A new CandH follower who goes solely by the name of John has stuck his head way above the parapet and asked courageously whether it’s the Irons fans – in part – who need to take a look at themselves in the present dire circumstances. Cant say we blame him for witholding his surname
By John
Here’s a lone voice view!
Wat if the problem at West Ham is not the manager, not his team, not the players, not the stadium, not the board – what if it is the fans who are to blame?
O For never backing the team when times are hard
O for never giving a manager time to build a successful long term team,
O to never give the board any credit for what they do for the club,
O for always expecting us to be a top 6 team,
O for not understanding that players are human beings and they can lack confidence and suffer mentally just as we fans do.
By comparison look how Manchester United have fallen from the glory years and yet I was at Old Trafford last year when they went 0-2 down to a Newcastle side near the bottom of the table (sound familiar…..).
But instead of booing the manager and their own goalkeeper, instead of all leaving for an early half time pint to drown their sorrows the fans ALL got behind their team
Any fan who tried to put the a player or the manager down was instantly shouted down by many fans around them telling them to get behind the team. The sang louder and cheered even more every success.
And that support and enthusiasm galvanised the players to respond and raise their game. They won 3-2 with a late goal from Alexi Sanchez – a player who most United fans hated for his lack of contribution and success despite clear talent (sound like Anderson perhaps).
All the moaning and groaning that takes place at the London Stadium only helps to drag the players down further. This club is in the best shape for many many years and we are as close to being serious contenders for a top 6 place than ever.
Even now after this appalling run we still only a handful of points of where we all want to be. Let’s get behind the manager, the team the board and give them that extra nudge to get the results that will see them climb the table.
Roberto is of course a liability at the moment but as bad as he has played, of all the goals he has conceded, a couple of saves in the right place could have given us an extra 6 points and in 6th place in the league would the fans all then be all calling for the manager to be sacked and the board to be outed.
We are playing awful football at the moment and we have the right to be seriously disappointed with that but the second half against Norwich was one of the most exciting plays I have seen from the team in many a year.
And there is time to get this right if we only get behind the manager and the team and give them the help and support they need to recover their form and play the style of football we all want to see. The West Ham Way!
I doubt my comments will be popular and I expect to get a lot of abuse for backing lame ducks but just stop and think about where we are and where we came from and be careful of what you wish for or we could be back watching the dour style of Moyes or god forbid Big Sam.
The views expressed here are of the blogger and are not necessarily shared by ClaretandHugh
What colour is the sky on your planet?
Well said – I’m really frustrated and I think Yarmo needs to learn how to put a shift in but the fans are so negative so quickly. After the first goal against spurs it was like we had been relegated! It was 1-0 and a bit of a shocker but it’s at this point we really need to make some noise. The team lack leaders so we need to motivate by making a positive racket. We keep saying what great fans we have – and we have packed every week no matter what division- lets make home games hostile. We’re not the problem but we’re a big part of the solution COYI⚒⚒
So it’s as simple as that ? it’s our fault? Listen Geezer if I had something to praise about as would other supporters, I would shout it out in all games and shower the team with my affection and honesty of well wishes. But since 1980 its wearing thin ? I don’t pay good money to watch bad and lately bad is happening quite a bit!!!!!! And it’s beyond me or any other’s fault except those that that are paid quite a lot of money that I contribute as a season ticket holder as do others to voice their opinions!!!!
Funny, straight after the Tottenham game, I was so ****ed off about the way we played, I was saying to myself that Pelle had to go. I knew at the time that it was a knee-jerk reaction and that I’d feel differently in an hour or two. And I did. And, I guess, due to my desire to be rational, I’ve tried to find the belief in the Boss that he will turn it around. I guess what I’m saying is I agree with John on nearly all of his points here. What I believe that John may not, however, is that after 1 and a bit seasons, I’m seeing no improvement. I imagine most if not all teams this season have a had half in which they’ve played great football but Norwich missed a sitter before we scored and should have been ahead, likewise Watford. We’re regressing and that IS the Bosses fault. We’re yet to play the way he wants us after nearly 1 and a half years in charge and if not now, when?
Some good points raised John but how long should we be waiting for before we turn potential into points?
John is bang on the money in asking his questions. Stand back & ask yourselves how many other clubs fans boo & jeer their own players with the regularity that Hammers fans do.
