Mails: Something is rotten inside West Ham United

Mails: Something is rotten inside West Ham United

A cracking Friday morning Mailbox that. Keep them coming to theeditor@football365.com…

Something is rotten at West Ham
In light of the events of yesterday and the reaction within the game and in the media, I felt compelled to write in and offer what is a common view among rational West Ham fans regarding Payet’s moves to leave our club.

First off, Dimitri Payet is top class. The best player we’ve seen at West Ham for quite some time. A player worth the admission money alone. Capable of magic and provided us fans with countless moments we’ll never forget. He was one of the catalysts for our memorable final season at the Boylen. We adopted a chant which wrecked every other clubs fans heads. We loved him. We thought he loved us.

In the midst of all the noise surrounding him leaving, it would be remiss of us to forget all of the above. Alas, as is normal at this club of ours, it was not to last. I think every supporter knew deep down this day would come. Nothing good ever last too long at West Ham, it was ever thus.

Payet could undoubtedly have conducted himself better and there is a way to go about these things and throwing your toys out of the pram is not it. However (and this isn’t an excuse per se for his behaviour) the fault, for most of us rational fans, doesn’t lie with Payet entirely. The fault for this situation lies with three individuals.

Messers Sullivan, Gold and Brady are the architect of this current state of affairs. Without going into too much detail, these three sold Payet the same bunch of lies they sold the supporters of the club. The empty promises of ‘world-class strikers’, ‘world class players to go along with the new world class stadium’ and so on. Payet was promised all this when he signed his new contract, and we end up with Simone Zaza and Jonathan Calleri. I’m not excusing his behaviour as such but as one of the best players in Europe with limited time left in his career and only one big move left, I don’t blame him for feeling aggrieved.

The real issue at our club is the three aforementioned individuals. They sold our clubs soul to the devil. The worst stadium migration in history, possibly the worst football stadium in the country, appalling summer recruitment, generally embarrassing transfer conduct, constant undermining of the manager, making out they ‘saved’ the club while charging commercial rates of interest on all the money they’ve put into the club, attempting to renege on promises made to season ticket holders, hiring bouncers to act as security at the stadium, the list goes on and on.

The only purchased West Ham as the possibility of the Olympic Stadium and huge profit was on the horizon. Let’s have it right however, there is a gentrification attempt happening at West Ham, the club are trying to get rid of our core support by every way they can.

They are constantly looking to shift the blame and I fear that Slavan Bilic, one of the few remaining shining lights at the club, is next in line. If that happens, I for one will never set foot in that monstrosity of a stadium until those three leave our beloved club, they can keep my season ticket, and I believe a countless other season ticket holders are in the same boat (many have already chucked it in as a result of the above).

Something is rotten in the state of East London.
Fionn

Games to watch this weekend
Hull City-Bournemouth
Marco Silva just got in from Portugal and he’s already facing a defensive crisis. David Meyler at right back and Tom Huddlestone in the middle don’t inspire confidence, although Harry Maguire is doing the work of two these days. Bournemouth won’t give them much chance to breathe. Ryan Fraser may get to run at Meyler, and if Ryan Mason is in central midfield, as he was at Old Trafford midweek, Jack Wilshere may just roast him on a spit and eat him whole. (He would, you know.) The Cherries have lost Nathan Aké, but in fact they allowed more goals/game (1.875 to 1.58) with him in the lineup. But Simon Francis can’t go back to CB just yet because he’s suspended, and there’s no clear replacement. Bournemouth’s defence is vulnerable, and City have shown plenty of fight, so if someone in stripes brings along his shooting boots, the Tigers could take a crazy three points.
Stat: Hull have a better pass completion percentage in their own third of the pitch than Chelsea and Arsenal (93.1 to 92.7 and 91.6).

Watford-Middlesbrough
Not for the fainthearted. Neither side has played much of what you’d call football lately. Boro have scored only once in their last five games against teams not coached by Bob Bradley, and Watford have lost six of eight. With Nordin Amrabat fading (and currently in Africa), Walter Mazzarri has tried new attacking faces, with Jerome Sinclair and Abdoulaye Doucouré getting a look in. A fit Stefano Okaka would be a big help. But the bigger problem is defence, with no clean sheets in ten, and I’m not sure how Tom Cleverley changes that. For Boro, even Adama Traoré hasn’t been able to rouse the attack, but Viktor Fischer is fit again and might play as a number 10 while the club pursues Bojan. With a real chance at a win here, Boro should play aggressively. Adam Forshaw is in fine form, and if he can combine with Gastón Ramírez, the traveling fans might actually see the ball in the net.
Stat: For his previous seven years, Alvaro Negredo’s shots per 90 minutes read 3.4, 3.8, 3.3, 4.4, 3.4, 3.2, 3.1. For Middlesbrough this year he has 1.8.

