Many West Ham fans have been left scratching their heads at the news that the joint chairmen have issued a statement addressing the fans’ concerns.
To many, this gesture is long over due. West Ham have had an abysmal start to the season in the Premier League, and sitting 19th after failing to win the majority of our must-win games has left even the most optimistic of supporters grumbling about Sam Allardyce.
The extensive FA Cup defeat at the hands of Championship side Nottingham Forest seems have been the final straw for the chairman to hold their silence, but what are fans meant to gain from the open letter?
Telling the fans that we only have 14 fit players isn’t news. We know most of our injured players are still weeks away from a comeback. We’re glad they are thinking about making some signings in January, but they shouldn’t have had to tell us that in writing.
What we, as fans, want to know is exactly how they are going to fix this mess we’ve found ourselves in– and we want specifics, not just that players will be back “very soon.”
The letter does not do much for supporters concerns about the manager. Most news outlets reported that this letter ‘backs’ Big Sam, but it doesn’t. He is barely mentioned in the article, and the article does not address the growing uncertainty surrounding his job.
The main positive supporters can take from the open letter is that it is in many ways both apology and letter of gratitude for still showing up– for ‘I’m forever blowing bubbles’ ringing out across football grounds even when we are losing, for the fans that travelled and stood in the rain believing in a team that failed to deliver, and for the sobbing young fan shown on TV during the cup game.
The board tell us that “Like all West Ham United supporters we feel frustrated and hurt by our recent results. We understand how you feel and we, the Board, feel the same,” and while that is a good olive branch to offer to the fans, the words mean nothing without results behind them.
The open letter is a good start– but a strong showing against City, smart signings, and three points from Cardiff City would be a much better message from the club.
What was the point of the letter? Well I thought it was bloody obvious! It was a letter that backs the manager and supports what he is trying to do for the club! Maybe if there wasn’t so many people who let their rabid dislike for big Sam poison their every observation, then yes maybe there wouldn’t be the need for such a letter! What should be remembered is that the vast majority of hammers fans although they may have many concerns and are deeply worried about our position, still support the manager! For some, who hate big Sam! Ok we get it! But do us a favour, stop keep banging on about it all the time and try getting behind the team for a change! God knows we need all the support we can get right now! And just maybe we will get out of this mess! COYI!
At last somebody with something sensible to say. You are absolutely spot on with this. I too am sick and tired of the anti alladyce hate campaigners who make an open letter from the chairman necessary. Personally I wonder whether the anti alladyce brigade are really Tottenham supporters in disguise. I’ve heard people say they hope we lose our next two games so alladyce gets the sack. What kind of supporter wishes for their team to lose. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. It’s about time people realise they are going to stick with him till the end of the season like it or lump it. Judge alladyce at the end of the season. Stop your booing and get behind the bloody team. Call yourself a supporter start proving it
Grow a pair between you and sack the fat useless tit. Recent results of been nothing but humiliating. We haven’t had these injuries the entire season but we have been pants since stoke at upton. We are going down with or without him. I hope they know that. Confidence is shot. He has the desire and determination to make us top pl side? Well he doesn’t have the skill, leadership, man management or humbleness to take us anywhere other than down.
“Like all West Ham United supporters we feel frustrated and hurt by our recent results. We understand how you feel and we, the Board, feel the same,”
We know that you feel the same as us but it is only you who can change it
Last week of excuses gents , your loyalty to your managers is now legendry but not another Avram moment please
Big Sam is the right manager, got us promoted and finished tenth last year. He does not all of a sudden become a bad manager. We are plagued by injuries, which if any other team had they would also be experiencing similar difficulties. Stick with him is my opinion and it should be all ok by season end.
Last season’s 10th finish was a fluke. We were in the relegation dogfight all season and only the 6 pointer against Wigan saved us – our away form was a disgrace ! Sam’s luck has run out and he has been found out – an advocator of one dimensional garbage. A Dinosaur of the game, who is more concerned about planning to stop the opposition than the merits of his own team. Unfortunately, West Ham will only go one way with this buffoon in charge, and that is down !
Ask the Geordies, luckily they got shot of him in time !