Just a few weeks ago before Fabianski got injured & we were pushing for top 6/7, most fans were singing the praises of the club from top to bottom. The board had invested big in players, the manager was responsible for us playing exciting winning football, we were on a roll & all was rosy.
Fast forward to today, the players are ****e & not good enough, fans compondihg the problems jeering the players names before the match kicks off, the manager is past his sell by date & clueless,, the board are gutless & tight as ********s, sack ’em all we want our club back !!
Its absolutely true to say the performances on the pitch have not been good enough, but a great many fans are not helping, & have to take some responsibility. We seem to never learn. If we continue to undermine individual players, the manager & the team, we will cause more problems & if we continue on this slippery slope the fans will need to recognise they have contributed to our own demise.
Ask yourself how many top coaches will want to come & risk being maligned and subjected to the abuse that almost instantly gets handed out from the terraces & online by our fans. Players will think twice about signing & we will have created our own cycle of misery. Fans must take a long hard look at the impact of their actions. Other clubs just dont it , they get behind their teams when the chips are down. When you’re in the trenches you dont fight amongst yourselves. Much is wrong on the pitch & it needs sorting, but the fans can & must to do more to help. We have to be better than this. ⚒
Wow, just when you think it’s not possible to have a more ridiculous comment then you get this.what an absolute ****, are you seriously talking about the same fans who have supported through thick and thin, mainly thin for donkeys years, haven’t seen us won anything since 1980, turn up in their thousands at away games, have the 3rd highest attendance in the league because of their undying loyalty and because they quite rightly think they have a right for a moan your popping them out! Mate no wonder you withheld your name, what a humpty!
I agree with you. Tried to make the point of ownership amongst the fans under Alan’s last post – you did it a lot better here:)
Off to the Tower for beheading !
Well said John!! I’m with you 100%!!
Seems to make a lot of sense to me, and I’ve been supporting the club for 50+ trash.
Good on him
I’m sorry when it mentioned that we haven’t given the board any credit for what they have done I stopped. The board have ruined the identify of this football club. Stripped us of our ground, our badge, our heritage, and rebranded as West Ham London. They will never get credit from me.
Ah…. so it’s our fault .of course. Thanks for letting us know jack sullivan… oops sorry i mean John
.
Sorry? Jack Sullivan – what u on about exactly?
What’s not to understand exactly.
I thought it was brilliant.
Er Hugh I was suggesting it could been wrote by young jack as a joke. Blimey ..whoosh !!! Obviously went over your head
The problem is not the fans. Whilst getting on the back of Roberto will never help his confidence, the real issue there is lack of ability, not confidence.
There are a host of issues:
– poor recruitment: I don’t think all of the Pellegrini signings have been poor, the better ones (Diop/Anderson/Haller), have visibly lost any fight they might have had during the course of the season. Ajeti seems to be Pellegrini’s Hugill and Wilshire his Andy Carroll. Why buy 2 back up keepers, if you never have any intention of playing one of them. Fornals has had 4 strong seasons in La Liga and represented his country, yet seems barely conscious at West Ham.
– single system: the manager only changes the system when the team goes behind. By then its mostly too late. Our stats show lots of possession, but very few shots on target. Its only patient build up if there is a goal at the end of it, otherwise its just a waste of time.
– intensity: this is the word used to criticise bilic’s teams before he was sacked, yet here we are again with the current manager. Without Antonio (or Anderson on form), we have little pace, none of our players are in the top 50 passers in the premier league.
The list goes on and if the manager was going to turn it around he would have done it by now. When they sack him, I just hope the board maintains the ambition they’ve shown over the past 18 months.
Double post moderated out.
You are one sorry sully mouthpiece
What exactly are you on tonight?! If your only contribution to this forum is to make comments about double moderation outs and various people being Sully mouthpieces we will moderate you out permanently. It would be good if your posts made sense as well! Nothing of yours has been moderated and if it were it would only because it makes no sense to anyone but you.
Leave it out……..John 😁
I have written before but having read “Dave’s” comments I felt compelled to do so.
WELL SAID DAVE.
I have followed the ups and downs of West Ham since childhood and I would suggest we currently have the best owners, the best manager and possibly the best team we have had for decades.
It is beyond me why so called “supporters” are continually moaning.
We are West Ham. Not Real Madrid.
