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WEST HAM WAY FANZINE

Message from the Editor Welcome to the brand new ‘The West Ham Way fanzine’, we hope that you enjoy the content. As a site we are continually looking for ways to expand what we do and we believe this is a new exciting way to do this. We will bring you interesting articles from our informed writers. Different topics will be covered and you will be able to read exclusive news from ExWHUEmployee and our collection of ex players and West Ham personalities. We hope to grow and encourage fan participation through guest contributions. The West Ham Way is the fastest growing independent West Ham website out there and we appreciate the support you have all given the site.

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ADRIAN OR RANDOLPH?

EX WHU EMPLOYEE

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AN INSIGHT INTO OUR OWNERS

BATTLE FOR CENTRE BACK

The fight for West Ham’s Number One spot.

We have a look at what the owners have done for us since they bought the club.

We look at what pairing is worthy of filling our centre back positions.

12 THE THREE P’s

The Three P’s Explained.

Perseverance, Payet and Patience!

13 DELUDED FANS When are us ‘deluded fans’ getting an apology?

May I June 2016

An exclusive column from West Ham’s most trustworthy source.

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West Ham Way • @WestHamWayCoUk • www.westhamway.co.uk

ADRIAN OR RANDOLPH

WHO SHOULD BE OUR NUMBER ONE?

This year we are lucky enough to have two keepers who have proven their quality and it has lead some fans to question who should be number one?

May I June 2016

Whatever the final outcome of the season, it’s hard to disagree that it’s been somewhat of a cracker.

We’ve got a team that has strength in depth, is versatile and on its day can take it to anybody. This sentiment certainly extends to our ‘keepers. I remember at the seasons beginning, the ever affable John Terry offered that Petr Cech would win Arsenal 15 points on his own. Hand on heart, it’d be hard to disagree that either of our first team ‘keepers could do (and have done) the same for us.

Of late, we’ve had a bit of a rough ride with decisions going against us. As Andy Carroll described, we seem to have dropped eight points because of match officials making some very suspect choices. It’s been frustrating to say the least.

With this, though, has come a very healthy look at the team and how we can improve and actually beat the teams that we have, to a man, pretty much battered for most of the 90 minutes.

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One guy who’s had the keen eye glanced over him is Adrian.

With his casual palming of the ball onto the head of the opportunistic Damien Delaney, resulting in a very avoidable goal, this is understandable. I like that we’re looking to better ourselves.

I like that, in spite of refereeing that has made the case for more technology in football a stronger one, we aren’t sitting around moaning like we have a God given right to win everything (I’m looking at you Chelsea and Man U). I do think that Adrian should keep his place though.

It’s a bit of an easy write after his penalty heroics v Watford but I genuinely believe this. Ireland International Darren Randolph has taken the club by storm after arriving with the unenviable reputation of being the man who conceded 8 goals for Birmingham v Bournemouth back in 2014.

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After his shaky start against some of the minnows of Europe, it’s fair to say that he had somewhat of a mountain to climb to win the hearts of the fans.

But he has done just that, pulling off world class performances in cup games against some pretty big teams.

It’s fair to say that should Randolph be placed in the team at any point, it would arguably be a like for like swap in terms of ability. So why not drop Adrian and put Randolph in the team then? My answer is a simple one.

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Had Randolph been in the team, I believe that he would have made the same number of mistakes that Adrian has over the season. Adrian is not a calamitous ‘keeper. If he were consistently careless, he would have been dropped ages ago and has kept us in games for more times than I can remember. On recent form, no doubt would Randolph do the same but equally, I would wager that he would make his own mistakes too. So what’s the point I’m getting at? Don’t change it. I don’t believe it’s broken, so why on earth fix it? Of course, I’d love Adrian to stop doing those kick ups when being charged by an opposing forward, that kind of stuff belongs on Soccer AM, but in a way that’s the sort of thing that makes him such a West Ham player. His flamboyance and downright nuttiness are probably what edges it for me. He’s an entertainer.

He throws his body in front of anything. If he saves it with his face, knee or left testicle, he gets the job done with panache and style. I would suggest that the recent conceding of goals has more to do with James Collins being out of the side, the inconsistent Winston Reid and (my personal view) that scoring a late winner v Liverpool doesn’t make Angelo Ogbonna the best defender at the club by a long shot.

