By CandH’s top blogger Allen Cummings
I don’t pretend to be a club ‘insider’ or one of our many social media ‘in-the-knows’ with the inside track of what’s going on at our club.
The truth is I don’t need to claim to be either of those things to state the obvious. I’m just a regular fan who knows what he sees for himself with his own eyes, and right now I can’t see a happier Hammer anywhere than Declan Rice.
Deccers is loving every single second of being out there leading this West Ham team the way he knows best – from the front.
He loves playing in it! He loves talking about it! And just as much as that he loves interacting with the fans at home – but especially away it seems.
Sunday was another case in point – a stunning goal – a fabulous all-round performance and the absolute delight he took in celebrating on the pitch in front of the travelling fans after the game. “…you are in someone else’s stadium and get the away fans who travel and come to support us, so to score and hear them erupt is really special,” said Rice afterwards.
One thing is abundantly clear to everyone, there is nowhere Declan Rice would rather be right now than strutting his stuff in claret and blue. “It’s a special group at the minute,” he said, “a special environment. We wake up looking forward to training. It’s a special place to play and as you can see by our faces we’re over the moon.”
What a contrast to Declan’s England skipper Harry Kane and his current predicament at White Hart Lane with Tottenham Hotspur who is widely reported as being in a moody frame of mind..
Both players were the focus of heavy media attention and speculation during the summer, linking them with transfers away from their respective clubs.
Of course we’ve all lived with the ‘Rice to Chelsea, Manchester United or Manchester City’ stories for quite a while now from various sections of the sporting press.
They’ve become tired and boring quite frankly. But while Declan has been the ultimate professional and just got on with his job, letting all that speculation just wash over him, because that’s the person he is, Kane has been the opposite – showing all the signs of a player who wants out. Pining for a move that so far has been denied him. I know who I’d prefer in my dressing room.
We all know no-one can ever say ‘never’ in football – especially modern day football where money is king.
It may be there will come a day when we have to say goodbye to Declan Rice. Only time will tell. But right now we are all enjoying the special talent of a brilliant young footballer who is doing himself and our club proud.
We should enjoy and savour every minute of it – just the way Declan Rice is doing himself.
