Forum | General Discussion

Over 580 days in the waiting and a whole world of events had been and gone ahead of last night's game against Leicester City, while fans had been absent David Moyes and his staff oversaw the metamorphosis of a team of relegation battlers into a slick top six of the table club.

Much had been made in the media relating to the fact that West Ham had done well last season, because there were NO home fans in attendance, citing the toxic atmosphere that precluded the Covid Pandemic. Ironically from the moment of project restart Hammers were on fire and with the exception of the 'blip' in form that coincided with Declan Rice's injury sustained during a pointless friendly for England, could have made the Champions League only missing out by 2 points.

Fears that there would be a negative atmosphere on Monday night, particularly in light of the ill thought out and ill timed aggressive take over bid by PAI(n), were quickly dispelled as the inside of the Stadium was absolutely buzzing, IF you had managed to get in on time!

As expected there was chaos at the entry points, so many people were having download issues or were in possession of poorly printed out tickets that the queues were massive, despite the best efforts of the stewards on hand. Footnote from editorial team...'SOMEONE' was in such a hurry to print out tickets having installed fresh ink in order to print out 'perfect' tickets that HE didn't bother to actually check what had been printed, so bright and clear were the tickets! On presenting the tickets it transpired HE had made duplicate copies of the same ticket! All this necessitated having to sprint for entrance J to the ticket office, the attendee promptly checked the system and printed out the new tickets, just like that!

There were many others who had difficulties getting into the packed to the rafters stadium, but they were rewarded by what they saw as a dominant Hammers team 'out Leicestered' Leicester! Of course the visitors had their moments, as was to be expected from a quality team with a quality manager AND quality travelling fans supporting them.

The first half sending off, which looked harsh initially was the turning point in the game, but it should be remembered that West Ham were already a goal ahead from a superb Benrahma and Formals constructed goal, finished with aplomb by the latter. A goal then followed for Said Benrahma as Hammers took advantage of Leicester being down to ten men.

The visitors did pull one back to set up a 'nervy' period, before the Michail Antonio show stepped up a gear! Covered from pillar to post by a slightly 'umble pie media that were anticipating an entirely different outcome, particularly as the vistors had humbled Man City in the Charity Shield.

Michail Antonio will get all the attention as a result of his brace scored late in the 2nd half, but Benrahma and especially Fornals did so much, as did the rest of the team, to ensure the Foxes left London with their tails between their legs.

Both players just keep getting better and better, FORNALS is emerging as a crucial player for Moyes, his ability to outrun a duracell bunny is both useful and inspirational for his team mates who hold him in high esteem. During his time with the club he has developed into a really, really good player.

Everyone knows the club's current home is a stadium not built for football, it has many deficiencies, but under the lights with a full house roaring? Come on the old 'Boleyn Roar' was there in spirit as fans tentatively begin to embrace their not fit for purpose home,
IF the team keep performing in a similar fashion then the ground's 'issues' will start to be on a par with trying to get a tube train from UptonPark back in the day, a real pain but a necessary evil! - Ed

It may seem a little more than co-incidence to some Hammers fans when they see 'one of their own' come out in the media in support of an aggressive take over bid for the club they 'love', the fact that said person has just lost their job with a major sports platform after nearly 20 years can't have anything to do with it can it?

Well of course it can, ex-West Ham and Everton player Tony Cottee has been on the periphery of every bid so far connected with taking over at the club, and the PAI(n) bid is no exception. Cottee has been a dissatisfied ex player for many years following his dismissal as a match day ambassador back in the day, just before the arrival of the biscuit barons. He has always proclaimed his 'love' of the club, despite spending nearly as much time as an Everton player!

Humourful observations, from some ill informed areas of the media, are even saying how 'spot on' the PAI(n) group are in their approach to buy the club citing enlisting the 'support' of Cottee in addition to the brassic Anton Ferdinand and his wealthy elder Manchester United supporting brother as some sort of major PR coup, what could possibly go wrong?

Well the answer to that one is, 'just about everything', the golden rule regarding PR is to do your research impeccably, because your 'release' cannot be recalled, therefore it is essential to carry out the correct due diligence for the content of statements that you will have to live or die by in the future.

On the face of what we have seen so far, a call to the undertakers might well be in order as fans in their droves have taken to social media to express their disdain for the unhelpful take over bid. That's not to say that fans don't want rid of the current owners, far from it, but having had the GSB experience for so long, fans can spot a 'wrong 'un' from a hundred miles, and PAI(n), to all intents and purposes, are a wrong 'un!

The only positive that we can see from the 'take over' shout up, is that other investors who actually KNOW what they are doing, might well come to the fore. It should be remembered that Red Bull have coveted West Ham for many years and might be tempted to return with a 'realistic' proposal, there has even been talks in business circles that a certain Elon Musk has expressed an interest in the naming rights of the Irons stadium in addition to having shown interest in buying the club outright as a direct result of having been shown a photoshop image of the London 'Dome' lit up with a Tesla hologram.

The Tesla Stadium has a nice ring to it doesn't it? - Ed

Hmm, the mischief makers can't resist a free hit at West Ham's expense, by opening up the 'Declan Rice unhappy' story, yet again. 'Declan Rice is ready to run down his West Ham contract amid interest from Man Utd as the midfielder feels his £100 price tag has prevented him from securing a move away, the 22-year-old feels as though his £100m valuation has priced him out of a move away and is now ready to run down his current deal', reports the Telegraph.

The (sic) incredibly well written and researched article then mentions: 'Rice will continue to give his all for the club until his contract runs out in 2024.'

This is about as news worthy as talking about the potential winner of next year's Wimbledon, no sorry, about Wimbledon in 2024! Come on, what a load of clap track, this 'story' is lazy journalism in the extreme, although there is a darker aspect to it's resurfacing.

Potential Manchester United 'targets' do have an uncanny knack of having stories appear about supposed malcontent at their clubs, there are many who openly acknowledge that 'Elite' clubs are able to circumnavigate the Tapping up rules by using their extensive media connections. They don't come more extensive than those of Manchester United!

Ex- United boss Alex Ferguson once famously called the Real Madrid board 'A bunch of Gangsters', when describing their tapping up of Ronaldo, Pot calling the kettle? Make no mistake, the little Norg will do all he can to emulate old red nose's transfer acumen.

That acumen involves pulling out all the hospitality stops available, a mode that the well oiled Old Trafford media machine are extremely good at. Their blatant attempt at using the National Press in order to destabilise Declan is indicative of a club that is desperate to keep up with it's more successful neighbours.

Hopefully the 60,000 plus crowd at the London Dome will let Declan know just how much he is appreciated, although only a fool would expect the future England captain to stay at the club past 2023. One man one club is a thing of the past, however West Ham do have the opportunity of using their Talisman to help them establish themselves in the upper echelons of the Barclays Premier League, and get a massive amount of money to reinvest in the squad to boot.

Declan could return playing for any other other club and get a great reception, with the obvious exception of Tottingham, so enjoy him while you can, beginning at the Dome on Monday evening! LN