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Episode 028 - Forrest Preview and Prediction!
23 Plays1 month ago
In this episode, Tom discusses his thoughts on the upcoming game away against Nottingham Forrest. With analysis and squad selection influenced by the past conversation with Mark from the GSPN Forrest podcast!
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Transcript
Introduction and Overview
00:00:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hello, guys, and welcome back to another episode of the Daily GSPN West Ham podcast. Today, I am on my own, and we are going to be discussing the Nottingham Forest game that's coming up at the weekend. We've just previously done a podcast with the guys over from the GSPN Daily Forest podcast. I did it with Mark. We had a great chat about the game, and I think it's informed me really nicely to talk about my specific predictions, and I think the the places that we need to be specifically wary when it does come to Forest.
Significance of the Nottingham Forest Game
00:00:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
The first thing I think is worth mentioning is how good of an opportunity this is for us and for our season. Coming off the back of a ah really impressive, some might say lucky, I call it impressive game against Man United, we need to continue this positive momentum because if we are gonna achieve anything this season other than sort of mid table, lower mid table mediocrity, we need to start pushing on and winning games like this.
00:01:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
Forests are a team that are very much informed. Everyone knows that. they Their league position speaks volumes for how well they've been playing.
Key Threats from Nottingham Forest
00:01:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
So if we are able to pull a performance out against them, I think it will give us so much respect from the league and generally people who watch football because so far we've i think maybe a laughing stock is one step too far but we've not been far off it to be honest we've been really poor everyone is talking about how poor we are and i think most people are predicting us to lose this game because of how on form forest are so Yeah, so if we set the scene like that, these are the places I think the Notting Forest are most dangerous. The most obvious place to start is Chris Wood with seven goals in nine games this season. He is on absolute fire. He is someone that we need to massively watch out for because when a striker is informed like that, if you don't pay enough attention to them throughout the whole game, if you aren't switched on,
00:02:00
Global Sports Podcast Network
you will be punished and with those stats it's obvious that he is able to punish people who are sleeping and with our what has looked at times very poor defense I'm slightly worried that he is going to be able to capitalize on an opportunity that we give him so I'd say that's probably their
Forest's Defensive Strength
00:02:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
main threat. And then looking at other areas of the pitch where I think they're most solid is probably their defense. If you look at their keeper, two centerbacks and they're holding midfielder, all very strong. Let's start start off with the centerbacks. So Murillo and Milankovic have been immense this season. This centerback partnership really impresses me. It seems like a really good mix because Murillo is the kind of
00:02:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
offensive, aggressive, physically imposing. Not the biggest guy, but I think because he's so stocky and he is quick as well. His defensive attributes partnered with Milenko, which who's the kind of taller.
00:02:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
feels like the more kind of seasoned center back who's more of the kind of commanding presence. That as a combination I think is really effective and you can tell that it's been effective because of their defensive record this season. They've only conceded seven goals. It's only Liverpool who've conceded less. They've conceded five goals. So if you look at their defense, it's obviously the place that they are having the most success and they're stopping teams from scoring, which, you know, if you want to win games and do well, stopping other teams from scoring is a brilliant way to do it.
00:03:28
Global Sports Podcast Network
Okay, then I want to move to the goalkeeper, Sells. He's played so well on the football rating website, Footmop, which we use to basically work out who's been playing well and who hasn't if you've not been watching every minute of every team. Matt Sells has got a 7.17 rating, which is a very solid rating, especially for a keeper.
00:03:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
as a keeper it's very hard to get a great rating if your team is doing well because obviously the better your team are doing the less likely you're going to be in the game so the fact that he does have such a strong rating means that he has been helping his team so much to get those wins and to cement their place in the league where they are now. So all credit to him. And I think he's someone who's been going under the radar actually is someone who's not been getting a lot of praise. So yeah, we're going to have to be on it. And with the attacking threat that we have, I'm always confident that we are able to score goals, but we're going to have to be an RA game in this game.
