this season. and what are What are your thoughts on the midfield before before I give my ah movement midfield selection? Jacob, go for it. Yeah, I think eight nobody thickly has stood out from from our team. like um One that i I will be putting in is Sowcheck, just because he's sort of been one of our you know shining lights in ah and a team that's just struggled um and he's done it for basically every season we've had him now so I think he deserves to get in there but other than him really nobody else has really lived up to it. um The cat has been up and down all season not really been able to actually you know find his best form
00:27:22
Speaker
And the others have just been rotated, really, and it's just none of them have stood out. um I'm sure Tom probably agrees with that. um So, yeah, I think from our side, I think Socek could be the only the only midfielder I'd put in there, probably. Yeah, I think I agree. Carlos Soler has been really good when he's featured. I think he's someone that's gone on the radar. Yeah. As a signing, I don't think too many people are that enthusiastic about it, but he has been really solid. You know, you can tell that he's been playing ah club where they have high quality players, you know, spending, you know, seasons at PSG is going to turn you into a technically really strong player. And I think that's what we've got in him, which is really positive. I've got one thing that really annoys me. I'm going to go on a bit of a tangent now. When people talk about Thomas Sucek, they say, I've seen this argument that, oh, if if Thomas Sucek is the one that's performing the best in your team, you know, you're in trouble and, and things of that ilk. and I'm like, well, surely it just means that he's good.
00:28:19
Speaker
that he stands out. People say it as if it's, oh, everyone else is bad. So he just happens to be there. It's like, no, we could be playing badly. But he is so good. He's so unsung in the way that he plays. Like, obviously, he his build is very unconventional. It's the the similar kind of Marouane Fellaini sort of thing that David Moyes seems to create these like big lanky players that are able to score goals.
00:28:41
Speaker
um But he's just really good. he does He does the hard yards. He runs all game. He does last-ditch challenges. He's really physical. He wins basically every single header. like I very rarely see him lose ah of a 50-50 in the air when he's going for a header. And the goal, was it he just pops up with goal, set pieces, edge of the box.
00:28:59
Speaker
He is a really, really good Premier League player and I think people disrespect him so much because they say, oh, you know, he's he's good, but is he better than this person or is he better than that person? I'm like, well, if you actually just look at his stats and and the way that he plays, he does the things that he does well, he does better than so many other people.
00:29:17
Speaker
like how many other people win most of their headers and pop up with goals and are good at set pieces and are making last-ditch challenges and you know now captain that Bowen's injured like he's so good and I think people really lose sight of that because of his build and his kind of mild personality he seems like a really kind of down-to-earth nice guy but on the pitch he's really good and he's a really good friendly player so Yeah, that's my run over. Gavin, how are you going to sort your midfield then? Okay, you saw that to me. We'll have Thomas Ojeda based on what you guys have said. The other one I'm going to go for, it's a choice between two full and midfielders, and it's either Sanderberger or Sasseleukic. Full and fans absolutely love Sasseleukic. They absolutely rave about him.
00:29:59
Speaker
he probably is one of those players that goes unnoticed by ah the neutral casual observers to watch in full-on games but um he's he's filled that void left behind by Pelina and he is he is kind of a walk in yellow car though, I mean if I've got one guarantee for tomorrow's game it's that he will get booked, absolute guarantee nailed on.
00:30:17
Speaker
um but the idea other one that was up in the conversation is Sander Berger as well who adds a little bit of a slow start to his full career. He's just got injured and it's just been evident in the last few games how much of a miss he's been because he had a shaky game in his debut against Aston Villa but since then he's just been a colossus and just great composure, physicality, not so much of the player we saw maybe at Burney or Sheffield United we used to drive forwards and kickstart attacks but just He's a great shield, that great presence in front of the back four for you to have. So just the fact that Sassolukic has played more, he's been more of a constant, even even though he had his injury as well, midway through, well, we are midway through the season, about a month or two ago, I'm just going to go for Sassolukic alongside Sue Czechna.
00:31:01
Speaker
Yeah, that's fair. I really like that midfield. I think the the kind of physicality and the tenaciousness of that midfield is really attractive. I really like that. um So you're saying that's a two. I'm guessing that means there's going to be one midfielder slightly further forward than those two. Who would that be?
00:31:17
Speaker
I'm going to see a couple of months ago, I might, I might have gone for Emil Smith row, ah but he's just come back from injury as well. And maybe he hasn't quite hit the heights recently. So I'm but i'm going to go for Paquetta. I, you know, cause I just think he is such a talented player. He's obviously been linked with big moves away in recent times. ah Maybe hasn't seen the best of him this season, but I think at his best, he is a really talented player. Yeah, I completely agree. We've, we've just not seen the best of him, have we Jacob? art I know, I know you're a big fan of him on you.
00:31:46
Speaker
no Yeah, i think I think it is fairly, I mean, if we're talking about current, you know, form, then but I think putting Paquetta in there is generous. But like, actual ability, definitely, but you know, we've seen what he can do. It's just, we don't always know when it's going to come. And it is frustrating.
