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What’s it like being a West Ham fan, right now?

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Big SamAfter what feels like a lifetime, this season has finally ended. Andy Carroll has jetted off to Dubai. Tim Sherwood has been sacked, Manchester City bought the title (financial fair what now) and I’m busy evaluating my feelings. In particular I’m looking at how I’m feeling now that it’s all over, and what it feels like to be a supporter of the mighty Hammers on this day. What does it feel like to be a fan of the team which finished in the rather coveted, if not unlucky, 13th place in the Premier League?

Well for one thing – it’s oddly full of relief. This season was frustrating and tediously flat. At times, we looked certain to be relegated, so to have remained up – and to have done so by beating a sorry Tottenham Hotspur for our last home game – was a massive relief. To be able to walk away from a last home game with pride was badly needed by club, fans, and players.

I’m also relieved that that day didn’t end up with Big Sam in Roman gladiator leathers joining the parade around the ground with his hand cupped to his ear whilst screaming “Are you not entertained?!” – as that was the only nail missing from the coffin representing his relationship with some supporters.

Admittedly, on that day, we sure were entertained— but that 90 minutes cannot and does not atone for a season of disheartened and just plain boring performances.

After all, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to also being colossally disappointed in West Ham this season. We should have been looking to improve on last season’s tenth place finish, but instead we limped to 13th.  The football we saw can only just be classified as football, and was so bad fans booed their team off after a win. This may be an honour that only West Ham can lay claim to. I’m disappointed in what we saw, and the lack of heart with which it was executed.

With that in mind, relief and disappointment are taking up a large chunk of my emotions, but I’m conscious that this week my overriding feeling is one of being very unsettled.

We just came off of a season where we had our place in the Premier League under threat for all but the wonderful month of February, and whilst we have survived and should now feel calmer, the insecurity surrounding our manager and his future at the club is not allowing the fans to feel settled. I might add this is applicable to people on both sides of the #AllardyceOut argument – neither side is certain about what the future holds.

That West Ham are reportedly going to allow a 7-10 day period to make a decision about his future (do constructive dismissals exist in football, just curious, no reason) is only going to hang a shroud of insecurity and unrest amongst the fans while we wait for Twitter to spontaneously combust from the heated arguments about his future among our own fans.

It’s not a nice feeling.

Sure, there are some good things to feel – I’m pleased that I can look forward to buying my Spurs game boxset, the post-match interviews from the Chelsea draw are still brilliantly funny, and we’re heading towards another season of Premier League football— but the ambiguity as to how we will be entering that season has not left a good taste in my mouth as we move towards building a better squad and improving on this year’s disappointing performance.

Relieved, disappointed, a little bit amused, and unsettled—perhaps an adequate description of not just how I’m feeling right now, but of our season as a whole.

How are you feeling right now, as a West Ham fan? Let us know below or shoot us a tweet @Forever_WestHam

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13 comments

  • Dave says:

    I’m feeling complete p’d off. It appears the Owners are incapable of making a decision and are using a split vote as a feeble excuse.

    Hopefully most season ticket holders like me are not renewing until we know HE has gone.

  • Chris says:

    Good summing up and whether you are in the Sam out or Sam should stay camp, I cannot see how anyone who likes football and supports West Ham can honestly say that they have really enjoyed that season. It has been fraught with disharmony on and off the pitch and the subsequent discontent amongst the fans has been damaging to the clubs short term solidarity, although that will be resolved once Sam has gone. I lay the blame squarely at the manager’s door for his intransigence with his tactics and his lack of tact with regard to his relationship with the fans, he may not think that it is his responsibility but he should remember that he is part of the clubs management team and they are the clubs paying customers’.

  • Arty says:

    I feel the same. Keep thinking however if the last two seasons were swapped around in the running order ie had this last season been our first year back in prem I think most fans would have accepted it

    • roger holcombe says:

      Again I will repeat that we (Currently) are NOT a big Club
      The finances are not here.
      The situation will improve quickly

      We cant Afford A better Manager (MOANINHO WENGER ETC) or a bigger spend on Players or Wages.

      We have a new season to look forward to.

      SO; FORWARD WITH FS: AND FFS STOP MOANING

      Teddybard the disillusioned.

      • JB says:

        They say that Harry cost the club £18m in with the sale of Ferdinand to offset his transfer spending. Some say that Harry is a cheque book manager, but getting the cheque book out is precisely what the club need at the moment, and Harry proved with Spurs & other clubs, that he knows how to buy. With the £25m spent on signing AC including 2 years wages, then I don’t think you can call Sam any less extravagant. The Cat said that Harry has too much history with the club. That doesn’t wash with me. What happened between Terry Brown & him is over & was a long time ago. Some people seem to be frightened at the prospect of losing Sam, why??? If Harry came back it would be a case of breaking out the champagne. He got Spurs a 4th place finish in 2010 & 2012, & he got us a 5th place in 1999. He is used to being at the top, Sam isn’t. Sam came along way after Blackburn won the title in 1995. They always used to say that Allardyces teams are hard to play against, are they? With 20 losses this season, are they? That’s more losses than what Avram Grant got. This myth of the mystique of Allardyce is over with me. I have to admit, that I wouldn’t even look forward to watching West Ham on the TV with a new season under Sam, let alone go to the game. 2 years of Harry taking us to the OS would be an absolute party. Still, it’s up to the owners, & who knows if a deal with Harry would be even possible, or if he even wants to come back here eh?