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With not a lot to choose from, I’m going to go with the player who’s played more games, is a proven stopper but also has the edge of embodying the spirit of the club. I know it’s a cop out and I respect that there’s a lot of fans who’d like to see Randolph get his chance but with so much at stake, it’s not the time to start experimenting.

So go on Adrian, get us into the Europa Cup. Andy Phipps 5

West Ham Way • @WestHamWayCoUk • www.westhamway.co.uk

EX WHU EMPLOYEE A REGULAR COLUMN FROM WEST HAM’S MOST TRUSTWORTHY SOURCE

So it has been announced we will play Juventus in the opening game of the season. This is a great tie for us to open the stadium with. As someone who has Italian blood I have always had a soft spot for Italian football. When I grew up it was on channel four and I used to watch it religiously. Whilst I would say AC Milan are my Italian team, it is still very exciting to see another Italian great. It is no secret that Barcelona, Madrid and Munich were all contacted but Juventus were the most enthusiastic and I cannot wait to see this fixture.

JUVENTUS

There has been a lot of grumblings over the price of this fixture. The price however includes the opening ceremony and again this is set to be pretty spectacular. There is a real determination from the club to go out of The Boleyn in style but yet enter a new era at the Olympic Stadium spectacularly.

The Manchester United game is so close now and I cannot really believe it. I am going to miss the stadium so much. I was lucky in my youth that I regularly got to go to games and then go on the pitch after matches and that excitement I had as a kid doing this is very hard to replace. The ground holds such special memories for us all. Sky have recognised this and are intending to do a whole day of hourly reports from the stadium on the last day hosted by Jim White (the notorious yellow tie wearing transfer deadline reporter), Tony Cottee and Tony Gale.

West Ham’s fixture against Juventus will be played on Sunday 7 August.

We have been linked with a number of big name “injury” prone players. The club is determined to not go down this route and they showed this stance by the fact that they closely monitored Lanzini’s recovery from injury before committing to buying him.

Therefore the continuous linking of Oxlade-Chamberlain of Arsenal and even more ludicrously (given how many centre backs we have) Vermaelen of Barcelona are

You will soon be able to buy your seat from the ground and I will certainly be buying mine plus enter the auction for so many items that will go on sale and will give you a piece of football history. I get sad thinking about our move but when you see the Olympic Stadium and the conversion that is going on you will see that it is the right move. The new stadium May I June 2016

looks spectacular and all the facilities that it has will make the transition worthwhile.

The club really want to have top quality players to play in the stadium and already extensive work has gone in to finding us a new forward. We had already lodged a number of bids and it is clear that Lacazette and Batshuayi lead the way for the top targets.

The one problem we have is that with Euro 2016 in the summer both clubs may hope their players “star” in the tournament and therefore raise their transfer value.

It is thought at this point that Lacazette has expressed a strong interest in moving here. We have also made very strong moves for an Argentinian forward (no it is not Tevez!)

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farfetched. These players do not represent value for money and we would not risk it on injured players.

We have looked at a number of wingers too. These have been reported in our previous columns and we are exploring the options of an experienced right back. We have been looking at Europe and domestically and have identified a couple of targets here too.

It is good that Sakho is back playing with the squad and I actually thought him and Carroll were superb against Watford.

Sakho was made to apologise to the whole of the squad on the training ground after the Arsenal “injury” and this was accepted by the team. Sakho has been having some off field difficulties and the club have taken this into consideration. I do not expect to see Alex Song playing for the club again however. He will leave in the summer with a number of clubs keen to sign him, although none of the stature of his parent club, Barcelona. Victor Moses will go but the club are determined to keep hold of Obiang. He has become a little frustrated by his lack of regular first team action and has spoken with Bilic about

this. It is felt however that with Europe potentially on the horizon he would be perfect for those games. Valencia is another who we would consider an offer for, as I discussed in my column last week, there is interest from China, Italy and Spain for the player.

A few fringe players will also leave in the summer; most notably Joey O’Brien, Elliot Lee, Jordan Brown, Mavilla and Nasha. Reece Burke finds himself in a tricky situation.

It is clear at the moment with the four first team centre backs that we have and Reece Oxford also emerging that he has a tough battle to get to the first team.