Swansea City-Arsenal
A strange one. The Swans have been a bit of a bogey side for the Gunners, although most of the damage has been done at the Emirates. As for Arsenal, you know exactly where they’ll be at the end of the season, you just don’t know how they’ll get there. We get our initial league look at Paul Clement’s side, so tactics will be the first thing to watch. Under Francesco Guidolin the Swans went toe-to-toe with both Manchester City and Liverpool, and stayed competitive, but that was in September, a thousand years ago. With the defence now a serious problem, I’m guessing Clement will be more conservative. For the Gunners, Francis Coquelin is out, so Granit Xhaka will have to defend a bit more, and though he’s good for a few reducers he doesn’t read the game terribly well. So let’s see if Gylfi Sigurdsson plays in the middle and gives him the runaround.
Stat: Swansea’s opponents are converting 14.5% of their shots from open play, the highest figure in the league.
Peter G, Pennsylvania, USA
(MC – We urge you to read Peter’s latest piece, on misleading defensive statistics)

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Difficult to point the finger at Arsenal fans
I live in India and for me and my friends, watching just one game live at The Emirates is a bucket list item. A friend of mine was at the home game against Crystal Palace, you know the one with the much lauded Giroud scorpion kick. While he was ecstatic about being there for that goal, he did mention that home support was quite fickle and insipid. Which brings me to Nick Miller’s Quote Unquote piece.

I am in complete agreement with the points he makes about the value of finishing in the top 4 and how champions league football is a huge attraction for players. But I think the same purview is what causes the Arsenal home support to be rather dull. As a fan, it’s great to have a club that is constantly challenging for titles and trophies, but after years and years of hearing that 4th place IS good enough, it gets a bit tiresome.

I do not blame season ticket holders for not being loud enough when we’re 2-0 down to Hull City. It’s a story we’ve seen unfurl one too many times. The fans know that the desire to win titles isn’t as inherent in Wenger as it is in Mourinho for example. And while it may be in the club’s best interest to finish 4th rather than win the league cup, you cannot retort to chants of “We are the champions” with “We have balanced accounts” and you do not get parades for finishing 4th like you do for winning ANY cup (Emirates cup does not count).

The fans have lost their connect with the club, one which is formed only when silverware is won, when they’re running down the streets following a bus full of their beloved players. The fans are fuelled only by hope and excitement about future titles and trophies, buoyed by ambitious targets set by the manager and the club. The eventual gain is only bragging rights for about a year, but that’s so worth it. The lack of it, and the standard 4th place trophy taunts have gotten to us which is why we’re less likely to be excited about winning the away leg 1-0 in a CL round of 16 game than a United, Chelsea or City fan.

The last time I saw an Arsenal side with ambition, drive and determination was in 2006 when we made it to the CL final. I saw that same drive and determination only in Sanchez in the game against Bournemouth. Not in any other player, and most importantly – not in Arsene Wenger and that is why, come February every year until he retires, “Wenger out” will rear it’s ugly face again.
Kushal M

The weirdness of comparing Ronaldos
For the love of Christ, can we stop this every-few-months nonsense comparing Ronaldos?

Let’s move on. If you’re dumb enough to care about the fact that two people involved in the same activity share the same name, let’s ask which Rafael was better, Benitez or Van der Vaart? Or which David impressed you most, Beckham or Luiz? Come to think of it, which David had better hair? Ooooohh, that’s an interesting one, isn’t it? No, it isn’t. Grow up.

Or let’s compare people in wildly different fields. Lionel Messi vs. Lionel Richie in a battle for the ages with one bringing smooth vocals up against the other’s smooth dribbling. Or even better, who peaked too soon, Pablo Aimar or Pablo Escobar? Was Manuel Pellegrini victim to the same global conspiracies as Manuel Noriega? All I know for certain is grow up.
Niall (for me Clive, Beckham’s hair just edges it), Denver

More tributes to Graham Taylor
I’m not one for writing in, moaning about my own team or slagging off one of their rivals doesn’t much appeal to me. But I felt compelled to email after reading about Graham Taylor. From the outset I’ll confess I did not know who he was. He managed before I started following soccer and I’m on the wrong side of the Atlantic to have been exposed to him.

But on a day the Chargers decided to move from San Diego to be second banana in Los Angeles, and shortly after FIFA decided to bloat the World Cup in the name of the almighty dollar (pound? euro?), I took comfort in learning about someone who was not only a great manager but also a good person. It’s easy these days to become increasingly cynical about the corporatizing of sports and the endless pursuit of money. So reading about Graham Taylor, learning how he conducted himself with dignity and kindness, and seeing the universal outpouring of love for him, was a welcome change.