00:32:15
Speaker
um But you know it's he's just one of those players where you just pray he's feeling good on that day and he can pull something out of the bag. um But yeah, I think that is a very strong midfield.
00:32:29
Speaker
um What's your, Tom, what would be your, your front, front three? So this is, there's quite ah a lot of attacking threat, which which I really like. I think, yeah, the thing we've said on this podcast so much is that we are strongest in the wide areas. You know, you you look at all wingers and they are so solid. So for me, it would be Jared Bowen and Kudos as the wide player that put Kudos on the left,
Raul Jimenez's Fulham Resurgence
00:32:53
Speaker
Bowen on the right. And then I'd have Raul Jimenez up front because you know you look historically his goal scoring in the Premier League it has been really solid and you know there was a time when he was kind of out of favor and not so good and he joined Fulham and I don't think he had the best starts but this season he's been so solid he's been really good getting goals leading the line like he did do for Wolves back in the day I say back in the day it's not that long ago but
00:33:17
Speaker
I think it's good. and And you look at the West Ham striking options, it's just not, it's just not strong really is it? I think if full crew had been fit and he'd played every game up until this point, I think he probably would have been in there because he does have the quality. He just hasn't played enough. He hasn't been fit. He's he's got goals and assists when he's played, but it he just hasn't, haven't seen enough of him. So I struggled to make a case for someone who hasn't really played at all, you know, and and I think we're out of him as he's on fire. and The wide players, I just think it's difficult to beat Kudos and Bowen. I don't think there's actually that many teams in the league that beat that combination, to be honest. I think they're so good. Bowen is Mr. Consistent, he's unbelievably good. Goals, assists, defensive work.
00:33:59
Speaker
you know the way that he leads he's he's not necessarily the most sort of vocal captain but he he leads with his performances which I think is such an underrated skill and I think the West Ham fans love it because he's not a show-off he's not a show-boat he's just a hard worker who is also really efficient and direct which we really love and Kudas. What can you say about Kudas? He's so good. I think if we do finish mid-table, I do think he'll go, which will be so heartbreaking because he does deserve to play Champions League football. Like you said before, Gavin, he's he's so good. he's Every year he's got the most take on numbers and dribble numbers. he He just does it for fun. So slightly worried that he's going to go. But yeah, I think that's my front three. Gavin, what do you think?
00:34:39
Speaker
Yeah, it's hard to argue against that really. Definitely Jared Bowen would be in my team. um I've always liked Jared Bowen even from watching him in his championship days when he was at home and he's he's integral to that team so they need to get him back on the park as soon as possible really. As you as you mentioned earlier, that the goals and the assists, he tends to be the mainstay when it comes to West Ham providing ah goals and assists sent the forward I think isn't easy when at the moment it is Raul Jimenez that seems to be a bit of a cursed position for West Ham doesn't it because um obviously you know McCullough and Tony's had that hor horrific act and he's he that's him done for the season now is that correct? Yeah yeah that's at least a year he's going to be out. Yeah so that's a shame burn and and Faulkra was was that guy I guess brought in the summer look to seeing that
00:35:23
Speaker
seen as that replacement and that centre forward position that they've been looking looking for for so many years but it maybe hasn't quite happened. He's out with injury now and riled him and as he does look back to his best which is you know it's great to see obviously after that horrific head injury he's sustained playing against Arsenal for wars many people thought that was probably the end for him and probably top like football now we'll see him now he's not double figures this season every chance he can get double figures as far as the Premier League and maybe even his best ever scoring season which is you know a 33 years of ages you know it's an amazing story in itself I would like to get Alex a world being I think he probably has had a better season than Mohammed Kudas but it would probably be wrong of me to put him in because I think Mohammed Kudas does have the highest ceiling of those two players and you know as I said earlier on I think when he's playing well you could easily sit you see him fitting into one of the top teams in the league.
Player Success Stories: Iwobi & Wan-Bissaka
00:36:17
Speaker
the the The place that I see Kudos is actually Barcelona. I think he does so well at Barcelona and it's really scary like the fact that I can see that is kind of heartbreaking to be honest. um I really like the Alex Owobishow. I think he's so underrated. I think he has been for a long time. I think even when he was asked, he was good. It just, it seems like there's this thing at ah big clubs that we've seen it with Wambasaka like you can kind of go under the radar and and play pretty well and and be okay and and get some good numbers and be consistent. But because you're not completely setting the world and like fans look, they always want more and they don't actually appreciate what they have. And I think that's something that
00:36:58
Speaker
Alex Awobi kind of suffered that fate because you see him when it when he plays at Fulham, like when Fulham are flowing, it seems like so much goes through him, which I think is testament to how good of a player he is. And I think it's kind of the same now with Aaron Mombasaka that we've given him the freedom and the confidence to say, right, we are going to pick you and you're going to play every game. So just go and and do what you can and don't be worried that we're going to instantly go and sign someone else who's going to take your place. So I think those moves away from the big clubs ignite so many players careers and Alex Awobi is definitely testament to that. and um yeah just ah Yeah, just on the award we think, I think as well, he's playing a ah good club in Fulham where there is expectation, there there's always pressure on a player no matter what club you go, even if people from the outside think, oh he's got his own Fulham, there's no pressure on him at all. But I think it's a good environment to play your football. He was ah he was at Everton, you know what it's like at Goodison Park if you are
00:37:49
Speaker
If things aren't going well, the crowd can turn on you, get on your back, and you know they're very quick to boo and start turning on on their own, aren't they? So at Fulham, he's not going to get anything like that. And he is a manager's dream. Obviously, Marco Silva had him at Everton, so that's where the links were. He brought him in last season. His output in terms of goals and assists is infinitely better than it ever was at Arsenal and Everton. Those stats will speak for themselves. And he is a manager's dream because he can play in a variety of positions. He can play on the right.