After winning Bradford’s player of the season this year he is now attracting interest from other clubs. We intend to loan him to a championship club and we would like that club to be Bradford (if they get promoted). Reece is a diehard West Ham fan and doesn’t want to leave but is evaluating his next move. The club hope he will go on loan for another year or so and then be fighting for a first team place here.

We will continue to search for top young players to bring here.

I was delighted to exclusively bring the news of the signing of 7

Domingos Quina in the week from Chelsea and there are two more players that could be heading to the youth team before the end of the season. These are two very talented individuals. Speaking of talented youngster Samuelsen is back with us from his spell with Peterborough and hoping to make the bench in the forthcoming fixtures as well as leading us to victory in the cup final against Hull.

The site is moving forward rapidly and you are now reading our first ever fanzine. Please make sure you continue to check this out and contact myself for advertising both in this and on the website or offering other contributions should you wish. We will have a special edition available for the Manchester United game. Thank you to all the writers who have contributed and I haven’t been able to thank personally yet.

Remember our App is available to download and to follow us on snapchat, Facebook and YouTube.

We have a new website round the corner and another “unique” new feature coming soon.

I will be at the WBA game so I look forward to seeing some of you up there and follow all the action on our Snap Chat.

West Ham Way • @WestHamWayCoUk • www.westhamway.co.uk

HOW THE SONS OF THE WEST HAM WAY ARE MAKING FOOTBALL STAND UP AND NOTICE.

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We would not buy this club at all if this wasn’t West Ham. We bought this as supporters, not from a business point of view. It makes nocommercial sense for anyone to buy this club.

David Sullivan, January 2010.

At this point in time, West Ham United were on life support, lying on the gurney with heart defibrillator paddles at the ready. The club at this point had borrowed against the clubs future income just to stay afloat and were still carrying a debt of £110 million despite the immediate cash injection Gold and Sullivan had thrust in. It’s only with hindsight in 2016 that we can realise how much of a relief those words should have warmed the hearts of West Ham fans during the ‘Big Freeze’ we were experiencing that winter.

There was a ten-year plan set, Champions League football, a top May I June 2016

Premier League team challenging for trophies playing at a state of the art stadium. With four years left to achieve this West Ham are well on course to get there with time to spare. Gold, Sullivan and Brady using the blueprint of the West Ham Way have achieved everything we could have wished for and more.

The key to their success is implementing the West Ham way through the core of the club and blending it with sharp business sense, generosity and passion.

They get it, they get the west ham way because they are fans themselves hypnotised by the West Ham way itself. Attacking, attractive and exciting football with a nod to home-grown talent and a love for the club.

The West Ham way has created the history of a nation in world cup winning heroes Hurst, Moore and Peters. It produced Cole, Ferdinand, Noble and the love affairs with Di Canio, Tevez and 8

now Payet. The West Ham way is the fertile soil that everything else sprouts from. Of course, you need effective management behind the scenes, but I firmly believe that you need owners that understand football and the individual values of a club for it to work. The West Ham Way is engrained into our owners, they are fans, and they grew up watching the success of Greenwood and Lyall that spawned the West Ham Way The West Ham Way created our owner’s passion and love for West Ham United. It is those owners that are taking West Ham to the forefront of football by implementing what stole their hearts all those years ago.

The West Ham way gets the fans excited, it results in the right player recruitment, which leads to success on the field, better players wanting to join, full gates, financial success, filling a new 60,000 capacity world class stadium, world class player recruitment, Premier League titles

and Champions League trophies, which finally leads to healthy balance sheet and a successful business model. After Sullivan and Gold bought the club with it valued at £100 million, it is now valued at over £800 million. Not bad in six years.

The West Ham Way incorporates the academy of football that has produced talent such as Redknapp, Brooking, Lampard, Ferdinand, Carrick, Defoe and is just as evident today with Noble the club captain, Tomkins and the emergence of Reece Oxford. The West Ham Way has a passion for flair Di Canio, Tevez and Joe Cole and this is being repeated now with Payet, Lanzini and Michael Antonio.

West Ham are now worth an estimated £800 million

The West Ham way led to the recruitment of Slaven Bilic, a fans favourite and the appointment of Julian Dicks a West Ham hero as his assistant. This was exactly the right move and I question whether businessmen not part of the West Ham family and foreign investors detached from the club would have made that call.

heads knew that they needed that stadium at all costs and now the majority of fans can see that. Their passion for football and loyalty to the fans made them understand that changes to the running track were necessary, and this was duly agreed during the negotiating process whilst simultaneously beating off rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The blend of the West Ham Way and astute management from the chairmen has again created a devastating cocktail for success.

