Unacceptable Moyes snipe after fans drenching

 

Gonzo gets the hump 

West Ham v Crystal Palace at the London Stadium on Sunday was a damp and arduous experience.

Whilst the above comment is probably a fair reflection of the 94mins of football on offer, I was actually alluding to my journey to and from the stadium rather that the game itself.

The weekend rail strikes may well have been cancelled but due to the late agreement between union and train bosses but the timetable remained restricted and infrequent.

As a result, my usual two hour journey each way to Stratford was almost doubled and myself and many other fans had to wade through puddles and floods as East London did its finest impression of The Serengeti’s monsoon season.

The surrounding canals were flooded by a tidal surge from the Thames and the walkway from Pudding Mill Lane was completely submerged rendering it inaccessible.

In summary it was a nasty old journey to the ground but as ever we did so in the hope of witnessing a much needed victory and possibly a few goals.

As we approached the lengthy stadium security checks, the heavens opened up once more to deliver another soaking. Hoods were raised and umbrellas were opened whilst all about us fans cursed the slow progress through the 100 yard queues.

Eventually I and two friends reached the shelter of the security gazebo for the standard bag-check and frisk. Following a most unthorough frisking (I’m not complaining), I was informed that I would not be able to take my umbrella into the stadium concourse and would have to put it into the bin.

Much to my surprise there were bins full of fans umbrellas at the beginning of each aisle. I protested against the decision but apparently “rules is rules” and my very feminine brolly (borrowed from my mother) could be used as a weapon.

Eventually I did manage to argue that my tiny umbrella was not a weapon of mass destruction (it has the tendency to collapse inside out when confronted by a mild breeze) and eventually he waved me through.

However. there were a number of fans who had the make the final walk to the stadium without their confiscated rain protection. One mischievous Hammers fan suggested that he expected to see a lot of Stratford based umbrellas appearing on Ebay shortly.

Eventually we made our way into the stadium (via a second long queue for the turnstiles) and headed to the kiosk for a pre game drink. Three pints of Stratford’s finest ale and £19.80 lighter we headed up to our seats to enjoy the match.

There wasn’t an awful lot to cheer as West Ham started slowly and invited Crystal Palace to attack and grow in confidence. Fortunately Said Benrahma seemed unaffected by the contagious lethargy and decided to attack Patrick Viera’s defence.

He scored a scrumptious goal which put West Ham undeservedly into the lead but it gave us something to enjoy and a glimmer of sunshine during the deluge.

I’m sure everyone reading this will be familiar with the match details which followed but to summarise. . . . the Irons lost to an injury time deflected goal which was predictable given the paucity of ambition and defensive tactics.

The real story was Benrahma’s substitution. He was West Ham’s only threat yet he was hooked after 64mins and replaced by Manuel Lanzini.

Moyes had suggested that Benni was injured but clearly the player himself hadn’t received the memo. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as his number came up on the 4th officials substitution board.

He looked broken and deflated yet totally resigned to his fate. As Benrahma trudged off. the crowd began to sing his name in defiance at the decision from the manger. It was a protest from the terraces, a song which questioned why the manager was withdrawing our potential match winner.

Moyes response when questioned about the crowd’s support/criticism was spikey and condescending. He remarked “Well, there are a lot of experts out there these days”. The insinuation is that us fans don’t know what we’re talking about, that we can’t possibly understand the complexities of his tactical decision.

Moyes has cut a frustrated figure recently and I’ve questioned how much he’s enjoying the task but to dig the fans out is unacceptable.

I’m quite sure that if questioned Moyesie would suggest that he’s never lost his Glaswegian working class roots and we’d hear an adage about tenement building’s and how he’s not always had it easy in life.

But being condescending towards fans who have spent their hard earned money, swam across shark infested Stratford and survived the great umbrella heist to support the team he’s done himself no favours at all.