Dear Mr Gold, Mr Sullivan, Ms Brady and Mr Allardyce (or whichever minion is tasked with deleting this email)
Thank you for your open letter which I have read, and would ask that you show the same courtesy to my response. I have supported WHUFC since 1966 and myself and my youngest son are season ticket holders and have been for a number of years. I love the club and have Claret and Blue blood and never thought that I would find myself in this position.
The current state of our club is heart-breaking, and it is not just because we are struggling a bit in the league. God knows I have followed the club through thick and thin and have experienced the pain of relegation and the ecstasy of promotion. The thing that seems to have finally broken my heart is the current contempt that we fans are being regarded with by the club that we do nothing but love and follow around the land in our thousands.
Mr Allardyces contempt for us has been apparent since his arrival at the club and his assessment of us as deluded. So his ridiculous and miserable excuses after every dismal display should not really surprise us. He clearly thinks we are idiots who are unable to think deeply enough to see through his nonsensical ramblings. I actually used to find it quite funny to read his delusional excuses in my inbox after every game, but am now getting rather sick of it.
The nonsense around the Olympic Stadium move and again the way that fans views have been given nothing but lip service by the very canny Ms Brady, is another matter which I feel would be futile to rehash here.
These and the ridiculous price of tickets, the overpriced and poorly managed facilities at the ground and constant bombardment with emails offering overpriced West Ham bath towels and the like, are just on-going niggles.
The final nail has come with the most recent debacle. Please just watch the pre-match interview with Mr Allardyce on Sunday, where he begins by making excuses for what he knows is going to be a farce. Then the post-match claptrap where he again just fails to acknowledge that he is in anyway to blame for the total embarrassment caused to us all. However he concludes by saying that he told everyone what was likely to happen so we should not be nasty to him. Well he never told us! The loyal thousands who travelled up there to watch or who spent their Sunday looking forward to seeing their beloved team live on the television! He never bloody well warned us!
But…..We thought now he has gone too far. He has ridiculed us to the nation live on TV. Now he will get what most of us have been waiting for. Our owners tell us they are true West Ham fans. They will not repeat the errors they made with Mr Grant. He has got to go!
And what do we get. A letter supporting him and telling us off for being negative! Unbelievable!
Myself and my son will attend the next home game against Newcastle United, but this will only be to protest in the strongest way possible at the retention of this contemptible man. We will then never attend another West Ham home game until Mr Allardyce has gone!
Yours with deep regret
Mr Gary Venstone
Gary. That is really saying something. If the club don’t take notice, then they don’t deserve supporters. You’ve been a loyal fan for almost 50 years, myself the same. You’ve had enough. I’ve had enough. I think everyones had enough. Good luck in bringing about change.
Who got us into this mess buying a player for15m and injured….sam has to carry the can for the state the club is in…. loyalty to the manager is one thing but he has run his course.. a change in management now could save our premiership status.. every week there seems to be bad results but big sam seems to blame everything bar himself…. get rid of him now or maybe swap your ideas of the olympic stadium to sharing leyton orients ground because that is where we will end up……look to the future now and not next season when we will be a championship side again
Players get injured. Look at Walcott. What would Tottenham have been without bale last year. What would liverpool be without Suarez. How is it sams fault Carroll got injured again just as he was coming back from injury he got last day of season. After which by the way the crowd was singing they wanted him to stay
In a nutshell. Sam has burned the team out with his non possession style of play and all of this stupid running after long balls. This is soccer Sam, not gridiron. No wonder Heitinga didn’t want to come here and it’s no wonder hardly anyone else wants to come here. Sam just runs them into the ground while he sits there during a game feeding his face. That’s what they didn’t like about him at Blackburn, and that’s why he got shafted. Sam doesn’t seem to have any other answers. Now this explains why so many of the lads have got injured and why James Collins & many other players performances have dropped off. The muscle fatigue sets in, and the injuries occur if left unheeded, and James, as were most of the team, impossible to get past, but you could see, that just before the inevitable injuries came, people were getting past him & most of the other players. Winston Reid is probably injured from the same cause & effect. And to the 2 Davids, you can’t just go behind Sam’s back and talk to other managers while Sam’s still in the job, like what happened with Martin O’Neill while Grant was still in the job, you have to be bold enough to sack the manager 1st & then hire another one. Personally I think Pardew should never have been sacked by the previous owners & he or whoever could be approached by these new owners after Sam’s gone. It’d be interesting to run a survey to see just what percentage of West Ham’s fans want Sam out, as the club seems to be totally disregarding the people who pay their wages, being the fans. They, being the owners and staff are on the inside and appear to be just doing whatever suits them. We, the fans seem to be treated as though we are on the outside, even though they rely on the fans to pay their wages, they seem to snub their noses at us! This club is like a club that is run by the bankers. They dip their feet into the water being the Premier League, while spending as little as possible, we start to sink & then they panic with the realization that more quality players are needed & more money needs to be parted with, but refuse a change of management. This club is run like something out of a Monty Python movie, with the crusty old insurance company creaking along looking out for reefs & claims. Sorry, but the reef has already been struck. We are sinking!