One of the key signs of success is criticism and jealousy from others, it is, as chairman David Sullivan pointed out on TalkSport about the Olympic stadium recently, a British trait.

A boardroom that understands and lives for the West Ham way and a management and coaching team that understands the west ham way. This is the reason for success on the field.

The criticism received is nothing other than jealousy, especially when the opposing arguments are so weak. Rivals are scared, they can see what is happening at West Ham United and they are very scared. They want what we have for their club, lifelong fans running the club and an exciting future. Not foreign investors looking to drain the club of its soul to the bewilderment of the fans.

West Ham United are coming for the elite and we are doing it whilst playing the West Ham way, which is thoroughly exciting.

Yet despite the chairmen’s understanding and commitment to the clubs historical philosophy, when the club has really needed to focus on something, they have let their heads rule their hearts when necessary and blended astute business sense to create the winning formula.

The most important and noticeable of these was the appointment of Sam Allardyce to replace Avram Grant. After the heartbreak of relegation, they knew that an immediate return to the Premier League was critical, as an extended stay in the Championship can be as terminal as it gets in football. Despite not being the popular choice and taking some criticism it was a masterstroke as solid foundations were laid that we are now benefitting from.

If it wasn’t for the West Ham way we may not have had David Sullivan say those words back in 2010. The West Ham way gave birth to a legion of passionate, loyal fans handed down to generations below them, families in tow. The West Ham way will continue to do so, forever blowing bubbles, fortunes will not be always hiding.

Their generosity goes hand in hand with their fan status. They aren’t in this for the money and we are lucky to have chairmen in the current climate like this. They genuinely want what is best for West Ham United rather than the balance sheet and this is ironically what makes the balance sheet outlook so healthy now.

Without having actual knowledge of the negotiations, the passion for success in the hearts of the chairmen created by the West Ham way all those years ago must have played a part in the negotiations with Olympic Stadium chiefs.

@FootyBoatRace

Again, their hearts would not have wanted the running track and athletics at the stadium but their 9

West Ham Way • @WestHamWayCoUk • www.westhamway.co.uk

BEST CENTRE BACK COMBINATION We haven’t had much to grumble about this season, and God knows we love a moan up. However, our best centre back pairing has been the subject of increasing debate lately, with vociferous discussions regularly overheard on the terraces at The Boleyn...

Not least during the immediate aftermath of yet another defensive catastrophe. This was never more apparent than the 75th minute down at Upton Park on Saturday April 2nd when Reid and Ogbonna somehow contrived to present the equaliser on a plate to the rarely prolific Dwight Gayle (for his one and only league goal this season). This resulted in yet another 2 points dropped.

Imagine where we would be this season if we could have converted just some of those score draws into maximum points? It’s all too easy to continue to blame poor refereeing decisions, as indeed we did against Palace, but at some point we are going to have to shoulder some of the responsibility ourselves and start to manage games from winning positions in a far more tactical and professional manner. My theory is that we are simply not used to leading in games. We have become so accustomed to falling behind under Big Sam’s reign and reverting to the roll-up-yoursleeves mentality which served us so well for many years that we no longer know how to protect a lead. I’m surely not the only one who thinks we’re better than that now? We used to be content with avoiding the relegation scrap and now we’re competing for Champions League places. But do we have the players at our disposal capable of competing at that level? Dmitri Payet, Lanzini, Antonio & co. have taken us on to new heights going forward May I June 2016

this season and some of the breathtaking attacking football we have played hasn't been seen since the days of Di Canio, Cole and Sinclair. But imagine how frustrated our forward players must be, scoring 3 times against Arsenal for example, only to be pegged back once again and having to settle for another draw? 3 goals should be enough to win any match right? Going back to the Palace game, we have conceded 10 goals in 5 matches, and if it wasn’t for the form of the divine pony tail himself, Andy Carroll, our season could quite literally be over. Even Slav doesn’t seem convinced about our best defensive pairing, never mind if any of the candidates have what it takes for European Football.

There's going to be tougher tests than Astria Giurgiu next season that's for sure so we'd better make sure we are ready.

