MATCHWATCH : West Ham United U21

[Sutekh]

When : Tuesday 20 August 2024, 7pm
Where : Madejski Stadium, Reading, RG2 0FL
Capacity : 24,161

Another midweek cup game we all can do without, much rather Reading had a clear week to plot unscrewing Mansfield's season a bit more rather than trying to beat a bunch of useful youngsters under their new Nuno Santo regime.

And the Hammers' youngsters have proved useful so far as they are top of the group courtesy of a 5-1 hammering of franchise a while back.

Don't believe anything has changed in this competition from last season, in which case the following still applies -

Player eligibility

Each FL league club MUST play a minimum of four qualifying outfield players in their starting XI. A qualifying outfield player was one who met any of the following requirements:
Any player who started the previous or following first-team fixture.
Any player who is in the top 10 players at the club who has made the most starting appearances in league and domestic cup competitions this season.
Any player with forty or more first-team starting appearances in their career, including International matches.
Any player on loan from a Premier League club or any EFL Category One Academy club.
A club can play any eligible goalkeeper in the competition.
Any player out on a long loan term at a National League, National League North, or National League South team can play as long as the loaning team agree to allow the player to return for the match.

For invited teams (the U21 sides)

Minimum of six players in the starting line-up who are aged under 21 on 30 June 2024.
Maximum of two players on the team sheet who are aged over 21 and have also made forty or more senior appearances.

Referee

Kirsty Dowle

Previously

New referee to Reading

Historically

One previous game against the Hammers' U21s. A 3-1 victory at the same stage last season.


How to follow the game

1. Get a ticket and travel to the Mad Stad
2. Listen to Radio 5 Live and/or a myriad of other radio stations for score flashes
3. Ring/text a mate for updates
4. That NOW/SKY thing again
5. Use a RoyalTV subscription
6. BBC Radio Berkshire (FM : 104.4, 104.1 or 95.4 depending where you are in the area)

[Mid Sussex Royal]

I'd like to see us try and have a run in this this season....the league looks done already, we'll likely pull clear of the bottom area but aren't going to challenge the top half.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Don't give a shit. Only potential interest is if returning injured players get minutes.

[Snowflake Royal]

Same approach as always for me, mix of those around the fringes with youth.

...................Stevens
Abrefa, Stickland, Duah, Ryan
...................Spencer
............Fraser......Elliott
Ritchie, ...............Ehibhatiomhan
................O'Mahoney

Subs: Rowley, Ahmed, O'Connor, Borgnis, Savage, Evans, Kyerewaa

Main issue is I can't think of a second centreback to partner Stickland... Dorsett, Burns and Jacob are too important to the first team to risk with all the injuries.
Obviously Camara and Garcia should play a part if fit.

[Sutekh]

Same approach as always for me, mix of those around the fringes with youth.

...................Stevens
Abrefa, Stickland, ........., Ryan
...................Spencer
............Fraser......Elliott
Ritchie, ...............Ehibhatiomhan
................O'Mahoney

Subs: Rowley, Ahmed, O'Connor, Borgnis, Savage, Tuma, Kyerewaa

Main issue is I can't think of a second centreback to partner Stickland... Dorsett, Burns and Jacob are too important to the first team to risk with all the injuries.
Obviously Camara and Garcia should play a part if fit.

Duah is the obvious candidate to partner Strickland.

[Snowflake Royal]

Same approach as always for me, mix of those around the fringes with youth.

...................Stevens
Abrefa, Stickland, ........., Ryan
...................Spencer
............Fraser......Elliott
Ritchie, ...............Ehibhatiomhan
................O'Mahoney

Subs: Rowley, Ahmed, O'Connor, Borgnis, Savage, Tuma, Kyerewaa

Main issue is I can't think of a second centreback to partner Stickland... Dorsett, Burns and Jacob are too important to the first team to risk with all the injuries.
Obviously Camara and Garcia should play a part if fit.

Duah is the obvious candidate to partner Strickland.

Works for me

[Hound]

Yeah give Duah a game

Sackey, Spencer, Rushesha in midfield

Kelvin E, Camara and MoM up top

Borgnis, Patton, that kid who played up top vs Swindon whose name I forget all on the bench at least

Use it as an audition for who comes into the first team squad later in the year

Fine for O Connor to play a bit but none of the other older or loan players bar MoM

[Snowflake Royal]

Yeah give Duah a game

Sackey, Spencer, Rushesha in midfield

Kelvin E, Camara and MoM up top

Borgnis, Patton, that kid who played up top vs Swindon whose name I forget all on the bench at least

Use it as an audition for who comes into the first team squad later in the year

Fine for O Connor to play a bit but none of the other older or loan players bar MoM

Evans?

