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| Good day, sunshine: West Ham fans at Carrow Road |
The visit of Sunderland to Upton Park on Saturday offers a chance to reflect on how far and how quickly West Ham have come since Sam Allardyce became manager just 16 months ago. The final match of the pre-Allardyce era was a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of the Mackems. It completed a sorry run of nine games in which just two points – out of a pitiful season total of 33 – had been accumulated. Supporters in the East Stand, long since devoid of hope and pride, marked the occasion with an ironic conga.
The extent of this writer’s disillusionment with the club as a whole at this time is there for all to see in the Notes on a Scandal piece, written just after relegation to the Championship was confirmed. That it remains Love In The Time Of Collison’s most-read article to date suggests that it struck a chord. Still, it was hardly a challenge to encapsulate the mood of fans stretched to breaking point by a season of watching a team “managed” by Avram Grant. In my lifetime, only the 1991/92 and 2009/10 seasons can remotely compare to the disunity, disorganisation and hopelessness of Avram’s annus horribilis.
This was the year of Wayne Bridge’s £90,000-a-week wages, Scott Parker giving the half-time teamtalk, £4m spent on Pablo Barrera, Jonathan Spector employed as a midfielder, Tal Ben Haim employed as a footballer, four team changes guaranteed every week, five-goals-in-eight-games Freddie Piquionne demoted to the wing, Luis Boa Morte the eighth most-used outfield player and, last but not least, a defence built around Captain Unfantastic Matthew Upson partnered by any one of Manuel Da Costa, Danny Gabbidon, James Tomkins or Winston Reid, depending on how the manager felt that day.
Fast forward a year and a half and it feels like we are talking about a different club. Not only did Allardyce have to clear up Avram’s mess, he was also charged with bringing stability to a team that had been managed by four different managers in five years. Promotion was achieved at the first time of asking. Four games into the new season, West Ham are sitting joint fifth, having conceded just once (a feat that only Arsenal can match).
It was around this point in the 2005/06 season, the year of our previous return to the Premier League, that a 4-0 defeat of Aston Villa broke the steely resistance of the fans, who finally began to chant Alan Pardew’s name. Allardyce may have returned West Ham to the top tier at twice the speed of Pards, yet at no stage during the 3-0 defeat of Fulham earlier this month was there ever a sense that “We are West Ham’s claret and blue army” would turn into “Sam Allardyce’s claret and blue army”. Aside from the obvious issue of syllables, Sam Allardyce remains a divisive figure.
Ask fans who follow West Ham round the country for their opinion and I imagine that a record 13 away wins last year, compared to just two the previous season, will prompt a largely favourable response. Indeed, standing amongst some 2,000 fellow supporters at Carrow Road on Saturday, there was no frustration at having made a four-hour round trip to see the team essentially play for a point. Increasingly, there is an “in Sam we trust” ethos, where fans appreciate that while the highs this year may not reach dizzy heights, the low of a relegation battle should be easily avoidable.
This was the year of Wayne Bridge’s £90,000-a-week wages, Scott Parker giving the half-time teamtalk, £4m spent on Pablo Barrera, Jonathan Spector employed as a midfielder, Tal Ben Haim employed as a footballer, four team changes guaranteed every week, five-goals-in-eight-games Freddie Piquionne demoted to the wing, Luis Boa Morte the eighth most-used outfield player and, last but not least, a defence built around Captain Unfantastic Matthew Upson partnered by any one of Manuel Da Costa, Danny Gabbidon, James Tomkins or Winston Reid, depending on how the manager felt that day.
Fast forward a year and a half and it feels like we are talking about a different club. Not only did Allardyce have to clear up Avram’s mess, he was also charged with bringing stability to a team that had been managed by four different managers in five years. Promotion was achieved at the first time of asking. Four games into the new season, West Ham are sitting joint fifth, having conceded just once (a feat that only Arsenal can match).
It was around this point in the 2005/06 season, the year of our previous return to the Premier League, that a 4-0 defeat of Aston Villa broke the steely resistance of the fans, who finally began to chant Alan Pardew’s name. Allardyce may have returned West Ham to the top tier at twice the speed of Pards, yet at no stage during the 3-0 defeat of Fulham earlier this month was there ever a sense that “We are West Ham’s claret and blue army” would turn into “Sam Allardyce’s claret and blue army”. Aside from the obvious issue of syllables, Sam Allardyce remains a divisive figure.