But as we examine the various CB pairings available do any of them really have what it takes to move us forward in the long term? Or is it time for Mr Sullivan to forget the centre forward this summer and instead spend young Jack’s inheritance on our defence? Whilst scoring hasn't been a problem, the truth is we have conceded 43 goals this year and if present form continues we will not better last seasons tally of 47 either. We have also conceded at least 9 more than all of the 6 teams above us in the league.

Not good.

Reid & Ogbonna Appearances: 12 Goals Conceded: 18 Ratio: 1.5 goals per game Clean Sheets: 3 Very much the first choice pairing in the early part of the season, these two players initially demonstrated some real promise.

On paper they appear to have all the right attributes with a combination of Reid's stopping power and Ogbonna's finesse. In addition, they played a key part in the 2-0 victory at Arsenal and the 3-0 win against Liverpool.

However, shipping goals at rate of 1.5 per game leaves much to be desired and we've seen on several occasions a worrying breakdown in communication.

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Reid & Tomkins Appearances: 5 Goals Conceded: 10 Ratio: 2 goals per game Clean Sheets: 0 This pairing have only played together on a handful of occasions this season but there was evidence of a formidable partnership in the making during the 2-1 away win vs Manchester City where Reid in particular was immense. However, conceding at a rate of 2 goals a game and no shut outs in 5 games hardly inspires confidence. They were also brutally exposed together in the 4-1 demolition at the hands of our rivals Spurs. Tomkins and Reid and both committed pros who enjoy defending but you can't help thinking that neither of them are really that comfortable with the ball at their feet and this always looks apparent when teams press high against us.

Reid & Collins Appearances: 3 Goals Conceded: 3 Ratio: 1 goals per game Clean Sheets: 1 Arguably Winston Reid's most successful partnership is with James Collins at a rate of 1 goal conceded per game. However, given that they have only played three times together this season it's hard to make a fair assessment. Nevertheless that hasn't stopped a large segment of fans on social media canvassing for the pair to start against West Brom this Saturday. The Ginger Pele has arguably had his best ever season for us but it's been unfortunate that his own injury woes have coincided unfavourably with those of Reid, otherwise I suspect we may have seen much more of these two together.

Appearances: 10 Goals Conceded: 7 Ratio: 0.7 goals per game Clean Sheets: 5 If you were to choose on statistics alone, few could argue with the pairing of Ogbonna and Collins.

Just 0.7 goals conceded per game and an impressive 5 clean sheets in just 10 appearances, including a 2-0 win against Liverpool and a 1-0 victory against Spurs proving that they can do it in the games against first class opposition.

Ogbonna undoubtedly offers a different dimension to the other defenders with his added turn of pace and composure on the ball and he could be the ideal foil for Collins with his superiority in the air and no nonsense approach.

Tomkins & Ogbonna Appearances: 0 Goals Conceded: 0 Ratio: N/A Clean Sheets: 0 Tomkins and Ogbonna are yet to appear together this season at the heart of the West Ham defence with the former often deployed at right back instead. It is perhaps not all that surprising that Bilic has not trusted these two in the middle of defence given that Ogbonna in particular needs a natural communicator around him to stay focused. Reid and Collins possess natural leadership ability and command the back line but with Tomkins and Ogbonna left on their own you wonder who would take charge of that back 4.

Tomkins & Collins Appearances: 3 Goals Conceded: 4 Ratio: 1.3 goals per game Clean Sheets: 0

Ogbonna & Oxford Appearances: 1 Goals Conceded: 2 Ratio: 2 goals per game

Like Collins and Reid, these two players have been restricted to just 3 appearances together this season but with fairly underwhelming results. Both players are predominantly right sided and this showed. Yes they played together in the 2-1 win against Chelsea but with Collins occupying the left hand birth we never looked truly comfortable on that side which in turn stifled Aaron Cresswell's forward runs until Matic received his marching orders and changed the game.

Tomkins also conceded the corner which led to the Chelsea goal that day and when he plays alongside Collins he allows himself to get too fired up and can lose his discipline.

After Reece Oxford made his debut in the first game of season against Arsenal with rave reviews, albeit from a defensive midfield position, you might have expected to have seen a little bit more of him this year. These two players probably aren't the right fit together at present and indeed Oxford struggled against the formidable presence of Romelu Lukaku without a Collins or Reid to take him under their wing. The youngster has been restricted to just 6 first team appearances in total. However, not 18 until December next year, this young player could be the missing piece in the jigsaw as the club move forward with their ambitions.

