After the Hull City game I didn’t boo or jeer. I actually did nothing other than stare into space and look bemused. I was actually speechless and in shock, so bad was the sheer dross that had been served up to me and the watching thousands last Wednesday evening at The Boleyn. In a previous article, I had earmarked the game as a “must win” three pointer if we were going to keep clear of the relegation dogfight. I had said that this was Hull City, not Barcelona, and that we needed to go for the throat from the off and attack the opposition rather than perform our usual “they shall not pass” routine where we concede the midfield and defend for our lives.
The chosen Hammers side was both predictable and, as ever, lacking in offensive talent and belief. I knew from the off that it was sure to be another nail biter, wondering if we could keep a clean sheet again, and getting ready to applaud anything that resembled a cross a forward pass, or, please god, a shot at goal. The level of expectation these days is woefully sparse, and excitement even more rare.
Within a short time, the game started to take a predictable turn, as visitors Hull showed a decent quality pass and move game with Tom Huddlestone orchestrating from the centre as we knew he would. A few neat moves aside, the familiar “find Andy” scenario was in full flow at the expense of any clever ground based combination play. As Hull got into their stride we all knew that this was going to be a tough night. Then we had the luck to win a penalty (sweet justice given the awful penalty decisions that went against us at Hull early in the season!). 1-0 thanks to the cool Mark Noble, a keeper sent off was thrown into the bargain, and the opposition reduced to ten men. My how we clapped and celebrated and talked of sticking two up front, getting control of the midfield, working hard to expose the obvious gaps that ten men would leave, and at last seeing some forward play that would see us putting the opposition under pressure for once.
Fat chance!
Hull City, with ten men ran the show. Sam Allardyce had neither the know how or the inclination to change a thing. Nothing. We were a goal up against ten men and were defending, holding on, and even struggling to do just that. Against a fellow relegation contender don’t forget, not Man City, Chelsea or Liverpool. Sure as night follows day we conceded, albeit a free kick deflection, and at 1-1 Hull looked the side most likely to nick the win. Hull then conceded an own goal from hell and we clung on for the three precious points. We won the game but lost the fans who showed their delight at having paid hard earned money to watch Sunday morning standard fare that was hard on both eye and brain.
Sam was hurt and perplexed by the fans reaction (some, not all it must be said). We had won. We were that much nearer to safety. What more did you all want?? The long time Hammers fan and football guru Karren “Irons” Brady leapt to Big Sam’s defense, and came out with the following piece of utter garbage:
“Sam had selected a team for a low-scoring match, knowing what to expect against Hull, and could not have predicted he needed instead a team to play against 10 men.”
“His actions on the pitch were prudent and, at this stage of the season, correct. There is no way I can accept my team being booed. It undermines them when, in particular, they are giving everything they have to make up for the bad time the club endured before Christmas.”
“Big Sam is so upset he complains that he has never heard a winning team booed. While this might not be strictly true, I doubt you would get the same at Fulham or Sunderland if they had won.”
Sam, I apologise sincerely. I really had no idea that your abilities and foresight were so advanced and refined that you were actually able to select teams for low, medium, quite high, possibly very high, and actually high scoring matches. Sheer genius, correctly recognised by the equally impressive Mrs Brady.
I also acknowledge that having selected a team to play in a (low scoring) match, once the terribly unsporting men of Hull had messed up your plans by having a man sent off, it was obvious that you were at a loss to know how to respond; who wouldn’t be?
Some managers may have played two out and out forwards to occupy the defence, moved the midfield a little higher up the pitch and even pushed another player into the middle as their attacking force was reduced by the dismissal, and generally pressurised the ten men using your numerical advantage to find time, space, and opportunities. Some managers, but not you Sam, eh?! Lets keep it safe!
In truth we should all be beyond booing…I think praying for our club is what we should now be doing.
Can we all finally move on from this game and focus on the task at hand? And the task at hand is getting a result from tonight’s game at Sunderland. While Sam’s form has not always produced the best football, it has been very consistent. Consistent in the fact that for any given sequence of 6 games over the entire season West Ham have never lost more than 4 games, so having lost 3 out of our last 4 games, means that we will not lose more than 1 out of our next 2 games, and with these next 2 games out of the way we will get 1 more win from the last 5 games, or 2 wins or at least 1 win and a draw before the close of season. This is the form over the entire season. The time for inquests is over. Lets move straight ahead, get a result tonight, & sort this mess out next season IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE. COYI
True, but sort what out, get rid of the fat one, no chance the David’s love him
Just a tad OTT!!!