OK – anyone would agree the results of late have been very disappointing, but finishing in the top six is a dream – one day maybe.
Until then, I continue to support what we have.
Hmm, it’s beyond me that so called happy clapper supporters do not understand. As you were.
Spot on. Was Pellegrini useless when we were playing the lovely football we enjoyed so much earlier in the season? We should be grateful for what we’ve got: loads of investment in the team, a well-functioning academy with a manager brave enough to use young players, an attractive, quick-passing style of football, a world-class stadium. What’s not to like? So we should back our team, back a manager who has the right values and instincts, and see where patience, loyalty and encouragement can take us – and ditch the moaning, negativity, shame and blame.
Tim Weekes, you having us on right, playing lovely football for a half against NORWICH, manager brave enough to use young players (like who) an attractive style of quick passing football LOL, which planet are you on, manager with good values but tactically clueless…
Anyhow maybe in your part of the world it’s April Fools day… But good on you, like your sarcasm, pull another one… Are you a stand up comedian by any chance because I won’t take this lying down if you are…. LOL.
A world class stadium? Is that a joke? As for a quick style attractive passing game, I can only think your watching another team Tim..
I think supporters have every right to moan about what’s going on at our club..
Ha ha ha ha ha .I needed cheering up thanks John
Agree with the sentiment except for the crowd to get behind the team, the players need to be seen to be giving 100% even if they’re playing badly and that’s just not happening at the moment. The other element is playing attacking football – its hard to back a team playing sideways. I’ve been a supporter for 45 years and what gets me out of the seat and singing isn’t winning but excitement. And there ain’t much excitement right now !
It was only a short while ago that we were singing the praises of the recruitment and looking forward to the season with hope and optimism. Now we are running down the players, manager and board. We should back the team! I know it’s a two way street, but look how the crowd responded towards the end of the last game and how that transferred to the players.I know it was too late but it shows what is possible.
Back the players and manager and lets get out of this position, together!
Good points and i largely agree. But the problem isn’t about West Ham, its social media. Since SM became such a beast managers get next to no time and many clubs have a rapid turnover of managers and players meaning clubs lack stability. The pressure on players and managers is now relentless. How many prem managers are ‘on the brink of bring sacked’ at the moment? Since Pelle West Ham have played some of their best football for many years, so many ‘fans’ have very short, and rose tinted, memories.
What I don’t understand is why people think that if you come on here & express a critical view about a player, the manager or the club you are in some way failing as a supporter. Within a family if your son is disrespectful to a neighbour or his teacher you would read him the riot act because you want to improve his behaviour. Doesn’t mean you don’t love him & are going to withdraw your support for him.
You can come on here & discuss things that might improve the football club you love. Doesn’t mean you will go on Saturday & shout abuse or boo your own players. And with all due respect to this site I doubt if the players spend much time reading our comments.
Some really good points, made well. A lot of people don’t like to hear it, but the fan’s can do a lot more, in getting behind the team. I also feel there are some supporters that constantly moan at the board, whatever they do.
There are no salient points whatsoever made in that article,it was clearly not written by a west ham fan,or it was written at board level then palmed off as “John”.I think we’re all in pain as fans,I’m still in shock how bad we’ve become in a short space of time,the manager has clearly lost the team,the plot,and the will to turn it around,but some of the names I’m hearing are incredible,it’s all about who can we get so we don’t have to pay compensation blah blah,it’s a shocking list with the exception of Howe who we won’t get,we need more ambition but sadly,it’s getting worse daily,I feel we’ve become a laughing stock to other fans,and rightly so,we move like sloths when other teams move quickly and without fuss for the mangers and players they want.so let me think about it is it us the fans to blame………?
nOBODY AT BOARD LEVEL WROTE THIS. give me your evidence. Why would they be at Man U v Newcastle.Such nonsense
“Saying don’t worry about a thing, cause every little thing is gonna be alright” whoever is singing this song at west hams present plight is the problem. Gone are the days when relegation was all part of the deal. West ham are in with the big boys, which means stadium, players and owners too. All go hand in hand.
So sorry David, erm apologies, John. I and my fellow supporters shall try harder next time.
Thanks John. I shall remind myself of this note at season ticket renewal time & when a new shirt comes out and the club is want me to spend some cash into their coffers that it’s all my fault at our current plight. Much appreciated for telling how much of an idiot I am.
