Tony Cottee is back with his EXCLUSIVE Forever West Ham column. Read about Tony’s thoughts on the Olympic Stadium, Sam Allardyce’s new contract, a certain Italian with the initials ‘PDC’ and find out who was the toughest defender he faced.
Olympic Stadium
I do not want to leave Upton Park. I have, like all of you, so many fond memories of the Boleyn as a player and as a fan. However it is now a case of ‘when’ we move rather than ‘if’; so we have to embrace the next exciting chapter in West Ham’s history.
I saw the plans for the Olympic Stadium a few months back and although impressive you have to wonder why they hadn’t pre-planned for it to become a football stadium after London 2012? If they had spoken to West Ham 10-12 years ago, got them involved in the process then, then not only would it be have been financially cheaper for all parties involved but the whole move would have been smoother and perhaps better received (?) amongst the West Ham faithful.
The club is well aware that there is still a strong opposition to leaving our ‘home’ but over the next few months I, like several other former Hammers, will be meeting various fan groups and chatting with you guys to talk in detail about the plans, about what the club wants to achieve and more importantly I want to hear what you want taken from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium? I want to hear your concerns about the move and I will relay them to the club and hopefully we can move to the OS as a united front.
All in all though West Ham have got a great deal and the club deserves a lot of credit in achieving what they have.
Sam Allardyce
In my debut column I wrote of my support for Big Sam and I’m delighted to hear he is on the verge of signing a new three year deal. It is exactly what the club needs; stability.
West Ham need to guarantee Premier League football for three years as entering the Olympic Stadium in the Championship would be crippling and I can’t think of anyone, realistically, better than Sam to ensure that we stay in the Prem.
We need some ‘Alan Curbishley seasons’ finish comfortably around 10th place without too much going on. I know that isn’t Champions League football and the positive thinking you want to hear but football can change so quickly so stability is a must and then we can ‘kick-on’ when we move to the Olympic Stadium.
Paolo Di Canio
What a character. I never played with Paolo but have spoken to him on several occasions.
Paolo actually wanted to take over at West Ham after Avram Grant left but the club told him to go out and get some experience and that is exactly what he is doing. If all goes well and Paolo’s time at Sunderland is a success there is no reason why he can’t go on to become a future West Ham manager.
I know a lot is being made about Paolo’s past quotes on Fascism but he isn’t a racist and that is all that should matter really. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs and it shouldn’t affect whether a person is right for a job or not, it should be about the football.
Good luck, Paolo.
Memory Lane: My Toughest Opponent
I have two answers. Firstly, as a unit, it is, rather unsurprisingly, the Arsenal back four (or five if you prefer); whether it be Dixon, Adams, Winterburn, Bould or Keown you knew you were in for a tough afternoon and wouldn’t be seeing too much of the ball.
Individually it has got to be Paul McGrath. As a striker you always felt you were more intelligent than the defender (when growing up I was always told the defenders were the less intelligent but stronger players and the strikers were the clever more agile guys) but whenever I played McGrath this never seemed the case.
Paul read the game better than any defender; actually, better than any opponent I ever played against and would continually frustrate me. I would try to be clever and get the better of him but nine times out of ten he would have already anticipated what I was going to try and do.
The most commendable thing about Paul is that, throughout his career, he suffered with persistent knee injuries. Due to these injuries I always thought ‘This week I will get the better of him’ whether it be due to his lack of training or because he hadn’t had much time to recover but this was never the case and if anything he got better with age, much like Rio Ferdinand now.
Tony Cottee was talking to Forever West Ham’s Editor
Tony’s book ‘West Ham: The Inside Story’ is out NOW and you can order a SIGNED copy from www.ex-hammers.com
Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be attributed to, foreverwestham.com
Didn’t you read the interview TC had with Iain Dale? You might want to give that a read first.