I have been under the impression that the job Big Sam was tasked with was a difficult one, which included promotion at the first attempt whilst stabilising the club, getting through the “Always” difficult second season…before the club, (being in a better position) invest in Quality players before the move into our new stadium!
Maybe I heard stuff many others didn’t hear! In the Oxford Dictionary “Supporters” are meant to be people who “approve of and encourages”. These days it seems to mean you can say what you like and do what you like because you pay your money. Society now seems to be vulgar with a serious lack of manners or respect. It’s the NOW society where when you click your fingers it should happen immediately.
People can say what they like about pretty football but I seriously doubt the great Johnny Lyall would’ve made it through 2 – 3 seasons without a big money transfer fund.
Rant over, COYI
Yep , agree with JB and Cat , if you love this club and make the effort to wear the shirt to games then your a part of the team ,the 12th man in fact , and have as big a part to play as the fellas on the pitch over the outcome of games . WHUFC need all of you NOW !
This article made me laugh. It’s just about how I feel. OTT perhaps but totally representative of the undercurrent of dislike to what is happening at our club and directly to the manager. There’s little point in trying to understand the pro-Sam crowd. However, even if you’re simply a results-driven supporter, Sam just hasn’t had the results. The more-than-lucky February run flatters but we are still deep in it. He was not employed to put us at this level of risk. Mid-table mediocrity was the trade-off for his type of football (which can be awful and was on Wednesday). I’m not a hate-Sam person. I just think he has failed this season and put us at massive risk of relegation. His brand of football is supposed to be dull-but-safe. It hasn’t been. If you look at the points targets he set in the Championship and this season – he has failed. Of course, he does tend to stop talking these numbers up once they go against him. Then he moves on to clean sheet stats etc. Regarding money he’s had for transfers, he didn’t do too badly did he? Carroll and Downing?
All those travelling today will give a massive support like normal and I’m not sure why anyone would think otherwise. We will all be right behind them next Sunday as well. We do not expect much against Suarez but we did expect much much better against a club like Hull, down to 10 men. It still makes me angry just thinking about Wednesday’s performance – I left the Boleyn furious with the performance. Hopefully, Sam has listened more than he suggests. But I doubt it.
Btw, I am sure Sam will leave in the summer with his pay and his record (and his big head) intact.
(PS I do wish Brady would stick to the business side. Intended or not, she tends to fan the flames with her comments in the Sun).
Agree with Spencer completely and it leaves me very frustrated to see responses from people like JB and others who seem unable to understand the difference between being a committed supporter, as we all are, or should be,and being aware of the shortcomings of our current set-up, team and management, and what changes are required to improve the situation. Blindly accepting the status quo is of no use to any one as is imagining that cheering on the team no matter the performances is the route to future success. That is childlike thinking at best and I doubt you would appreciate that the booing was a natural response to a night of misery in all respects. Of course we more discerning and probably more knowledgable and longer supporting fans will support the club through good and bad times but that does not mean we will refrain from criticism when needed or being embarrassed when reading such utter piffle from the likes of our dodgy right-winger Brady. She appointed bfs so she would support even his most negative of tactics wouldn’t she? If you were happy with recent performances and want more of the same I pray you are in the minority.
Thank god some of us are smart enough to see the bigger picture ronboy29. Theres nothing Allardyce, Brady and Co would like more than a quiet, accepting, compliant fan base who pay their hard earned money and will put up with anything placed before them. Those daring souls who dare show any sign of unrest or dissatisfaction are scolded like schoolboys and made to feel “disloyal” when in fact its precisely BECAUSE these fans feel so strongly about THEIR club that they cannot and will not sit back in silence as West Ham Uniteds reputation sinks ever deeper into the mud.
Sunderland 1 – 2 West Ham, thank God for that, safe, and West Ham were the better team. It could have been 3-1 with Downing going just wide, a big heart felt congratulations lads.