As we entered May, and the season began drawing to a pretty disappointing conclusion, attention turned to who we felt was our Hammer of the Year.
For me, Aaron Cresswell has been our stand-out performer this campaign so I was delighted when it was announced he had won the club’s player of the season award. I saw him quite a few times last season at Ipswich and when we signed him I knew he would do well for us, but I didn’t think he would have thrived as much as he has.
Roy Hodgson must have surely looked at him over the last few months with a view of taking him to the next England squad. His form has been a constant highlight in a season that has otherwise fallen apart. It’s the same team that beat Manchester City and Liverpool and secured so many brilliant results at the start of the season so I just don’t know what’s been going on over the last couple of months.
I still like Sam Allardyce. I think he has done a good job for West Ham and I think it’s a shame the season has ended like it has. Like him or not, Sam has done all right for us and, to date, he has done what has been required. One of the biggest things Sam could have done more of in his time is adhere himself to the fans, but he hasn’t played along at all. He could’ve spoken about our great fans or our wonderful history and all the other great things about West Ham, but his comments about ‘what’s the point playing the West Ham way if you get beat every week’ might have been part of his downfall.
It’s all well not playing the West Ham way if you are winning matches but we haven’t been. Chelsea don’t always play free flowing, expansive football but they know how to win and that’s why they’ve won the title. Do Chelsea fans think their team is boring? Of course they don’t, they’re winning.
The fact is we’re not. Three wins in 21 league games is not good enough. That’s where we’ve fallen short. I inPerfect start: Aaron Cresswell is a fine Hammer of the Year Our aim is to Operate a fast reliable and flexible service to all cities in Europe and Worldwide and to make your bookings quick and convenient. There are no call centres just Professional staff to accept your bookings and inquiries and to make sure your consignments are handled and monitored efficiently from point of collection through to delivery with a signature on completion. In addition to this service A & S Express can also collect anywhere in the U.K. for International Deliveries to anywhere in the World. Email: sales@aands-expresscouriers. com Phone: 0844 800 6810 Visit: www.aands-expresscouriers.co.uk terviewed former Hammer Mark Ward recently and he said it’s because the players don’t know who they are playing for next season, but I think that’s a cop-out.
Surely it pays for them to go out and play – especially when there was no threat of relegation for such a long time. Yes we’ve had our share of injury problems but so have every other team in the league at some stage this season. It also doesn’t explain why we’ve switched off so late in games. I’m not against getting a new manager perse and I don’t think Rafa Benitez would be a bad choice
The new manager would have to come in and get it right straight away and get off to a good start. If we get off to a bad start, it could be curtains for us. The Olympic Stadium is a great opportunity to take the club forward but for the move to work we need to be playing in the Premier League at the start of the 2016-17 season.
Cards on the table time, I don’t mind coasting for a couple of seasons and building a bigger, better and stronger squad while finishing mid-table.
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