In a nutshell. Sam has burned the team out with his non possession style of play and all of this stupid running after long balls. This is soccer Sam, not gridiron. No wonder Heitinga didn’t want to come here and it’s no wonder hardly anyone else wants to come here. Sam just runs them into the ground while he sits there during a game feeding his face. That’s what they didn’t like about him at Blackburn, and that’s why he got sacked. Sam doesn’t seem to have any other answers. Now this explains why so many of the lads have got injured and why James Collins & many other players performances have dropped off. The muscle fatigue sets in, and the injuries occur if left unheeded, and James, as were most of the team, impossible to get past, but you could see, that just before the inevitable injuries came, people were getting past him & most of the other players. Winston Reid is probably injured from the same cause & effect. And to the 2 Davids, you can’t just go behind Sam’s back and talk to other managers while Sam’s still in the job, like what happened with Martin O’Neill while Grant was still in the job, you have to be bold enough to sack the manager 1st & then hire another one. Personally I think Pardew should never have been sacked by the previous owners & he or whoever could be approached by these new owners after Sam’s gone. It’d be interesting to run a survey to see just what percentage of West Ham’s fans want Sam out, as the club seems to be totally disregarding the people who pay their wages, being the fans. They, being the owners and staff are on the inside and appear to be just doing whatever suits them. We, the fans seem to be treated as though we are on the outside, even though they rely on the fans to pay their wages, they seem to snub their noses at us! This club is like a club that is run by the bankers. They dip their feet into the water being the Premier League, while spending as little as possible, we start to sink & then they panic with the realization that more quality players are needed & more money needs to be parted with, but refuse a change of management. This club is run like something out of a Monty Python movie, with the crusty old insurance company creaking along looking out for reefs & claims. Sorry, but the reef has already been struck. We are sinking!
In a nutshell. Sam has burned the team out with his non possession style of play and all of this stupid running after long balls. This is soccer Sam, not gridiron. No wonder Heitinga didn’t want to come here and it’s no wonder hardly anyone else wants to come here. Sam expects the players to run themselves into the ground while he just sits there during the game. That’s what they didn’t like about him at Blackburn, and that’s why he got sacked. Sam doesn’t seem to have any other answers. Now this explains why so many of the lads have got injured and why James Collins & many other players performances have dropped off. The muscle fatigue sets in, and the injuries occur if left unheeded, and James, as were most of the team, impossible to get past, but you could see, that just before the inevitable injuries came, people were getting past him & most of the other players. Winston Reid is probably injured from the same cause & effect. And to the 2 Davids, you can’t just go behind Sam’s back and talk to other managers while Sam’s still in the job, like what happened with Martin O’Neill while Grant was still in the job, you have to be bold enough to sack the manager 1st & then hire another one. Personally I think Pardew should never have been sacked by the previous owners & he or whoever could be approached by these new owners after Sam’s gone. It’d be interesting to run a survey to see just what percentage of West Ham’s fans want Sam out, as the club seems to be totally disregarding the people who pay their wages, being the fans. They, being the owners and staff are on the inside and appear to be just doing whatever suits them. We, the fans seem to be treated as though we are on the outside, even though they rely on the fans to pay their wages, they seem to snub their noses at us! This club is like a club that is run by the bankers. They dip their feet into the water being the Premier League, while spending as little as possible, we start to sink & then they panic with the realization that more quality players are needed & more money needs to be parted with, but refuse a change of management. This club is run like something out of a Monty Python movie, with the crusty old insurance company creaking along looking out for reefs & claims. Sorry, but the reef has already been struck. We are sinking!
