The good old Hammers days are coming back again

 

By CandH blogger Allen Cummings

 

Enough has probably been said for now about the Declan Rice contract saga – and the reality is it’s sure to run for a good deal longer yet.

Who’s right? Who’s wrong? That clearly depends on whose side you’re on – Team Rice or West Ham. But whatever your view of that unwanted distraction, the emergence of Dec has firmly focus attention on the club’s revitalised and now clearly flourishing youth Academy, under the guidance of Terry Westley.

Conor Coventry

The prospect that we might be in the process of seeing the best crop of youngsters since those halcyon days of Lampard, Ferdinand, Cole Carrick and Defoe is very real.

And for an old timer like me it took me back even further to the introduction of the likes of Moore, Hurst and Peters, products of the original ‘Academy of Football’, who gave us all so many wonderful memories during those never-to-be-forgotten days of the 60’s.

Wednesday’s Carabao Cup demolition of Macclesfield was a fantastic eye-opener to most people and I include myself in that. I don’t pretend to be an expert on our youth team. I’ve heard of the potential in the side  but to be honest I had been inclined to temper that in the knowledge we are usually generous in our praise of our own. Dare I mention Reece Oxford?

Hpwever, we were all blown away by the impact 20 year old Grady Diangana made on his first team debut, clearly an unbelievably confident young man nd not at all phased by the occasion.

He was ever willing to take on defenders and not afraid to have a crack at goal with either foot. He looked every inch a first team regular – not a newcomer.

The introduction of 18 year old Conor Coventry for the entire second half, and shortly afterwards the blooding of Joe Powell, 20 in October, both of whom slotted seamlessly into the action, meant that with Rice also on the pitch, we were witnessing no fewer than four Academy players surely destined for big things.

This is proof perhaps that Pellegrini’s insistence of the youth squad training at Rush Green alongside the first team, to aid familiarity, is already paying dividends.

It wasn’t just the youngsters on the pitch I found encouraging on Wednesday either. As usually happens with these lower key games, it provides an ideal opportunity for younger supporters to come along in large numbers to the London Stadium with parents and friends to see their favourite team play.

It really was a treat to see how excited they were to be there, how clearly thrilled they were to be in an iconic stadium, how delighted they were to see their team record the biggest win so far in their new home.

I lost count of the selfies I saw being taken inside and outside the ground. It was heart-warming. Just like the youngsters on the pitch last night, those around me were loving every minute of their memorable evening.

For me it put into perspective a lot of the negativity and doom and gloom I’ve seen and heard from some of our supporters who seem only to bemoan the passing of the old days and refuse to accept anything representing the future.

Maybe. Just maybe, this old club of ours is in good hands after all – both on and off the pitch.

 

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