West Ham's Strategy to Exploit Weaknesses
00:04:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
And the last player I want to highlight for Forest is Ryan Yates. He's been immense this season. As someone who's come through at Nottingham Forest and one of the only players who survived the the rebuild of Nottingham Forest when they bought a thousand players and it seems like every season they just kept signing more and more. Having someone who's, you know, come from the academy and has been able to cement a place in that team when there have been so many signings, I think is so impressive and his performances are They're so, they're impressive because of the way he plays. He seems to play with a ah freedom, which I really like. And as someone who has played in the the lower leagues, the lower leagues, the championship is.
00:04:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
it's always good to see players making that transition. I think I would maybe slightly liken him to a cross between um Alvarez and Sucek as in his he can go forward maybe slightly better than Alvarez and he's kind of Thomas Sucek-esque in the kind of later runs but then on the defensive side he's a a big and imposing lad who loves to tackle so looking at that spine I think it's very intimidating and you can tell why they have done so well and why their defensive record is so good so when you look at us and how we need to play in order to expose that I think we need to be using um our wide players their fullbacks are probably the weaker places they've got Moreno and Ina so
00:05:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
Both of those guys, they are good and they've been playing well this season, but if you look at their whole team, they're definitely the points at which they're the weakest. And ah luckily for us, our wide players are probably the place where we're strongest. So the fact that we are able to line up man for man against, you know, wide player against fullback, I think we definitely have the edge in that aspect. I'm hoping that some of it will start. So I'm going to go on to my actual team prediction later on, but I think Somerville and Jared Bowen against their two fullbacks is a recipe for goals for us.
00:06:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
You look at the way they both play, Somerville and Bowdoin, so direct, love to take a man on. And if we are able to beat the fullbacks, we can get in behind their defense. No matter how good or solid your defense is, if you're able to get through a hole or find a bit of space, there's always going to be the opportunity to exploit it. So if we can get people in the box and we can get bodies, I think we have a lot of chance of success against this forest team.
West Ham's Defensive Concerns
00:06:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
Okay, so we're gonna go to the first ad break. When we get back, I'm gonna go through my team man for man and see who I want to start.
00:07:14
Global Sports Podcast Network
So moving on to my lineup, I think I want to preface this with, our defense is going to be so key today. Obviously, I've already highlighted the fact that our wide players are going to be key as well, and they always are. I think it's so interesting when but all the players that I highlight are defenders for Forest, and they are doing so well. um It's obvious that to have any sort of success in the Premier League, you need a really solid defense. And so far, we haven't had that.
00:07:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
The lineup in defense has changed and we've not really been settled on a center-back partnership as of yet, but we've consistently looked sloppy and we've made sloppy mistakes, miss passes. We can't afford to do that in this game because when you are playing against a striker who is so informed, you will get punished. So that's my preface. In goal, I would start with Fabianski. I think because he played so well in the last game, some of the saves he made were immense. I think you need to reward good performances. so Fabianzki starts. If regular starts it's not the end of the world obviously still a brilliant keeper but in my opinion if you perform well I think you deserve to play another game because otherwise you can't
00:08:24
Global Sports Podcast Network
how else do you reward someone for playing well other than giving them another opportunity to play well? That seems kind of obvious to me. Left back is going to be Emerson obviously. Aaron Creswell is okay but I don't think there's ever a real argument for him playing over Emerson as the starting left back. Center back so this is where it gets interesting. Kilman obviously he's played so well for us this season I think In the last game in the first half against Man United, he was slightly sloppy, which was kind of uncharacteristic for him this season. I think he's been really good up until that game. But then that was kind of the same for a lot of our players. It wasn't him
Team Selection Recommendations
00:08:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
specifically. It was the whole team was kind of poor. So I think he starts. If he can bring back that calm, commanding nature that he's given us up until the last game, then I think he'll be such a positive influence pairing with him. I think I would play to Devo.
00:09:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
Mavropanos played okay, but when we made the substitution against Man United taking Mavropanos off and bringing Tadebo on, I think there was a clear improvement in the defence. I also really like Tadebo's ability on the ball. He seems really calm and he's not somebody who's just going to hoof it into Rosette as soon as he feels like he's under pressure. He's able to take the ball and recycle it and He's not as susceptible to getting exposed under pressure as much as Mathropanels is sometimes. He sometimes is a bit shaky, which, you know, when you're when you're playing against a team that you should be beating who are also in form, then you need calm and you need players who aren't going to get exposed by making silly mistakes. So, yeah, I would say Kilman and Debo is my centre-backs.
