Forum | Non-Football Related

There has been much written and said about the 'West Ham Way', particularly in Old Sour Puss' Book, and also by the current Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce from his time at the Boleyn. Generally the public perception is of a mythical Claret&Blue haze that descends on whole groups of people, particularly men of a certain age and seduces them in to thinking what they are seeing and experiencing is special and unique. To many the West Ham way is an illusion that has been perpetuated and manipulated for financial benefit by the current owners, so what is the West Ham way? Valiant victories followed by crushing defeat? A conveyor belt for providing talent that then gets sold on for a fraction of its worth? Or maybe a team and club that teases, cajoles, and frustrates in equal measure, but one that occasionally lifts the spirits to such heights that are rarely reached within a sporting environment?
Over the years supporting West Ham United has been a hard graft, while other teams pushed forward the fiscal restraints and self inflicted issues at the club ensured perennial anxiety, matched by a yo yo like tendency to get relegated, sell off the best talent and then get promoted etc. An endless cycle of despair! The usual manifestation of the 'West Ham Way' would be beautiful performances, and rubbish results apart from the odd spectacular cup match, Hammers would always flatter to deceive, promising much but delivering very little consistently.
This evening's game against relegation threatened Aston Villa is a classic banana skin in waiting for Slaven Billic and his team, in the past teams in a similar predicament to Villa would arrive at the Boleyn and promptly turn the home side over, not enough grit, not enough desire and not enough luck! Billic is like one of those characters in war movies that his troops knew would never even get scratched let alone killed, he is the sort of person who makes their own luck, his influence and unwillingness to accept defeat before a game has started to spread to his players. They have no fear, the squad is full of good players, some great even! So this evenings match should hopefully show West Ham in a new light and how far the club has progressed, traditionally Villa would have none of the play and then nick it in the dying seconds, perhaps Billic and his boys can help dispel the myth that Hammers teams get nose bleeds when they scale the heights and always blow it when things are just beginning to look up?
Which West Ham way will turn up against Villa? - Ed

Unless there is a 'cunning' plan afoot, West Ham United appear to have shut up shop early on transfer deadline day. No frenzied candle burning at the Boleyn, no mysterious fat over weight mercenaries waiting in a near by Hotel hoping for one more excessive pay day, and no hopes of fans to be dashed! Pretty boring in one way, but on the other hand the club's work was already done earlier in the year with a very successful recruitment of top players who have all proved their worth. Top deals are usually done in the summer, not that there won't be obscene amounts of money changing hands today, it is just that most of the money will be from clubs like Newcastle, Sunderland, Norwich, Bournemouth and Swansea, splashed out in a desperate frenzy to avoid the dreaded drop in to what could be a downward spiral. The riches on offer for next season will further drive a wedge between the footballing haves and have nots, the Championship has always been a hard ask to bounce straight back up from, West Ham United were very lucky! Who knows what might have been had Vaz Te's shot not gone in on that amazing play off final against Blackpool? Look what happened to them! The already completed transfer activity by West Ham also has the bonus of fans not having to watch the permatanned hyena's on Sky to sniff out any information. - Ed