Reasons to be cheerful

Supporting West Ham during this season has probably aged us all 10 years; if you are a fifteen year old, that’s not too bad. If, like my poor old man, you are 85, it could be a worry!

After a 79 year devotion to the Hammers, he reckons his ticker should have given out years ago, but like a real Iron, he’s back in his Alpari Upper seat for every home game trying to enjoy it, but just knowing that somewhere along the line, sooner or later, his nerves will be tested to the limit by the club he adores.

When I tell him, half in jest, that I think my 50 plus years support for West Ham hasn’t been especially good for my health, he looks at me and grins as if to say “ I had to suffer, now its your family duty to do the same”! I have written to the club on several occasions suggesting that every season ticket should ideally carry a health warning, as found on packets of cigarettes, but to date, I have received no reply. Disappointing.

So, strategies for coping when West Ham are, well, just being West Ham! I personally feel that the best way to look at things is to forget what has happened since August, and pretend that the season really started when we earned a superb point as Chelski. That way I can forget the catalogue of woeful performances, too numerous and painful to recall, and simply bask in the glory of four games, 10 points, six for and none against, and pretend we are looking good for Europe and beyond as we currently sit in 3rd place behind Liverpool and Chelsea in the last six games table.

Despite possessing that Hammers pessimistic trait that so many of us have as a built in safety mechanism, I genuinely have a new found spirit of optimism, and feel that the position we find ourselves in now is just light years away from the dark, disturbing days of January when the Nottingham Forest and Manchester City results rocked us badly and seemed to point to a continuing downward spiral that offered only one unwanted result.

Football is all about confidence, a cliché I know, but oh so true. The almost impossible Chelsea away point, big Andy’s brilliant return, where we saw first hand just what a decent player and handful he is, the return to some sort of form for several of the previous disappointments, not least Kevin Nolan’s virtual re-birth as a contributing member of the side, and a new found steely determination and will about the team, (and I include management in that) where even the previously glum and impotent Sam Allardyce appeared to care once more, with long forgotten rants at the officials and order-barking to compliant players much in evidence, all seemed to point to a startling change in the entire club. From looking like relegation certs (don’t get me wrong, I know full well we are far from safe), rays of sunlight started to filter through the fog and bathe The Boleyn in a brightness and warmth unseen for months.  Bubbles was suddenly audible and meaningful, and claret & blue clad fans of all ages revelled in victory instead of wallowing in miserable defeat.

Make no mistake. It was the 29th January point at Stamford Bridge that was absolutely the catalyst for the re-emergence of West Ham as a football team. Followed by excellent consecutive 2-0 wins against Swansea City, Aston Villa and Norwich City and a huge corresponding leap up the Premier League table, all sorts of records were being broken with clean sheets and back to back wins making headlines. I see a team containing Adrian, James Collins/James Tomkins/Winston Reid, Mark Noble, Stewart Downing/Matt Jarvis and Andy Carroll and, hopefully, a resurgent Mohamed Diame and Kevin Nolan and for the first time in months have a spring in my step and a smile on my face.

Realistically, I feel that less than the magical 40 points will be enough for survival this season, and this means that another four wins is likely to take us to where we need to be. Having trawled through the remaining fixtures, I reckon 12-14 points is doable, giving us an adequate 40-42 points total.  Do we have the team/squad to achieve? Most definitely. Do we have the will and desire to stay up? Without a doubt. Has the manager, love or hate him, got the nous and experience to lead from the front and deliver a survival strategy. Yes, that’s what he does best.

With, amongst the remaining fixtures, four very winnable homes games, and away matches at strugglers Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland, I am really hopeful that we are going to have a much happier end to the season….and you can quote me on that! COYI !