West Ham United v QPR (FA Cup R3) | Match Thread

[Abseits]

Sunday Jan 11th 2:30pm

Well here we go again... I suspect that anyone under 50yrs-old must believe that we are under some sort of FA Cup embargo that requires us to play with two left feet in all cup matches. Our record over 40-odd years is scandalously poor. I can't be bothered to trot out the stats, the games, the dates as it's too depressing.

Funnily enough we were drawn away to struggling Premier League opposition last season and quite a few poor naive souls fancied an upset and then Leicester dished out a 6-2 drubbing. Given the similarity in circumstances, I suspect folks will be more guarded with their predictions this time.

The club have announced that e-tickets will be emailed out today after final checks of the data West Ham supplied yesterday. This would suggest that 9000 is our absolute final allocation.

The game is live on TNT Sports 5. There has not been any confirmation about VAR yet (and FA rules do permit VAR to be used in any match) but the "customs and practice" suggests that VAR doesn't stick its ugly face in until R5. In R3 there are too many EFL stadia not equipped for VAR and its deemed unfair to have half the games decided by VAR and the others not.

No replay. If level at FT it's ET followed by penalties if necessary.

Finally, West Ham are home to Forest tonight (Tuesday) on Sky if anyone wants to scout the opposition.

[daveshads]

I guess Sunday is a “free hit” for us. Hope we put out a decent side although information about the injuries would be welcome. West Ham have been dire recently but so can we be. Need to put Mbengue on Bowen for the whole match otherwise he could have an enjoyable afternoon at our expense. Huge gap between leagues and they should really turn us over, but you never know.

[hoopsmanjake]

Any planned meeting points for rangers?
a big March down th the stadium?

[Harrow QPR]

I guess Sunday is a “free hit” for us. Hope we put out a decent side although information about the injuries would be welcome. West Ham have been dire recently but so can we be. Need to put Mbengue on Bowen for the whole match otherwise he could have an enjoyable afternoon at our expense. Huge gap between leagues and they should really turn us over, but you never know.

Mbengue plays on the opposite side to Bowen.
I think West ham will put out most first teamers as they don't have another game for a week after us and i think they will beat us easily , our away form and tactics are really poor and negative .
I really hope i am wrong and we put out a decent side and go at them from the start but i don't see it. I love the cup games and have always preffered them to the league , shame we've got the worst record of fa cup round 3.
West ham just signed 2 new strikers , both over 20 mill , so they will inevitably have blinders and score.

[Abseits]

When Nourry delivered his end-of-year speech he was very clear that the club recognised it had years of underperformance in the cup and that it was going to be addressed. He very clearly intimated we would be putting full resource into the cup.

Now you could argue he would say that, paricularly as FA Rules clearly state that clubs must not field weakened sides, but I took it as a clear promise/intention.

The only fly in the ointment is last Sunday's bizarre catalogue of injuries, could they have been staged or planned? Who knows. But, if we do field the 2nd string I will see Nourry as a proven liar and source of misinformation.

[daveshads]

If we were to choose to play any PL team at the moment, it would surely be WHU. That said, can’t help feeling you are probably correct. Would give Mbengue a free role merely to try to shackle Bowen. I think Bowen is extremely important to them.

[72bus]

Not got my tickets yet , know people that got theirs .. emailed but no reply ..so it could be a morning on the dog ...yawn

[Abseits]

Not got my tickets yet , know people that got theirs .. emailed but no reply ..so it could be a morning on the dog ...yawn

Most email hosting software recognises the phrase "West Ham United" as being junk or malicious... check your spam folder

[72bus]

Most email hosting software recognises the phrase "West Ham United" as being junk or malicious... check your spam folder

I checked a old email this morning and they were on that

[Abseits]

I checked a old email this morning and they were on that

Ah that's good.

I cant find anything in my emails anymore... for well over 20yrs I happily used a Windows PC with Outlook Express with no probs, in box and sent items was easy-peasy. But since moving to a chrome laptop the emails are weird, things sort of stack or get added to "conversations". I suppose there must be ways to reconfigure it but I'm wary of fiddling.

[Abseits]

With West Ham losing last night they are deep in the relegation pooh. You then have to ask how important the FA Cup is to them. It's not just about this weekend, do they want more games piling up in February and April too?

I therefore looked ahead and was miffed to discover that there are NO prem games on the cup weekends for 4th, 5th and QF rounds. So basically, if they progress they don't have to rearrange any fixtures (but obviously they lose what would otherwise be a week off).

We have league games scheduled for every round though:

14/2 R4 Blackburn (H)
7/3 R5 Boro (H)
4/4 QF Watford (H)
25/4 SF Derby (H)
Final is 16/5 (Championship play-off final is 23/5)

So for us, any progression results in rearranging games and fixture congestion.

[Undecided]

Ah that's good.

I cant find anything in my emails anymore... for well over 20yrs I happily used a Windows PC with Outlook Express with no probs, in box and sent items was easy-peasy. But since moving to a chrome laptop the emails are weird, things sort of stack or get added to "conversations". I suppose there must be ways to reconfigure it but I'm wary of fiddling.

That's life Jim, but not as we know it..........

[72bus]

Ah that's good.

I cant find anything in my emails anymore... for well over 20yrs I happily used a Windows PC with Outlook Express with no probs, in box and sent items was easy-peasy. But since moving to a chrome laptop the emails are weird, things sort of stack or get added to "conversations". I suppose there must be ways to reconfigure it but I'm wary of fiddling.

If I'm honest abs I find so much of that confusing , got rid of my computer and internet years ago ( it's so freeing).....

[Abseits]

If I'm honest abs I find so much of that confusing , got rid of my computer and internet years ago ( it's so freeing).....

Don't think I could go that far... when it comes to big finance and important stuff I like to have a keyboard and big screen in front of me so hence my 17" Chromebook. These things are low spec and low memory - everything is in "the cloud" so I need t'internet for it to work.

I dont mind all the tech and advancement but I feel with every "upgrade" there should be a facility to retain/maintain the existing familiar user interface for folks who don't like or understand the snazzy new look of whatever it is.

[Abseits]

You have probaly seen the transfer news about Ronnie Edwards elsewhere on here....

To be available for Sunday he'd need to be signed BEFORE 12:30pm tomoz (Friday). Whether we'd wanna chuck him straight in is debatable and it's all moot right now anyway but I thought I mention the deadline and cut-off for info.