I’m sad for Villa and Watford fans, and fans of sports in general. But I’m also happy to be reminded that there remains goodness and decency in this ridiculous thing I dedicate far too much time and energy to. Here’s to more Graham Taylors and fewer Dean Spanos.
Evan in McAllen, Texas

On Colin Kazim-Richards
One unlikely transfer that has happened during the January transfer window that many may have missed was the move from Coritiba in Brazil to Corinthians of one Colin Kazim-Richards (Colin Kazim-Kazim/Kazim). Yes, that one.

Why am I bringing this up? Well I thought of this when I was reading the piece about Hulk and his moves from Brazil to China via Japan, Portugal and Russia, and the questioning as to whether he was just interested in the money.

Now we will never know with none of us having spent any significant time with the big man but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this and assume he is an adventurous soul with a bit of wanderlust. I am sure he has had offers to play in the Premier League/La Liga and thought it’s not right for him. It may be the just money, after all the sums on offer in the Premier League are not insignificant. But somewhere along the line a life choice has to be made.

When I was in my 20s I spent time living in America and France, ostensibly “broadening my horizons” but in reality having a great time in a foreign land. Hulk may be a professional footballer, but he is also a young man. He may have looked at the constant scrutiny the press puts on players in England and thought, no thanks, not for me. And that’s fine by me.

Winning the Champions League does not a legacy make either. The list of underwhelming players to have won that comp is as long as the great ones. People will forget about it once you have retired, but the player will always have the experience of seeing the world. China may be a poor standard, but it’s a fascinating country. Is this much different from all the PFM’s in the 70’s going over to the States to play football?

This brings me on to Kazim-Richards. Essentially, I think this guy is the same. He is a pro footballer and as such is using his talents to see the world. After all, he has played in England, Turkey, France, Greece Holland, Scotland and now Brazil. Football is a short career. These guys have 10, maybe 15 years to pack it all in, experience it all, and get the wheelbarrow out to collect all that money.

We always moan about the fact that British players don’t test themselves in foreign leagues. Well Hulk, and Kazim-Richards to a lesser degree are doing this and should be applauded. Before you bracket me with Merson and Thompson, I am fully aware that these are a Brazilian and Turkish international, my point is that British players can learn from this. The Premier League is not the be all and end all of football. There are choices.

I would love to have a job that allows me to live and work in foreign countries while I am fit and healthy. Buckets of cash helps too. But I believe it’s not always about that. Good luck to them. I think these career paths are far more interesting than what we are used to seeing. (This could be a new F365 feature?)
Dave, BAC

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And on Lincoln City
Regular reader but first time contributor, just wanted to say a few words on my beloved Lincoln City. When we got relegated from the football league, I was in such shock that I didn’t really come to terms with what that actually meant for the club. We averaged gates of 3,80o – would the fans stick with us? would they protest? I had no idea.

Anyway, after 4 seasons of finishing no higher than 13th, and recording average attendances of 2,400, I didn’t know how this football club would see the glory days.

Thus, the summer of 2016 sprang upon us and we somehow managed to secure the services of Danny and Nicky Cowley from Braintree Town. They were linked with football league clubs such as Southend due to their amazing achievements at Braintree (lost in the playoff semi-finals with a bottom 4 budget). They brought in some very, very good players (Alex Woodyard, Nathan Arnold, Sean Raggett, to name a few), and as I’m typing now, we are top of the league, in the hat for the fourth round of the FA Cup (home to Brighton if we beat Ipswich next Tuesday) and the feel-good factor is well and truly back at Sincil Bank.

After years and years of watching half-hearted players alongside less than 2.5k Imps, watching us get beat by Carshalton Athletic (I know), and watching fans fighting amongst themselves, I just want to say it is great what the Cowley’s have achieved. They have revolutionised the club, brought back the football league community spirit, and work bloody hard! They have recently signed a contract until 2021 after being linked with Barnet, Notts County and our arch rivals Grimsby. They are destined to move onto bigger and better things, and mark my words, they will be managing a team in the Premier League within 6 years. That’s how good they are.

Anyway, here’s to a strong second half of the season, hopefully we make it back into the football league…mainly so we can play Grimsby again (I don’t miss their ground (it’s vile) or their fans, but I miss the camaraderie)!
Lewis (up the imps), Lincoln

This weekend’s really big game
I am off to watch the biggest game in world football on Saturday evening: The A League Sydney Derby!! Sydney FC play Western Sydney and I’m really looking forward to it. I think my near complete lack of A League knowledge will help me in my enjoyment, it will be a learning experience folks.

Though I do know these two teams do not like each other and I don’t think western Sydney have beaten their local rivals in a few games.

Full review to follow next week.
Justin B (Excited Irishman in Sydney)