In a nutshell. Sam has burned the team out with his non possession style of play and all of this stupid running after long balls. This is soccer Sam, not gridiron. No wonder Heitinga didn’t want to come here and it’s no wonder hardly anyone else wants to come here. Sam expects the players to run themselves into the ground while he just sits there during the game. That’s what they didn’t like about him at other clubs, and that along with my explanation below is why he got sacked. Sam doesn’t seem to have any other answers. Now this explains why so many of the lads have got injured and why James Collins & many other players performances have dropped off. The muscle fatigue sets in, and the injuries occur if left unheeded, and James, as were most of the team, impossible to get past, but you could see, that just before the inevitable injuries came, people were getting past him & most of the other players. Winston Reid is probably injured from the same cause & effect. And to the 2 Davids, you can’t just go behind Sam’s back and talk to other managers while Sam’s still in the job, like what happened with Martin O’Neill while Grant was still in the job, you have to be bold enough to sack the manager 1st & then hire another one. Personally I think Pardew should never have been sacked by the previous owners & he or whoever could be approached by these new owners after Sam’s gone. It’d be interesting to run a survey to see just what percentage of West Ham’s fans want Sam out, as the club seems to be totally disregarding the people who pay their wages, being the fans. They, being the owners and staff are on the inside and appear to be just doing whatever suits them. We, the fans seem to be treated as though we are on the outside, even though they rely on the fans to pay their wages, they seem to snub their noses at us! This club is like a club that is run by the bankers. They dip their feet into the water being the Premier League, while spending as little as possible, we start to sink & then they panic with the realization that more quality players are needed & more money needs to be parted with, but refuse a change of management. This club is run like something out of a Monty Python movie, with the crusty old insurance company creaking along looking out for reefs & claims. Sorry, but the reef has already been struck. We are sinking!
I think Sam’s refusal to play a second striker, incorporate pace into the team, his blind devotion to Kevin Nolan, when his form and fitness have been very poor, have alienated us, the supporters. We are told to part with our hard earned money, shout ourselves hoarse, and without question except our lot. SAM football is a team game, and us supporters are part of the team, YOU HAVE TO KEEP US ONSIDE AS WELL.
In a nutshell. Sam has burned the team out with his non possession style of play and all of this stupid running after long balls. This is soccer Sam, not gridiron. No wonder Heitinga didn’t want to come here and it’s no wonder hardly anyone else wants to come here. Sam just runs them into the ground while he sits there during a game feeding his face. That’s what they didn’t like about him at Blackburn, and that’s why he got shafted. Sam doesn’t seem to have any other answers. Now this explains why so many of the lads have got injured and why James Collins & many other players performances have dropped off. The muscle fatigue sets in, and the injuries occur if left unheeded, and James, as were most of the team, impossible to get past, but you could see, that just before the inevitable injuries came, people were getting past him & most of the other players. Winston Reid is probably injured from the same cause & effect. And to the 2 Davids, you can’t just go behind Sam’s back and talk to other managers while Sam’s still in the job, like what happened with Martin O’Neill while Grant was still in the job, you have to be bold enough to sack the manager 1st & then hire another one. Personally I think Pardew should never have been sacked by the previous owners & he or whoever could be approached by these new owners after Sam’s gone.
It is fast becoming apparent to me that were mistaken in showing concern over Sam’s influence in our continuing dismal performances when we should perhaps be more worried over the lack of business acumen and realism from our two organ-grinders. David Gold, as we all know was once, as a youngster, on the Hammers books and yet he appears to be a complete admirerof Sam’s hoofing style of play. Sam was quoted as saying that he disliked “tippy tappy” football ( you know the style practised by Man. City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Southampton, Swansea etc.) so it would be enlightening to hear from David as to whether that was the accepted West Ham style during his time during his formative football career. I think we all know the answer to that! We then have on board a vice-chairman who also doubles up as Camerons special advisor for small businesses. In that case should she not employ her talents some place like Southend or the Orient because I am sure our team is way above her management skills. Finally Sam, yes many of had hoped in the past that you would introduce a couple of our promising youngsters to the team but you ridiculed that idea so in selecting 7 of at them at one time in such an important and winable game you certainly made your point that you knew best after all. That will teach us to to know our place in future.