Players and fans.

Saturday late afternoon and we proud Hammers fans who made the journey south (yes south) to Preston were not only treated to an entertaining fare but at Preston Railway Station managed to catch up with the squad as they waited for the train to Euston. Our boys travelled from Cumbernauld, Blantyre, Hamilton, Motherwell, (all just outside Glasgow) Kilmarnock, Perth and Edinburgh, a father and very young son from Edinburgh approached the players and the little lad with programme in hand got the boss and players autographs and had some pics taken of him with the players. It made his day and he will have that fantastic memory for the rest of his life. The look of sheer delight on his face was something special and he was looking forward to showing his mum when he got home.
I was lucky to get my pic taken with Adrian, Arnie and Robert Snodgrass (all very obliging and Snods is a really nice fella). Arnie agreed to a pic only when I put down a four pack and I wouldn't mind they weren't mine but my mates (I was guarding them while he went to the loo!!!!) I could understand Arnies point and duly obliged as the last thing you want to see is the wrong impression created and some plank on through social media would try and make capital out of it. The players and staff were very receptive to us all and with some of the bad press some players get and the game in general that makes it all the more worthwhile.
I was thinking about how our lads reacted and remembered a story a mate told me about his nephew who was a ball boy at Spuds and it was his Birthday when Man U were the opposition, Fergie was the Mancs boss at the time and the lad too a ball into each dressing room and everyone duly signed except one.... the one player who refused to sign the lads ball was Gary Neville! (Not that the lad was all that bothered , but remarked later that Neville was a plank!) So good on all the players and as a footnote I never realised how tall Declan Rice and Manuel Pellegrini were!