  • Dave says:

    You are clearly right Chris.
    Sam is so arrogant he believes he is bigger than the club and the owners are more interested in their pockets than the fans.
    I think like Sam they are dismissive of what the West Ham way was.
    They need to read recent articles from Billy Bonds and Ian Bishop.
    Both the Owners and Sam are being disrespectful to Messers Greenwood and Lyall.
    Why have Harry and Trevor kept their mouths shut when BFS has been slagging of the West Ham way?

    • JB says:

      As well as Sam, what about his partner in crime AC, whose appearances this season are as follows; Carroll 18 minutes, Carroll 45 minutes, Carroll 28 minutes, Carroll 64 minutes, Carroll 59 minutes, Carroll 61 minutes, Carroll 83 minutes, Carroll 90 minutes, Carroll 90 minutes, Carroll 90 minutes, Carroll 90 minutes, Carroll 84 minutes, Carroll 90 minutes, Carroll 90 minutes, Carroll 84 minutes, Carroll 72 minutes = 1138 minutes/ 90 = 12.6444 games. If we credit Andy with the goal v Spurs, that’s 10 goals Andy will have scored in 2 years. Come Sep 1st Andy will have earned 52 x £90k per week = 4.68m + 52 x £100k per week = 5.2m, will total £9.88m for 10 goals. That is almost £100,000 per goal. And now you can see how upset Andy is by not being picked for Brazil 2014 eh? Why should he care he is having a ball on West Ham’s money, for this return that he has given? West Ham can do a hell of a lot better than Sam & AC that’s all I want to say!

      • JB says:

        Sorry, I can hardly believe this, as things are so bad, I got the maths wrong, as that will be almost 1 million pounds per goal that AC will have cost West Ham come 1st Sep, yes that is right. 1 million pounds per goal. When is this madness going to come to an end? Hopefully with both BFS & AC gone!

        • JB says:

          And that’s just in his 2 years of wages, without the hefty £15m paid for signing him!

  • Wolfie says:

    I am in the middle of writing a letter to Gold and Brady (as they have been touted as Big Sam supporters) but I am now losing the will to live, so will give vent to my feelings through your columns. Sam has been given 10 days ‘to come up with his plan for success next season’, if the media are to be believed. But that is a worthless exercise if alternative plans are not submitted by other (potential) managers so that there can be a comparison of the ideas put forward. Also, Sam is the man who recently said that managing in the Premier League is all about winning and staying in it, not about the football itself that is played – did he not notice that teams like Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Liverpool manage to achieve these goals WITHOUT playing one dimensional, hoof it into the middle, football? I’m sorry, but he is utterly intransigent and, in my opinion, often arrogant … and just think how those two facets go down in the team dressing room. Let’s get this monkey off our backs. Cheers.

    • Dave says:

      Spot on Wolfie

    • JB says:

      Well 80% of fans polled say they don’t want him, & if that also accounts for 80% of season ticket holders who don’t want him, & if those same 80% do not renew, then the owners will have to listen to that statistic. 10 days. Interesting time frame eh? Coincides exactly with QPR’s play off final being completed. You get my drift. Yes please, let’s bring the boy from Poplar back where he belongs, as the pro Sam argument is running out of excuses to keep him.

  • JB says:

    West Ham could’ve been the Champions in 1969, as they were 3rd joint top scorers along with the then eventual title winners Leeds, who were only Champs for their 1st ever title because they only conceded 26 goals, so we scored as much as the 1969 Champions by scoring 66 goals. It was our defense that lets us down then, as Leeds Utd only conceded 26 goals out of 42 matches in a 22 team 1st Division. I do realise that it’s this defensive issue that Sam is trying to address, AND the lack of money that the club has. Just think, that if our defense had been as good as Leeds Utd back in 1969 even with Booby Moore as our general, then we could have been Champions then & would’ve been an established club with stacks of money. It’s all very well Sam saying he is specialising in defense, but we’ve let in 51 goals this season as opposed to the 1968/69 season when we let in 50 over only 42 matches, but at least we could score then & scored 66 goals, where as this season, with scoring just 40, then our focus on signings has to at last include some real star quality strikers. We’ve waited 2 years for Andy to start firing, and even Roy Hodgson has given up on him. We need another Tevez & Co, & if we do find them, then we need to block the big clubs from poaching them. If Sam wants to put his money where his mouth is, then he’d better get the same results as his mouth speaks, by doing a defensive job like Chelsea, who’ve only conceded 27 this season, & that was one more than Leeds 26 in 1968/69, being over 42 MATCHES! Sam you need to deliver a defense & an attack & give this club the title that they deserved back in 1969, had it not been for our defense then, even with Moore & Co in the team. West Ham should be, & should have been a big established club a long long time ago, as God knows we certainly have the huge support base for it! As hopefully with FFP rules now in place, this will stop bast*rds like Man City from buying the title, ever again, & good riddance to em. COYI

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