I want to see how Ritchie copes starting a game in a lower intensity match before he starts in the league.

I don’t see the point in playing Rushesha, he's already failed half a dozen auditions.

I'd like to see the young players blended with more experience to help coach them.through the game and bring the best out of them, they aren't going to be thrown into the first team wholesale.

[Hound]

Yeah was borderline on Rushesha (and JOP) but Rushesha has actually played ok for the first team at times. But wouldn’t be upset to see him not play

We’re playing another academy side anyway, don’t need experience in there really. And unless it’s getting people up to speed after injury, just don’t want to see any of the older players. Of no interest to me

[Hound]

And yes,Evans

[Snowflake Royal]

Fair enough.

[Clyde1998]

Our list of qualifying players for this game (as a reminder: we need to play four of these players and we can play any goalkeeper; players in grey qualified through a previous category):

1. Started 40+ senior matches (15): Ritchie (515); Yiadom (489); Williams (394); O'Connor (328); Marriott (281); Wing (274); Lane (119); Fraser (115); Dorsett (100); Savage (96); Ehibhatiomhan (65); Burns (54); Kyerewaa (45); Jacob (45); Elliott (42)
2. On loan from a Premier League or EFL Cat 1 academy (2): Burns; Doyle; O'Mahony
3. Top ten most starts (all comps) this season (3): Savage (10); Burns (10); Kyerewaa (9); Wing (8); Jacob (7); Stickland (7); Ahmed (7); Fraser (6); Doyle (6);
   O'Mahony (6); Abrefa (4); Lane (6); Dorsett (6)
4. Started the previous match (0): Ahmed; Burns; Dorsett; Jacob; Doyle; Wing; Savage; Lane; Kyerewaa; Mariott
5. Started the next match (?): N/A

Overall (20): Abrefa; Ahmed; Burns; Dorsett; Doyle; Ehibhatiomhan; Elliott; Fraser; Jacob; Kyerewaa; Lane; Marriott; O'Connor; O'Mahony; Ritchie; Savage; Stickland; Williams; Wing; Yiadom

Same group of players as last time.

[Royals and Racers]

Top 2 from each group qualify for next stage so we need to win both remaining games.
Current table- Southern Group D
1st West Ham U 21 P 1 points 3 GD + 4
2nd Swindon P 1 points 3 GD + 1
3rd Reading P 1 points 0 GD -1
4th MK Dons P 1 points 0 GD -4

[traff]

If we are not going to try and win against Swindon, we are certainly not going to go all out against anyone else.
Lets get out of this competition asap so we can continue to aim toward mediocrity.

[Clyde1998]

If we are not going to try and win against Swindon, we are certainly not going to go all out against anyone else.
Lets get out of this competition asap so we can continue to aim toward mediocrity.

It's frustrating we didn't really try to beat Swindon. Whilst we played a fairly strong side (not full strength by any means), we had no options (other than Ritchie) on the bench to change things and wasn't even to the level of the League Cup for our starting XI.

Especially now we're likely to have a mid-table season (at best), the Trophy is a competition we could get some positivity from and we've got a serious chance of winning if we took it vaguely seriously.

Unfortunately, financially, the only real money in the competition comes with a split of the Wembley final money - so we're not going to bother doing well in this.

[Clyde1998]

Stevens
Abrefa - Stickland - Borgnis - Ryan
Elliott - Spencer - Rushesha
Okine-Peters - O’Mahony - Ehibhatiomhan

Subs: Rowley; Tuma; Bowdery; Duah: Beacroft; Sackey; Patton

[MR. CYNICAL]

I'd like to see us try and have a run in this this season....the league looks done already, we'll likely pull clear of the bottom area but aren't going to challenge the top half.

It's only the end of September, how can you say the league looks done already? Nobody is interested in this tin pot competition.

[Clyde1998]

Tomas Soucek starts for West Ham U21s

[Clyde1998]

1-0 down.

[retro royal]

Elliott's even being bullied by West Ham's u21, we look to be making the same mistakes against this lot, somethings wrong in our shape, to many individual errors.