And so another magnificent weekend has passed. I spent the evening of Good Friday at a swanky ball where beneath my kilt I decided to sport a pair of Christian Dailly’s shorts. More importantly though, I took the seven-hour round trip to West Ham on Saturday, witnessing another win. The early, bleary-eyed start was definitely worth it, as at 4:45 I could say I’d seen a further victory this season. Life was good. Though amazingly I’ve managed to find a handful of moans relating to my Easter footballing experience. Please don’t take these too seriously!
1. I was sat at the wrong end
A minor gripe you may think, especially when you hear that I was sat behind three goals including Andy Carroll’s first and Gary O’Neil’s beautifully dinked finish. I was also on MOTD as myself and ‘Pressbox’ attempted to catch Mohamed Diame’s rising shot. BUT, had I have been at the other end, I’d have had a better view for Carroll’s spinning one touch volley. He may have run across in front of me. I may have been recipient of one of the many kisses blown into the crowd by him.
I’d have also seen Mulumbu’s red card incident from a much more pleasing angle. As funny as it was from my view, it would have been funnier close up.
I also dare say that it would have been a better atmosphere. Bringing me to my next point….
2. West Bromwich Albion fans make little noise
We were right by them and found them quieter than a hungry, mute, church mouse. A lack of banter, they neglected to sing. We weren’t told where we could stick our bubbles like many away fans do and not one ‘boing boing’ was uttered. All their energies seemed pinpointed on booing Peter Odemwingie as soon as he came on. To be fair, us, the West Ham fans, had also been giving Mr Odemwingie some banter, but when you think that their jeering of the Nigerian international was louder than their penalty, it made it a bit disappointing to not have good-natured banter.
3. Jussi Jaaskelainen isn’t a spring chicken
And I’m REALLY disappointed! On the day Jussi made some really big saves. The deflected free kick that he tipped on to the post was class. Granted, there was also a degree of luck to it, but even from the other end of the ground you could see it showed great ability. Add to that his enthusiasm (the celebration of Carroll’s second proving evidence) and his respect to the crowd by acknowledging his fans, and you see that Jussi is a bit of a crowd favourite. Even more so when he throws the ball away from the opposition after conceding a penalty. That was funny!
4. There were no Hammerettes
As a man in his early thirties who was suffering from the night before, it would have been a welcome display at half time to have some scantily clad ladies in claret and blue dancing on the pitch and shaking their pom-poms, NOT a bear in massive shoes, walking round the pitch waving back at children (and Pressbox!) They were revolutionary in the mid-nineties, so much so Lille had similar cheerleaders whilst Joe Cole was there last season. Rumours that they’re called ‘The Lillets’ and there’s panic if they come on late are so far unanswered.
So there you go. Despite enjoying what was another magical Saturday out in East London, I still find reasons to be a little grumpy. Am I serious? Not completely. Did the positives outweigh the negatives? Absolutely! As an aside, I’ve been to a lot of games this season and still yet to see us lose! That has to be worth Gold and Sullivan shelling out for a season ticket as their lucky mascot…. But only if I don’t have to dress as Bubbles The Bear.
Peace out
Smudgy
@TheRobTaylor32