00:10:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
ah Right back, I would go Aaron Wambasaka. He had a brilliant game against Man United, something that I was i was watching um match of the day. I think it was match of the day. It might have been the commentary actually for the game, but a lot of the pundits were saying that he had kind of a mixed game, which I completely disagree with, to be honest. I think he was really solid. The way that he went forward was really effective. I don't know what's happened to him since leaving Man United, but he's just able to take on players and beat them for fun. um He was so positive down that right hand side, and I think Kufal is going to really struggle to get back in the team, to be honest, with how well Aaron Wombersack has been playing. um Yeah, I just really like Aaron Wombersack. I think he's such a good player and such a good signing for us. So yeah, I think he definitely starts. Okay, so we move into the midfield. I would start Alvarez and Sucek.
00:10:53
Global Sports Podcast Network
In this game, I think having the physical the physical presence of Thomas Uchek alongside Edson Alvarez is gonna be brilliant to then allow Uchek to push forward when we need as well, because you look at Guido Rodriguez, and I don't think he has the the attacking presence that Thomas Uchek has. And I'm you know i'm one of Guido Rodriguez's biggest fans, but in a game where we want to be looking to you know exploit the opposition,
00:11:21
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think Thomas Ucek needs to be in there. He's such a physical player and you think about set pieces and the goals that he scored for us this season and the the late runs he makes into the box. I think it's perfect for this game. Then ahead of them in the midfield. So I'd play a midfield three with two um to kind of center um CDMs and one slightly higher center midfielder. I would actually play Carlos Soler in that role.
00:11:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
Maybe he hasn't performed as well recently, but I think he would do a really solid job in there. And I also kind of maybe be slightly forced by my want for Paquetta to be taken out of the team. I don't think that it's It's difficult, isn't it? Because in the situation that he's in with all of the betting scandal going on, it must be so difficult to concentrate fully on football. So I think putting him on the back burner, giving him a couple of weeks on the sidelines, letting him kind of process stuff.
00:12:24
Global Sports Podcast Network
without all of the likes of the Premier League on him I think he will come back the player that we know him to be because up until now he just hasn't been performing like the player that we know him to be so yeah I think he will benefit from some time away from the first team and I think Carlos Soler is quite a capable replacement because in the games that he has played, maybe not so much recently, but when he first came into the team, he looked really positive. I really liked his kind of style of playing.
Impact Players and Tactical Strategy
00:12:51
Global Sports Podcast Network
He's got a good balance of being able to defend and being able to attack. So I think he feels that role perfectly. Then if we go to the front line, I would go Somerville, Ings, Bowen. I think that Mikel Antonio isn't able to play full 90 minutes. I think it's kind of common knowledge that that's what I think at this point. um
00:13:12
Global Sports Podcast Network
And I think dany Danny Ings has come on, he's done well. You know, the assist that he got against Man United was so well deserved because every time he comes on, he seems to really want to make an impact, which, you know, as a supporter is always a brilliant thing to see. And then if it isn't working with Ings, it gets to, you know, the 60th, 65th minute. Bringing Antonio off of the bench is such a good asset. The way that he plays his physicality, his forward runs,
00:13:39
Global Sports Podcast Network
that against tired defenders is so effective and I think if we do start to deploy Michael Antonio as a bench player who comes off and makes an impact I think that's a really good option and it's a good strategy because He is unorthodox. So bringing him into a game to just you know throw him in, just see what happens. Kind of a throwing a little bit of ah a bomb in there just to see what happens. I think is i think it's probably the best way to use Mikel Antonio at this point.
00:14:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
um Whether that happens, I don't know. Lopategias seem to have preferred Antonio um and prefer to bring Ings off the bench. So either way, I'm not massively frustrated, but Ings came on and played really well. So kind of similar to the Fabianzky point. I think, you know, if you come on and you play well, then you deserve to play the next game. So.