Ask fans who follow West Ham round the country for their opinion and I imagine that a record 13 away wins last year, compared to just two the previous season, will prompt a largely favourable response. Indeed, standing amongst some 2,000 fellow supporters at Carrow Road on Saturday, there was no frustration at having made a four-hour round trip to see the team essentially play for a point. Increasingly, there is an “in Sam we trust” ethos, where fans appreciate that while the highs this year may not reach dizzy heights, the low of a relegation battle should be easily avoidable.
Of course, a cursory glance at Twitter after a match like this will indicate that plenty of fans disapprove of Big Sam and are just waiting for him to slip up; but then again, it will also reaffirm that Twitter is predominantly inhabited by self-opinionated idiots. Aside from yours truly (a self-confessed idiot) I don’t think I have ever seen an away supporter tweeting during a game. Singing “Who put the ball in the pikeys’ net? Winston, Winston Reid” is much more fun and, well, supporter-like.
The typical attitude of the West Ham supporter – and I think we’ve established that no such thing exists – remains a respectful admiration for Allardyce’s achievements to date, tinged with frustration that the ball sometimes bypasses the midfield on its way to Carlton, and just a bit of paranoia that the man who celebrated our relegation in 2003 is ultimately here to bring the club down from the inside.
This really should be the point at which we put paranoia and utopian ideals to one side, and embrace someone who has the potential to be the best West Ham manager since John Lyall. I can’t make my fellow fans love Big Sam; but I fear we’re already in danger of taking him for granted. Although I appreciate his super-inflated ego doesn't make it easy to warm to him, this is no different to the self-belief of Pards. As long as that self-confidence is not misplaced, what's wrong with a bit of arrogance?
He has quickly assembled a team so strong that relegation already seems unthinkable.Whereas Avram started Winston Reid (his own signing) in just three Premier League matches, Allardyce immediately realised his potential and is now building a team around him. Given time and continued investment, he has the potential to be our David Moyes. Why not enjoy the ride? If your perception really is that life under Allardyce is incessant hoofball, then you will obviously feel that there is no ride to enjoy. Oh, well. You'll always have the memories of the pretty football Zola's team used to play.
During this weekend’s match, try to cast your mind back to that 3-0 humiliation in May 2011, at the hands of Allardyce’s mate Steve Bruce, and reflect on just how quickly this club has been turned around. In November, we will head to White Hart Lane with the uncharacteristic feeling that we might just win there; something we last achieved 13 years (or six managers) ago. If that doesn’t make you fall in love with Big Sam, nothing will.
The typical attitude of the West Ham supporter – and I think we’ve established that no such thing exists – remains a respectful admiration for Allardyce’s achievements to date, tinged with frustration that the ball sometimes bypasses the midfield on its way to Carlton, and just a bit of paranoia that the man who celebrated our relegation in 2003 is ultimately here to bring the club down from the inside.
This really should be the point at which we put paranoia and utopian ideals to one side, and embrace someone who has the potential to be the best West Ham manager since John Lyall. I can’t make my fellow fans love Big Sam; but I fear we’re already in danger of taking him for granted. Although I appreciate his super-inflated ego doesn't make it easy to warm to him, this is no different to the self-belief of Pards. As long as that self-confidence is not misplaced, what's wrong with a bit of arrogance?
He has quickly assembled a team so strong that relegation already seems unthinkable.Whereas Avram started Winston Reid (his own signing) in just three Premier League matches, Allardyce immediately realised his potential and is now building a team around him. Given time and continued investment, he has the potential to be our David Moyes. Why not enjoy the ride? If your perception really is that life under Allardyce is incessant hoofball, then you will obviously feel that there is no ride to enjoy. Oh, well. You'll always have the memories of the pretty football Zola's team used to play.
During this weekend’s match, try to cast your mind back to that 3-0 humiliation in May 2011, at the hands of Allardyce’s mate Steve Bruce, and reflect on just how quickly this club has been turned around. In November, we will head to White Hart Lane with the uncharacteristic feeling that we might just win there; something we last achieved 13 years (or six managers) ago. If that doesn’t make you fall in love with Big Sam, nothing will.
