‘Keep Calm’! This logo is splashed across T-shirts, mugs, cushions…just about every item you can think off, and though its origins were spawned back in WWII times as positive propaganda for the British people, has there ever been more apt advice for us Hammers fans at these troubled times down at E13?
It’s normal fans behaviour to look for reasons for the problems, and to pin blame on individuals, be they players, managing staff, owners or even the long suffering match officials who probably take more stick than most. We are no different to every other football club in that respect. When things go wrong, we want to see them put right – sharpish – and that’s where the manager earns his corn.
The game of football is a strange one; so straight forward on the one hand, yet add in all the peripherals and unknowns, and it takes on a whole new, well, ball game (sorry!).
Just how do you legislate for loss of form, unexpected injuries, transfer window failures, loss of confidence – individually and as a team – poor decision making on and off the field, and borderline official decisions going against you at crucial times?
For all younger fans, I can tell you with good authority, we’ve been here a hundred times before and whilst I’m sure we would all rather be looking down at the relegation zone from a great, or at least a greater height, we find ourselves once more rolling up claret & blue sleeves and preparing for battle.
At times like this, a club’s support can go one of two ways: supporters can take the positive view and get behind the side or a mood of desperation and negativity can pervade the stadium creating a stifling, and for the players, a frightening arena where the slightest mistake sets the nerves jangling.
Whilst the likes of Mark Noble, James Tomkins, James Collins and Winston Reid will drive on to the bitter end, other lesser-committed souls will, I’m afraid, wilt under the home crowd produced pressure and add to our woes. We can actually make things worse.
Believe me, I fully understand after a fifty odd year love affair with West Ham United that it’s sometimes so hard to be positive and supportive when so many mistakes have been made by those in charge, but when all is said and done, for those critical 90 odd minutes at the Boleyn, we really must unite as one and give the team every ounce of support we can.
The team need it more than ever for the next five months, and irrespective of where blame may or may not lie, it’s West Ham United we all care about, and we owe it to the Hammers badge to do the right thing.
Keep calm and COYI!
Watching West Ham play yesterday, I could hardly believe how much their standard of play has dropped so rapidly in such a short time, so Sam thinks Miaga is a better player than Carlton Cole??? Miaga doesn’t look like scoring in a million years. At least Carlton can get the odd goal, as he did with his 1st touch of the ball against Fulham. Whenever West Ham defy Sam’s orders and play the passing possession game that we are known for, then we at least got some penetration against Sunderland, but time after time, after time, those stupid long balls, that go nowhere and with no one getting on the end of them are just so old fashioned. Just like Sam. He is old fashioned and should be put out to grass with all of the rest of the old fashioned cattle. The only reason West Ham became the famous West Ham is because they were the 1st to develope the European master craft of possession football in England under their captain at the time being Malcolm Allison. He took his coaching skills that he learned at West Ham to man City & made them great. This flipping Sam Allardyce and his boring outdated long ball rubbish is boring the pants off of everyone. Fans voted with their feet yesterday, as in there was over a 10% drop in attendance at yesterday’s game and I don’t blame them. West ham looked like a Championship team, as did Sunderland, but Sunderland were the better team and should have won the game. We are really lucky to have sneaked a point from that game. I mean to give Carlton only 15 minutes in favour of Miaga was absolutely ridiculous. You could see, that Carlton’s header, that just grazed wide, right at the death could have given us an ill deserved victory. If only Carlton had had most of the game instead of that position being wasted on Miaga, we might have got something more out of the game. I mean why put C. Cole on the wage bill if you are not going to play him? Sam has got it really wrong in putting all of our eggs in the one basket of Andy Carroll. West Ham have never been dependant on just one man & it does not feel very good at all. Attendances are dropping & people have had enough of paying Premier League prices to watch a Championship standard team. Change has to happen!
Keep calm and support West Ham! Why should we? This team is no good for anyone who has a bad heart condition!
JB. Cant argue with a lot that you have written. Sunderland outplayed us and the football we played was generally dire and lacking in craft and intelligence. However, when all is said and done, its the club we are supporting, not managers or board members or even individual players. Keep the faith mate..it cant get much worse…can it ?????