I don’t know about you but I’m getting seriously bored of letting in late goals. The last-gasp equaliser we conceded against Stoke City was the third time since Christmas that we have lost a lead in injury time after we did the same thing against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
We could’ve taken so many more points from these games and it’s our inability to see out matches that has cost us in the second half of the season. If we had held on a little longer in those games our position would seem a lot rosier but I just can’t understand why it keeps happening. The season is petering out in the most painful manner and it’s hard to take given how well we started the campaign and the excitement there was at Upton Park during the autumn.
It’s like we’ve thrown in the towel. We’ve gone from being a team that takes the game to the opposition, bombing down both flanks and looking like we’re going to score every time we go forward, to one that backs off teams and invites the pressure on. That’s just not good enough for me and I know it certainly isn’t good enough for the majority of West Ham fans.
We are not in the relegation mix and we are not going to qualify for Europe so I’d like to see Sam Allardyce sending his players out to attack. There’s no reason why we can’t just go for it. We’ve never been good at hanging on like this. We’ve never been a 1-0 team. There aren’t many teams who can sit back, absorb the pressure and see out every game. If we were a horse, we’d be off to the knackers yard! I’d like to know what is being said in the dressing room at the moment. Sam is such a proud man that I find it difficult to believe he is indifferent.
I know the players like him and I can’t imagine they’re thinking about the beach just yet. So it’s confusing. I really hope we don’t end up being the whipping boys of the league for the remainder of the season. Maybe Allardyce’s contract situation isn’t helping. Is he staying or is he going? The lack of a clear commitment is unusual. Everyone is assuming that if the owners wanted him to stay, if they felt he is doing a good job, they would come out and say they want him to lead us into the Olympic Stadium.
The silence has been deafening while the media is having a field day with all the speculation. Perhaps it has had an impact on the players. They must surely read the papers, they must see his answers to the constant questioning about his future. It’s no coincidence Brentford’s form dipped drastically once it was made clear Mark Warbuton was going and I fear the same thing is happening at our club. As most of you know I do like Sam. I think he has done a good job for West Ham and I think it’s a shame that it has come to this. The players clearly like him and as far as we know he has hit every target set for him by the board.
But the current situation means that (on the outside looking in at least) he is like a dead man walking. It’s hugely disappointing to have this uncertainty in what promised to be an impressive season. Only David Gold and David Sullivan know why they are hesitating. I trust they will make the right decision. Now it looks like the players, the fans (and possibly even Sam) will have to wait until May to find out where we all stand.
Be the first to comment