23 Comments

Love a panic-up? Remember 85-86!

Dede-Ayew2I was reminded of the long ago words of a certain Trevor Morley last night as I watched the absurd Twitter over- reaction to the struggle against Accrington Stanley.

I remember expressing my concerns about our form to him during an interview some years back and he said: “Bloody hell Hughie you love a panic-up don’t yer. ”

It’s easy, it’s predictable and it’s all very despressing when a side has only played a handful of games – whilst surrounded by an entirely different set of circumstances to preiously – to see the F and C words littering  conversations on what is called a social network.

We’ve been told we’ll be relegated, that Slav has to go and that the new arrivals are rubbish so just by way of perspective let’s recall 1985-86 and remind ourselves it’s  not how you start – it’s how you finish!

Here’s the stats from the first seven games from that legendary ampaign – at the end of whch we were stitting in 17th place before ending it in THIRD!

Comp Posn Opposition F-A Att
17 Aug 1985 D1 18 Birmingham City A 0-1 11,164
20 Aug 1985 D1 6 Queens Park Rangers H 3-1 15,628
24 Aug 1985 D1 14 Luton Town H 0-1 14,004
26 Aug 1985 D1 17 Manchester United A 0-2 50,773
31 Aug 1985 D1 17 Liverpool H 2-2 19,762
03 Sep 1985 D1 15 Southampton A 1-1 14,477
07 Sep 1985 D1 17 Sheffield Wednesday A 2-2

Oh and we were playing our football at the Boleyn – not at a new stadium which has thrown up a multitude of problems which led Angelo Ogbonna to comment this morning that the players have found the expectation levels difficult this season.

West Ham have a seriously gifted squad but that we struggled big time to overcome Stanley came as absolutely no surprise to me.

A League Two club which had beaten Premier League opposition in the previous round arriving at this wonderful stadium were bound to play miles above themselves and walkover results are very rare in football.

The perceived weakness of the opposition created more pressure on the team with the fans expecting an easy win by  a team that had never played together before!.

After the events of last season it is of course very disappointing but I have a lot of faith in this squad and Fernandes looks a real player to add to them.

Yes, I wish we’d brought a right back and I hope Winston Reid finds his form quickly and that Adrian’s confidence returns to help settle the back line.

I want to see our record signing Andre Ayew and we will be a far different team when Aaron Cresswell returns. I beieve the manager has a tough job on his hands in the meantime rebuilding confidence but would add that I have total confidence in HIM!

As Mr Morley words reminded me let’s please avoid the love of a good panic up.

COYI

 

About Hugh5outhon1895

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

23 comments on “Love a panic-up? Remember 85-86!

  1. You will always have a percentage of a fanbase who love a panic up.Fortunately most of ours seem to gravitate to our sister site where they can have one big beautiful knee jerk together.

  2. Personally, I don’t have every confidence in Bilic, as he’s made some inexplicably basic errors of judgement…as in pretty weird, frankly; esp the Antonio saga.
    Last season he had the answers to breaking down even the best opposition (& the players loved it). This season the other managers are doing it to us.
    But, with the difficult position we are in now, it is actually a great opportunity for Bilic to turn it round and demonstrate he really is a good manager.
    I believe he will….

  3. PS – Look how low the attendances were in those examples! How times have changed!

    • What do your other personas think.What is Cometh the moment or coyi 247s views oh mighty bullsh1tter.

      • Anyone else think Cometh the Moment’s +2 tickets this season were for his other personas so he can sit in the ground and spout all the same ******** to himself? 🙂

        • He has done well,a year of different accounts but still saying the same things..coyi 247..ring any bells..
          COYI247
          September 21, 2015 at 8:21 pm
          I’m with you, Eug. Sam never pretended to be anything other than he was. The 2 Davids knew exactly what they were getting. Sam did all that was asked of him. I am grateful. He brought stability….although I still don’t understand why results nose-dived so often in the 2nd half of the seasons – the awful injuries (No centre half for the Newcastle home game) 2 years ago were mid season. All the same, I find this vitriolic loathing of Allardyce demeaning of those who do it. If anyone is to blame, if is the 2 Davids for bringing him in in the 1st place. SO THANK YOU SAM, FOR WHAT YOU DID…and take no notice of the girlies in their frilly knickers and high heels *****ing about you. Now, where’s my sequin leotard? Come on girls, who’s knicked it?

