The West Ham Chronicles – Part Two

Ian Bishop

Now here is a player who in my eyes represented what was great about West Ham United. Bish could play and they only thing I felt that held him back were the standard of players around him during his time at the club.  He could pick a pass, had time on the ball, dictate the pace of a game and when he fancied it score some lovely goals.

For me he was the perfect the West Ham player and one of my saddest moments as a fan is when the crowd turned on him following a mistake against Chelsea towards the end of his time at the club, which cost us a goal.  He did not deserve that given his years of service to the club.  Bish could also get stuck in and as the below picture will indicate he would put it about a bit.  Oh and he also had great hair!!!

 

The Academy

I love it that we have produced so many great players, less pleased that we tend to sell them but that is another story!  The Academy is something all West Ham fans should be proud of, it is unique and gives us a soul which the likes of Chelsea could only ever dream off!

Rio Ferdinand is the one player who stands out for me, I loved watching him play.  I am frustrated at how his career has developed since leaving us, while he has won the lot with Manchester United, I feel that he has never reached his potential given his undoubted ability.  However, this is more the England disease, and I will save my thoughts on that issue for another day.

Frank Lampard and Paul Ince obviously have both burnt their bridges with the club.  Lampard was a frustrating player at West Ham, however, fair play to what he has achieved at Chelsea.  He simply not a very likeable bloke though is he?!  Ince was an idiot posing in that shirt and I understand why a certain generation of fans will never forgive, I am more neutral on the subject, he wants to be forgiven, but knows it will not ever happen!  Great player but appears to be a lousy manager.

Play off Final 2012

Finally after 27 long years of loyal support I was rewarded with a trip to Wembley.  In typical West Ham style we had blown automatic promotion after a long, sometimes very frustrating season.  We breezed through the play off semi-finals, smashing Cardiff out of sight, and we were favourites to beat Blackpool in the final.  Been there before in 2004, remember Crystal Palace?  Of course you do!  I find that game too difficult to think about let alone write about!

Anyway back to the Blackpool game, tickets were secured, behind the goal, happy days.  The build up to the game seemed to go on for ages and I remember the demand for tickets was unreal.  Anticipation would continue to build over the days until the big day came.  It was an early start as I and my two mates headed in to the City and discovered that Liverpool Street was a sea of claret and blue, together with the continued signing of bubbles, amongst other less family friendly anthems!  A couple of beers were consumed followed by an epic journey on the tube to Wembley, where song after song left the poor Blackpool fans looking on rather bemused.

The atmosphere at Wembley was electric (must be a first!) but you could feel the tension, so much was riding on the game.  Lets be honest the game was rubbish we were fairly rubbish, but for once we got the rub of the green and won the game 2-1 with goals from the enigma that is Carlton Cole and another enigma, following last season, Vaz Te!

Wild celebrations were had and I was mentally drained by time I got home.  Oh, I think Chelsea might have won something that day, give me a pint of bothered please?!

Will we get to Wembley again?  Guess we will, but it will probably take another relegation and Play-Off Final!

The Fans

Come on lets pat ourselves on the back because we are the nuts.  Week in week out we turn out in our masses and support the football club through thick and thin and my time supporting it has been mainly thin times!  The club has soul, the fans have passion and pride, something a new breed Chelsea fan would struggle to understand or ever comprehend.

West Ham fans, best in the land, now can you spot me?!

The above photo, that is me on the right, sums of what being a West Ham is all about.  It is my escape from everyday life, the opportunity to see my friends, be part of something unique.  As I have got older my life has changed, but West Ham remains constant, they will always be there and I will always go back for more glory and more often than not pain.

My Dream Team 

Ok this is players that I have seen, so no Bobby Moore, Sir Trevor Brooking or Bonzo.  I’m going old school 4-4-2, in typical Roy Hodgson style!

GK- Ludek Miklosko

RB – Tim Breaker

CB – Rio Ferdinand

CB – Steve Potts

LB – Julian Dicks

RM – Trevor Sinclair

CM – Ian Bishop

CM – Scott Parker

LM – Alan Devonshire

CF – Paolo Di Cannio

CF – Frank McAvennie

Manager: Harry Redknapp

Honourable mentions to Robert Green, Alvin Martin, Peter Butler, Martin (Mad Dog) Allen, Joe Cole, John Hartson and Tony Cottee.

So many players to pick from but the above are the ones that automatically spring to mind.  Harry as manager is a tough one, given what he has done since and what we all know about him.  However, over the years he gave me the best memories and lets be honest I was not going to pick Glenn Roeder, was I!!

Right that is me done for now, however, I am sure there will be plenty more memories to come and stories to tell over the next few years.

Thanks for reading, lets keep blowing those bubbles, COYI…….