Pundits, journalists and columns like Claret and Hugh have their own opinions on where West Ham have gone wrong and what is needed to turn the club around: Few know better than former players and Joe Cole is one who still has a soft spot for the club after two spells as a Hammer.
Coinciding with the release of his new biography, Cole has been taking to givemesport.com about West Ham’s position in world football and the potential the club has if only the leadership but knew how to tap into the very real worldwide support which the Hammers enjoy:
“But in terms of potential, West Ham’s is massive. And if West Ham could get up to speed but keep the charm and the realness, then it will be like lighting a flame under the club:
“There’ll be nothing stopping it!”
“It’s frustrating, really, because with the right leadership that club can be right at the top of English football. It really can.”
And on the clubs predicament at present, Cole, still clearly passionate about West Ham, has no doubts as to the prescription required to put West Ham back on track after years of dreadful recruitment:
“Nuno’s coming in for the clean-up and West Ham fans have got to get on board with that, because it’s not going to be pretty. That’s and it can’t be pretty. But the lads need to stick together with Nuno and get the best out of themselves.
“But West Ham need to invest in January. It’s like being stuck in a muddy field at night and along comes a taxi. The fare might be £50 but you’ve got to pay it to get home.”
Joe Cole pulls no punches in his frank assessment of the way to fix West Ham
Whether the board and Sullivan are willing to ‘pay the price’ to get out of the relegation – shaped muddle field is another matter: Signing past-it players on free transfers won’t cut it anymore and hopefully the only upside of sitting within the relegation zone for another two weeks is that it will force the board’s hands come January to stop sitting on their hands and enable Nuno to complete the ‘clean up operation’ that Joe Cole recommends.
Joe Cole always talks about wanting to go into management someday. If I was on the board at West Ham I’d be wanting to sound him out about that. Potentially he could be a great future West Ham manager.
Minimum requirement in *early* January is a striker fit for purpose and an experienced centre half that can head the ball (someone not unlike Craig Dawson). Loans if it they have to be.