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Ferguson mocks the ‘West Ham Way’

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FergieallardyceSir Alex Ferguson  has come out in sympathy with Sam Allardyce claiming he ‘never played against any West Ham team that played football I was afraid of.’

And in updated chapters of his autobiography he adds that he didn’t understand the Hammers supporters’ insistence on the ‘West Ham way’.

Despite a famous predecessor of the old Scot – a certain Ron Greenwood describing it very adequately – it seems that such issues are lost on the 72 year old who reckons he never saw it in his 26 years as Manchester United manager. and backed Allardyce’s style as good management.

Sir Alex – it seems is a Sam man – backing his old buddy’s  style as good management, adding that West Ham fans expect too much of him and that he did well to keep them up

He said: ‘I hope that before I die someone can explain the “West Ham way.” What is it? They last won a trophy in 1980, the FA Cup.

‘I never played against any West Ham team that played football I was afraid of. They were always surviving, or lucky as hell against us.’

Ferguson also labelled last season’s West Ham squad as ‘a team of very average players’ who were helped by Allardyce.

And he believes the fans criticism of Allardyce’s style of football throughout last season, as uncalled for.

‘He said: “There is this preconception with West Ham fans that Big Sam is a survivalist who tells teams to boot the ball up the pitch.

‘The truth is that he stayed up with a team of very average players. That’s management. He drew the best from them.’

It’s odd that the old boy says he never saw it at one and the same time as saying he doesn’t know what it is anyway!
And for the record here’s the famous Greenwood phrase which is always considered to best sum up the West Ham Way: “The crowds at West Ham haven’t been rewarded by results but keep turning up because of the good football they see.
Other clubs will suffer from the old bugbear that results count more than anything. This has been the ruination of English football.”
Happy to help mate!

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Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!"

Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon

4 comments

  • WhuG says:

    You 2 are like a bloody tag team!

    It so happens I hate Fergie so I won’t defend him. I don’t really see why he thinks his comments would help his mate Sam. Sam is big enough to defend his own corner.

  • baddowhammer says:

    I can hear a bit of resentment there.Fergie will never forget the year we stopped them from winning the title.Can’t remember year offhand,but we were already relegated,and we played a blinder against united at home,we won and they lost the title.I think he should cast his mind back to Di Canio he feared us then,and Tevez should ring a bell.Then of course he bought Rio,Carrick,amongst others.He sounds bitter to me. C.O.Y.I.

  • rugbyirons says:

    Average players? That’ll be the players Allardyce and Curtis bought then.SAF wasn’t completely wrong ,just about SA.

  • Michael Miller says:

    Here we go again – BFS’s ‘mates’ mocking the genuine concern of the punters at West Ham who didn’t like what was happening to ‘their’ team.

    Good football is all about players – you get better players you’ll play better football – you lower the average age you’ll have more energy – younger legs mean more pace and power – it’s not rocket science!

    The addition of Cresswell, Jenkinson, Valencia, Sakho, Song, Kouyate, Poyet etc is a massive change – add that to our existing good players like Noble, Downing, Reid, Tomkins and Collins and you’ve got half a chance!

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