This is a nothing article. The media and other clubs are feeling and seeing what West Ham fans are experiencing week in week out.
We are down and out. We will barely scrap 20 points out of the 72 reaming this season -— if things don’t change very fast.
While I would never boo a Westham player and in the past the boo-boys have made life uncomfortable for certain players (e.g. in the context fo Roberto – for Alan McKnight), I feel that fans respond to players putting in a shift and looking committed – and that is up to the Manager as well as the players – at least Slav was able to get that response from the players and is the minimum that we require from Pelle – also I woudl disagree that our performance in games 2-6 was exceptional – in the games that I watched we were distinctly lucky to get a draw at Brighton and who knows what would have happened if Hughes had not missed the sitter for Watford. Surely the manager has to be realsitic at least with the players and help them to improve their game or at least their positioning?
So a) fans please dont boo or at least not until full time
b) manager and players – please extract a digit and show that you care
Even by this site’s standard, this article is a load of board-loving nonsense.
I’ve supported this club for my 40+ years on earth as did my dad and my grandma before her. I have never expected a top 6 finish. Then G&S persuaded me and others like me to support the stadium move on the promise of world class football in a world class stadium with the pitch close to the seats and champions league football. It was the board that promised that. Not the fans. You can’t blame the fans for expecting what was promised by the owners. Well YOU can blame them “John” but it’s utterly pathetic to do so.
Personally I still didn’t expect top 6, I did though expect that we’d have a balanced squad and wouldn’t ignore the glaring problems in our squad year after year i.e. no dynamic CM and no decent full backs, no reserve keeper (I mean a real reserve keeper who’s actually played football before, not the random bloke they’ve dragged off the street to play in goal right now). I did expect to have a net spend that would imply we’d at least pretend to want to make top 6.
As for not backing the team or understanding players have confidence issues – we DO back the team when they put the effort in. As it is we have been out-run EVERY SINGLE MATCH this season. I am happy and proud that our crowd give our players grief when they are lazy ####s. They deserve it. If you don’t like that – go and watch Arsenal. To compare us with Man Utd in that regard is laughable – how many trophies have they won compared to us? Do they have an actual football stadium rather than an athletics bowl? And in any case I don’t remember a lot of noise from their fans the last couple of seasons. The idea Man Utd fans are some cauldron of noise is more utter fantasy.
But ultimately, John suggests we should remember that we had one good half of football against Norwich to realise how lucky we are? “One of the best plays” you’ve seen? Plays? Eh? Are you an American that just watches on TV? Honestly, I’m not sure if this is a parody?
Also Hugh, “sticking your head above the parapet” means putting your name to something. This is the opposite of sticking your head above the parapet. Can I suggest that “John” uses his real name when he wants to rant in defence of his best mates in the boardroom. I’ll give you a clue – the first three letters in his real name are H U and G. My name’s Joe Dobson, block 132, Row 1, seat 364. That’s sticking your head above the parapet.
WE understand that this was seen as a board loving piece and like most others here,”John” may be a chosen avator. If this has come from a member of the board it is unknown to us and frankly such a long and involved comment is not exactly what one would expect a board member to do. Why? They really are rather busy with other things I assume and to be honest CandH really isn’t that important to them. The idea of anybody sitting down at that level in the club and spending however long on composing such a comment seems to be about as far fetched as it gets. We reflect all views here and if anyone believes anything otherwise we have no issue with that.Thanks Joe.
I didn’t suggest the board wrote it. That would be ludicrous. I suggested that it sounds like you wrote it Hugh.
You described the writer as “brave”. That would imply he’s writing some sort of cutting “home truths” that people don’t want to hear. It’s really not a ‘brave’ piece. It’s ludicrous from start to finish.
LOL – absolutely not. Dear God. And frankly I don’t care whether I’m believed or not because such suggestions are utter garbage. I’ve heard D Sullivan wrote it, Jack Sullivan wrote it , David Gold wrote it, Karren Brady wrote it, the media team wrote it – now me. Bloody hell – the madness continues.
If you don’t believe I didn’t write it that’s up to you. I didn’t. Thank you for your honesty Tom. I hope you accept that I too speak truth. It came in on e mail from a source I’ve never seen before and it was a different angle – thus I put it up as I have done hyper critical pieces. However, I’m glad u accept that those claiming the board were responsible for writing it are talking rubbish.