Is it me or does everyone else find that most things in the press about West Ham is pretty negative right now?
All this stuff being banded around like ‘Be careful what you wish for’ in regards to replacing Sam Allardyce as manager. Well, what is wrong with wishing for better, I ask? Everyone knows that Big Sam, although he did a decent job, is not the finished article, so why shouldn’t the fans want an upgrade as the club looks to try and break into the top six of English football, in the coming years.
‘How dare West Ham show ambition? How dare they even think about moving into a brand spanking new world class stadium’ is the general feeling I get from a lot of opposing fans as well.
We may well completely balls this opportunity up, as we are West Ham after all. Robbie Di Matteo is now being mentioned as a possible candidate for the managerial vacancy, which sends a shiver down my spine. Remember the last time we appointed a former Chelsea manager, that lead them to a Champions League final. Avram Grant. Say no more.
Back to my original point though, it doesn’t seem like it is a recent thing with regards to the press and other fans, from around London especially. It’s always been there.
They couldn’t stand it when we signed Tevez and Mascherano. I know those deals were as dodgy as a Liverpool penalty awarded at Anfield in the 1980’s but the original attitude towards it was ‘How dare West Ham even think about signing these types of players. Who the hell do they think they are?’
It’s the same attitude towards us even when we lose in glorious style, like the 2006 FA Cup Final. Rival fans from around London that day could not understand how proud we were of that performance against Liverpool because they could never be that way themselves in defeat.
I was obviously devastated at the loss but I danced long into the night. I had never been so proud to be West Ham and all I got from other fans was ‘What are you doing? You lost’ and Monday morning at work ‘Ha-ha! Gutted. Never mind. West Ham, born to lose.
They just don’t get it do they? They are envious that we can be like that in defeat, that our fans were fantastic that the team didn’t lay down and die, for one moment.
It was the same when we were stuffed 4-0 at Villa Park, to Notts Forest, way back in the 1991 FA Cup Semi-Final. I was just a kid but the fans were unbelievable that day. They sung ‘Billy Bonds’ Claret and Blue Army’ non-stop. We knew that the injustice of Tony Gale’s outrageous sending off had cost us but instead of spouting abuse from the stands, we showed the world, what a wonderful set of supporters we are throughout the rest of the game. Some outsiders hated that. ‘Look at those West Ham fans. Don’t they realise they are getting stuffed.’
My Dad tells me it was the same before the 1980 Cup Final against the mighty Arsenal. We were in the second division and massive under-dogs as I’m sure you all know. ‘How dare West Ham fans even think that they can win this’ was the attitude. We did win and I know for a fact that there are many people out there that cannot stand the fact that we are the last side to win the FA Cup, from outside the top flight.
They can’t stand that we were instrumental in England’s World Cup win and that we are the only side to win a European trophy with eleven English players in the line-up (Cup Winners Cup, 1965) a feat that will never be repeated.
Even the first ever Wembley cup final in 1923, (The White Horse Final) that we were involved in, rankles with some people. ‘Bloody West Ham and their history!’
Di Canio, The Academy, the West Ham way etc. Any news, good or bad with us seems to rub a large proportion of football fans up the wrong way.
So next time you read negativity about us, which will probably be over the next week about how we currently have no manager, are going to play in the Europa League, totally implode, get relegated and hear the line ‘be careful what you wish for’ just remember it is because they know we are a very proud and ambitious set of supporters. They don’t like that we are thinking big, as we are not part of the traditional big clubs in England.
They can’t stand the thought of West Ham even thinking about breaking into that elite in the coming years. ‘How dare they sack Sam Allardyce, the greatest manager they could ever possibly have. Be careful what you wish for. Keep Allardyce and stay in mid-table where you belong’
Don’t patronise me.
P.S. If we appoint Roberto Di Matteo as our next manager I am pretty sure we are going to implode and get relegated and we will all look like morons. I didn’t wish for that. Irons!