00:14:28
Global Sports Podcast Network
Then if you look at the wide players, Bowen, obviously we don't really need to, I don't need to justify why Jared Bowen plays. It's very obvious. He's been amazing for us this season. Everything that he touches seems to result in some sort of chance for us. His defensive work is so good. I think if we do do anything good in this game, his fingerprints will be all over it. And yeah, I really fancy his chances against fullbacks who probably aren't as good. so That's good. And then if we look at Somerville, I hope that Somerville plays. I don't know what more the guy has to do to start because, you know, the the impact that he made against Man United, a Man United team who obviously aren't amazing, but they're not, it's not a team full of bums, is it? They're good Premier League players. And Somerville came on and he was absolutely tearing them apart.
00:15:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
his desire to get on the ball on his acceleration and sprint speed and his tenacity and the challenges as well and his persistence to keep the ball alive when I think other players kind of left it because they thought it was dead it was it was amazing and it's obvious that he wants to play so you know after the game he has scoring the goal let him start I want to give him a full night in minutes and see what he can do because I think he could be really special and if he does if he does make a really good impact, I think we then have to have the conversation about when Muhammad Qudas comes back, how do we get Qudas, Bowen and Somerville all on the pitch at the same time? Because obviously we know how good Qudas is, Bowen isn't going to not start and if Somerville is able to make himself undroppable, that's then a really exciting
00:16:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
maybe tactical change or whether we put bow and up front and put kudos out right and some of it out left or maybe swap them round, I don't know, but it's a really exciting prospect for those three guys if they're all on hot form to be playing together. That really excites me. So yeah, that is my lineup. When we get back from this advert break, we are going to get into my predictions for the game.
Predictions and Conclusion
00:16:56
Global Sports Podcast Network
Okay, so in the podcast that I did with Mark from the Daily GSPN Forest podcast, I predicted a 1-1 draw. I am going to amend that to a 2-1 win to West Ham. Maybe it's because I've been talking to myself about West Ham for so long. I think I've convinced myself that we have the opportunity to win this game. and And I really think we do. I think if you look at the points where they're strong and the points where we're strong,
00:17:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
the The matchup is quite good because you know in the middle of the park defensively we've not been great and they've got a striker who's massively informed. But then you look at the places that they're slightly weaker, the full backs and the places where we're really strong, our wingers, the the matchups are there. So I think there's going to be goals in this game. I do think we concede first. I think we come out like the gates sloppy like we normally do. We concede in the first half, maybe in the first 15-20 minutes.
00:17:50
Global Sports Podcast Network
And then I think just after halftime, we equalize. And then from there, I think it's a cracker of a game. We've two squads that have such quality. And I think if we are able to equalize after conceding, we can take that momentum and then push forward to get another goal. If you look at the way we responded after the changes at halftime against Man United, we were brilliant. We were so good, so offensively threatening. And yeah, obviously Man United had a lot of chances that they missed, but we definitely made the most of the opportunities that we got. And you know, you you can't,
00:18:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
do more than take your chances so if we are able to create those chances and we are clinical enough to finish them we've got a really good chance of winning this game the only caveat is if we do start poorly if we concede first the reaction has to be good because if it's not good it could quite easily become two or three because we've seen this season our defense's ability to capitulate so as long as we don't capitulate if it's a 1-0 deficit I think we can come back and I think we will come back because the positive momentum that we gained from the Man United game I think is so positive and will be so influential in this game and yeah like I was saying earlier in the podcast I
00:19:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think that a win against Nottingham Forest away will do so much for our credibility in the league and it will hopefully continue to ride this positive wave of performances and results.
00:19:28
Global Sports Podcast Network
So that is my prediction. Please let me know your guys' predictions. um Thank you very much for listening for this episode of the daily GSPN West End podcast. If you enjoyed it, please rate us five stars and check out all of our social medias that are linked in the show description. If you did enjoy this podcast, there are many other podcasts under the GSPN podcast network.
00:19:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
We've got the daily wrap-up shows in many languages. We've got the fantasy football podcast, women's football podcast, and we obviously have all of the other podcasts for the other 20 Premier League teams. so Thank you very much for listening and we will see you later. Goodbye.