          • Come on Fishy front it up or are you happy to fight from behind your keyboard with your multiple personalities and prove what a spineless prat you are?

          • Ignore the prat.He is just a serial **** stirrer.All he will do is stop using Fish n Chips & come back as another persona.The fella is a brick short of a full hod.

          • Stevo just want him to front it up after having a pop at everyone not much to ask 🙂

          • Lol Rick, you’re better than Sherlock Holmes… anyway, I’ve never seen a person with so many personalities… Dr Jekyll is a newbie compared to him… haha 😉

          • But he never will buddy.He has gone fom one account to the next for a year now causing trouble so what makes you think he has the decency required to hold his hands.It will never happen because he is the height of cowardice.

  4. Yes, but you can’t deny that the new guys are disappointing, none of them are tearing up trees and quite a few are really struggling – a very disappointing Transfer Window for the Club!

    The only one you can have a little sympathy for is Ayew, Feghouli has been ok but the others have been poor.

  5. I also believe that Bilic will turn it round.
    Before last night I was praying for a win ( ugly or not ) with a clean sheet, because I saw that as a good beginning to re-creating our confidence. Luckily we got just that, and it didn’t matter how.
    Now of course we need to build on it.
    Again it does no good to slaughter our new players when some of our old players are just as bad.
    Arbeloa will have better games, after his first 90 minutes, and Fernandes sure does look the part. I saw him on u-tube, and yes taken with the obligatory pinch of salt, he still looked one hell of a ( young ) player.
    No need for panic yet.

  6. Matte have you got any spare figas to send over to Zaza and perk him up a bit 🙂

    • Haha… Zaza already has a super figa GW, I think his problem is not that… I don’t know what’s going on with him these weeks, I always liked him… or perhaps because of his girlfriend he’s out of shape… too much sex can cloud the mind… lol 😀

      • Imagine what it must be like for Fish n Chips,one mind & at least three bodies,no wonder he is a nut job.I supoose coyi 247,Cometh the moment & him have to have a one body threesome lmao 🙂

      • From what I’ve read:
        Last season he played 15 games where most of them were as sub. His playing minutes added up to 7 games and he scored 5 goals. Not a bad average.
        That might explain why he is so unfit. He was only 4th choice striker at Juve.

  7. In the the 84/85 season we finished an inch above the relegation places not 7th…so the start of the season was not a surprise but we started well unlucky not to beat a great liverpool side…This season we are playing ok but need stability at the back and defensive midfielders

  8. Firstly our wonderful supporters. How many clubs would have had almost 40,000 at a game against Stanley. And, no trouble! Now super Slav. He is beginning to worry me. Why did he play Nordtfielt at CB and leave Oxford on the bench when the latter is better in the air, a better passer, a lot quicker and we will lose him if he does not get game time?? In attack, why did he play both out of form Calleri and Zaza and leave Fletcher on the bench? And Torre. A total waste of space whereas he could have given Cullen a run out. Look, everyone makes mistakes and I believe we have made some serious ones in the transfer market. But we cannot keep playing players who are out of form or simply not good enough to cut it in the EPL just because we paid a small fortune for them or because they are on high wages. Slav must man up, admit mistakes were made and pick the form players even if they are development squad players. As for overall impressions of last night, Fernandez looks a very good prospect, Obiang had a decent game and Randolf looks a safer pair of hands at present than Adrian. COYI

  9. Sometimes it just takes one moment, one single act – the one I always remember is Tevez’s goal away to Blackburn in 2007; even though the defeat in the previous game against Tottenham was heartening, we still needed points, and it didn’t look like we were going to get them, but then Tevez scored and the referee gave it, even though he shouldn’t have (I forget the reason). We won the game and The Great Escape started. If that goal hadn’t have been given, what might have happened? We were all prepared for extra time last night but then, one moment, Payet gets fouled in the perfect place, and he finds his range at exactly the right time. I’m no clairvoyant, just someone that’s crossing his fingers that Dimi getting his first of the season, in the way that he did, is the single act that starts everything.

    • Yep is strange but one thing can be a turning point in a team or sportsmens season.Lets hope that was if for us 😉

    • Every journey starts with a single step as they say hammers fan lets hope as you say this was our first step as a team and we keep it moving, last season we were good at stringing results together and that’s what we need, COYI

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