Latest

How have you coped without West Ham?

|
Image for How have you coped without West Ham?

West Ham fanI think I’m starting to go a little mad.

I last saw my beloved Hammers take to the field last month, on Saturday August 30th and whilst there a is a tiny part of me which is feeling rather relaxed, the signs of withdrawal are kicking in hard. I miss the chants and songs of the ground, the smell of fresh cut grass and defeat, and having a “reason” to do some heavy day drinking.

Such are the joys of the international break.

For some reason, this break has just seemed to drag on and on, and as we headed into it at a loss, it’s left a bad feeling hanging over me. Having to cope for fourteen days without West Ham has proved problematic, but as with everything in life, there have been both good and bad things that have come with the break.

The Good

There are some good things about the break. Namely, we’ve brought a lot of new blood into the team, but we haven’t yet had everything click into place with this new-look team. Playing a few games and then having a break allows us to learn from what went right and wrong in the opening games, and also get our squad used to playing together. West Ham certainly look to have made the most of this time together, especially when considering the incredible Ra’vel Morrison Tika-Taka goal from the ‘behind closed doors’ game via Ipswich.

The break also allows for some of our injured players to rest up a bit before needing to pull on a shirt again, and rumour has it that Andy Carroll is back to running, and could return to team selection in late October.

The Bad

The trouble with taking a break is how you go into it. Going into not having a game to play for two weeks is far better when you go in with a win in your last game. The last time we all saw the Hammers play was when we lost 3-1 at home to Southampton, and the performance in the second half left a bad taste in my mouth that has lasted for nearly two weeks now. It’s hard not to be able to avenge a loss right away.

Also I miss socially acceptable day drinking.

The Ugly

The most annoying thing about the break was that it didn’t even bring a lot of enjoyable international football to watch. All we had to look forward to in the break is England playing – which, being mostly uninspiring football, should have been an adequate replacement for watching West Ham – but I struggled to feel passion for the current England squad. There are some young and exciting players in the squad who are starting to slowly change this, but the two lacklustre England games couldn’t raise my spirits and did absolutely nothing for me.

Truthfully, it’s been nice not being stressed about West Ham results for the past few weeks, but I can’t wait for Monday evening when we head to Hull for a game in which Mohamed Diame will almost certainly (and annoyingly) score. This year’s West Ham squad have come with such potential, and I’m just eager for them to start getting it really right – and for them to have a chance to do so as soon as possible.

Have you enjoyed the international break? How do you cope without West Ham on a Saturday? Do let us know below!

Share this article

1 comment

  • Digger says:

    Chlorophyll withdraw Emily. That’s probably what your suffering from, I’ve seen it before. If you can get your hands on a mower or some kind of tool to cut grass and find some clod of earth that you can get stuck into then you’ll be fine. Hope it’s a good haul at hull for the hammers.

Comments are closed.