00:38:15
Speaker
just as well as he can play on the left, he can play in the drop back in the deeper position in midfield, he played in that deep position in midfield against Brighton early in the season and then he scored two goals, so it didn't seem to have any impact in terms of his attacking output. So, um yeah, it's at 28 years of age, the penny seems to have dropped and now we are definitely seeing, as I mentioned earlier, the best version of Alex Wobbe that anyone's ever seen.
00:38:37
Speaker
Yeah, I completely agree. Well, well, that's our combined 11.
Match Predictions: West End vs Fulham
00:38:41
Speaker
Um, finally, before we go, I want quick predictions and who's going to be man of the match for everyone. Jacob, you go first. Um, I think it's really difficult to call this one. Um, I, I'm going to say it won all. Um, and I think.
00:39:03
Speaker
I'm going to go for a ah burnt Leno stand out and standout player. It's not necessarily who i'm who I think should be, but I think that's just kind of my prediction. I could see us having a lot of shots and um just being very frustrated, basically. we've We've not taken our chances all season and I could quite easily see it happening again if burnt Leno has a good game.
00:39:30
Speaker
and So i think it I think it might just be a 1-1. Yeah, Gavin, we'll go to you. What are your predictions? Yeah, I mean, I don't want to agree, but I do agree. I said this in my preview episode as well, that I think it's going to be 1-0. And for them, they do seem to be the drawers, specialists in the league. They haven't lost many games. They're unbeaten in 9 or 10. I've kind of lost count now. 9 or 10 in all competitions now, but a lot of those games have been draws.
00:39:51
Speaker
the problem this season has been able to convert some of those draws into wins and you'll remember the game earlier in the season it was it was a dominant full and performance but Danny Ings pops up in the 95th minute not your fifth minute um for 1-0 and you'll probably see Danny Ings in this game won't you?
00:40:07
Speaker
um As far as a man of the match is concerned, I'm going to go for Anthony Robinson. Of course, Fulham fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that nothing comes from this transfer window. Liverpool can steer well clear and not not look the yeah not look in his direction. But, yeah, as I said, just fun fantastic athlete. He just does not stop running.
00:40:27
Speaker
Do you think that there's any part of you that wants him to not play well in January just to kind of ward off? I was so i was saying this when I was doing the crossover episode with the Liverpool team. I was saying hopefully Anthony Robinson has a good game but not too much of a good game and it was ironic as well because Andy Robertson got sent off in that game set and and Anthony Robinson was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch so yeah he' as far as an audition goes um it couldn't have gone any better for Liverpool fans and couldn't have gone any worse for Fulham fans but I think if full amount of part ways with him it's going to take a monumental bid in this month. I'd i'd be surprised if it happens but in the summer it's going to be a lot more difficult to hold on to him I think.
00:41:06
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I completely agree. I guess only time would tell. My prediction, I'm going to go for a 1-0 to West Ham. I've got to do something different. We can't all do 1-1. I think it's a relatively cagey game, to be honest. I think Graham Potter is going to make us a lot more solid defensively. I don't see us being as threatening on the attack, you know, when we've got only got Danny Ings as the striker, we've got Jared Bowe injured.
00:41:31
Speaker
I think we'll go into the game knowing that we can't necessarily play the sort of free-flowing, attacking, shackle-less football that I think is the aim. But defensively, I think we'll be good. And I think Thomas Zuchek, he'll wear the captain's armband. He'll score a header from a set piece. he'll He'll beat his man. He'll do his celebration where he spins around with his arms out. Very goofy celebration, but with the captain's armband, I think it it makes it a little bit sweeter. So I'm going to say 1-0, and I think Thomas Zuchek is going to be our man and latch.
00:42:01
Speaker
love that all right um yeah i think i think we'll wrap up there um so thank you all very much for watching say goodbye thank you have it thank you family no problem and goodbye guys it's been a good one
00:42:18
Speaker
um Please rate this podcast five stars and also check out all of our social media that's linked in the description um Also, there's loads of other GSPM podcasts There's the fantasy football women's football wrap-up ones and They're all in multiple different languages um And there's the other Premier League team ones as well. So thanks for listening and we'll speak to you soon Every club
00:42:49
Speaker
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