ALL THE SEASON TICKETS HOLDERS SHOULD BE SPOKEN TO BY THE CHEIF’S NOT INDIANS AS THEY PROMISED TO DO. BUT I DOUBT THAT WILL HAPPEN AS THEY REALLY DO NOT CARE ,BRADY IS A MERCENARY AND WILL DO ANYTHING FOR MONEY ANYTIME ANY PLACE AND ANYWHERE, SHE HAS NOTHING TO LOSE SHE IS ON 3 BOARDS, SIMON COWELL’S, PHIL GREEN’S AND WEST HAM’S AND ON TV WITH ALAN SUGAR. THE CLUB AND IT’S HISTORY MEANS NOTHING TO HER OR SULLIVAN, DON;T BE FOOLED WITH THE MONEY TALK THEY WILL GET THAT BACK 3 FOLD AT THE EXPENSE OF OUR HOME
I think your comments about Karen Brady and the board are unfair and untrue to be honest. Karen Brady is an extremely intelligent, sophisticated and hard working lady. We’re lucky to have her at our club. She understands how a business should be run and it’s no coincidence that turnover has grown and debt has fallen since she’s been at West Ham. She’s driven by her will to succeed and this has made her a very wealthy lady, but what’s wrong with that? She’s worked hard to get where she is and deserves her riches. To suggest she doesn’t care about the club and only cares about money is very unfair.
As for the owners not caring about the history of West Ham, that’s another bizarre statement. They’re West Ham supporters and have been for many years. What makes you think they care any less about the club than you do? Is it because they’re wealthy and successful, so therefore can’t really be true West Ham fans that are passionate about the club? That’s nonsense. If it wasn’t for them it would be highly likely we wouldn’t even have a club. We certainly wouldn’t be sitting 10th in the Premiership. We’ll be languishing in the Champinship or possibly worse. Yes, they’ll probably make a few quid out of the OS move, but so what? They’ve pumped millions of pounds of their own money into the club to keep it afloat and help us gain promotion, so if they get their money back and make a bit more than good luck to them.
This OS move is such a fantastic opportunity for the club to grow and may even give us chance to finally compete and win things rather than just existing. The plans look amazing and we can have a home we can be proud of. We will all miss Upton Park, but we have to move to a bigger stadium in order to survive and move forward, otherwise we’ll just end up being left behind.
I can’t understand how people can slate our current board, especially considering the idiots we’ve had running the club in the past that almost bankrupted us. Owners in the past that have sold off all our best players at the first opportunity to line their own pockets.
The club was a complete and utter mess when Gold, Sullivan and Brady arrived 3 years ago. It was a club on it’s knees just days away from administration with a very uncertain future. Now, not only do we have a club with a future, we have a club with an exciting future.
We should be thanking the board not moaning and slating them.
Ann,shut it dolly dimple,i really think the owners are real west ham fans, doing all they can to ensure the best possible future for the club.How soon we forget the crap owners and managers we’ve had in the past few years . coyi
I don’t mean to be rude but when you consider Anne’s stupid comments about a very serious matter then you will know that the West Ham board should never ask the fans to make a decision. Many of them are just too thick to think.
Lets hope we do not regret it then l am not a Dolly dimple believe me, l have lived a good many years and do not wear Rose tinted glasses and not easily taken in by words. I fear for my club who l have been a Season Tickets Holder for many Many years , And Karen Brady is not a West Ham fan she just works for money. I remember her comments about West Ham when she was at Birmingham. But for the clubs sake i hope it all turns out well AND l would be the first one to hold my hands up if it does , But we are all entitled to an opinion without being rude, that is what these sites are about. So time will tell
Cant you lot understand that Brady Gold an co in the long run are gonna screw us all What a joke the stadium plans are so sterile an unatmosepherec whith the upper tier so far away an still so far away from the action more so if you sit in the middle Of course TonyC the players an manager are promoting the move they have to or else Wonderfull deception Karen but i for one aint buying it COYI