Oxford is 6ft 3in, comfortable in the air and on the deck, and his natural leadership ability has already been recognised by the West Ham U-21's side and at England U-17 level where he has captained both sides in big games.

Ogbonna & Collins

Clean Sheets: 0

David Altendorff 11

West Ham Way • @WestHamWayCoUk • www.westhamway.co.uk

PERSEVERANCE, The three P's explained!

Perseverance-Having followed West Ham home and away for 19 years now I've seen some abysmal performances. 1-0 defeat to Swansea in a FA Cup replay at the Vetch Field, when they were in the Football League third division.

In the same calendar year a 1-0 defeat to Tranmere Rovers. This wasn't so bad as they were in the Football League first division, but still a poor display from us.

I've witnessed a 7-1 drubbing at Old Trafford, a 6-0 drubbing at Old Trafford and a 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford. However I was lucky enough to be there when the legend himself Di Canio beat the offside trap to put us 0-1 up, sending the travelling 9,000 hammers into ecstasy! Also more recently to see Payet's wonder goal!

It's moments like Paolo's goal that made you persevere. The unified belief that if we keep following, May I June 2016

PAYET

AND PATIENCE!

supporting and believing one day we will be rewarded with a day like that day at Old Trafford. However days like that were few and far between. But week after week the same faces would still turn out, with that very same following, support and belief.

Payet-It's been a long time since we've had a player like Payet.

He's a very special player that can influence a game he has barely been in, thus giving us that confidence against anybody we've played this season. Payet is pivotal to the clubs continued improved fortunes and it is vital we keep him for the foreseeable future.

If we can add some extra quality over the summer and keep Payet, I believe we can mount a more sustained challenge on the top four next season.

Patience-The long awaited move to the Olympic Stadium is almost upon us. We've all got an emotional goodbye to say to the 12

Boleyn Ground come the evening of May 10th. Then the new era begins! We will be playing in front of 60,000 people every other week. It is a new home stage that nobody is used to. Therefore we must be patient. Every team is going to come and want to beat us even more so than usual. One because it is an iconic stadium to win at and two because of the deal our owners secured for us. If things aren't going our way then we must stick together the same way we did on those days and nights in Swansea, Manchester, Tranmere, Stockport and more.

Keep turning out, following, supporting and believing.

Curt’s Column

WHEN ARE US ‘DELUDED FANS’ GETTING AN APOLOGY? Like most West Ham fans I was extremely grateful for the job Big Sam had done for the club. He not only achieved promotion straight back to the Premier League, but we also spent the next three seasons outside the bottom six, something which had not been done in fifteen years.

However, by the end of the third season, I was becoming increasingly frustrated with the team selection, formation and style of play.

So when it was near the end of the season and Allardyce’s contract had not been renewed and there was increasing doubt around his future, pundits, as well as journalists began to publicly attack ‘deluded fans’ like myself.

Pundits were laughing about ‘the West Ham way’ and journalists argued that we would be relegated in two years if we sacked Allardyce.

Not only were the majority of hammers called deluded, but our fantastic owners were branded as ungrateful by Big Sam himself.

Again, when Slav was appointed the club was slated. We had replaced a manager who would almost certainly keep us in the

Premier League with a man who had no Premier League experience. Some said we were doomed for relegation.

But what outsiders didn’t understand is that Slaven was exactly what all West Ham fans were asking for.

When Bilic came in, you could sense the excitement and optimism in the air around Upton Park. We finally had someone in charge of us who was actually one of us. We believe in Slav and most importantly he believes in West Ham. The same could not be said for Big Sam. So when are these pundits and journalists going to apologise and admit they were wrong?

Although it is only his first season in charge, the contrast between the two managers is astronomical.

Not only are we challenging for European football (and not through the fair play award) but we were also unlucky not to get through to the semi-final of the cup.

As well, we now go to away games with the belief we can get three points, no matter who we are up against. I have come away from 13

games disappointed to only have got a point against the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and City. That certainly would not have happened without Super Slav in charge.

Crucially, Payet recently said that it was Slav and his style of play that ensured he came to West Ham. It is fair to say we were laughed at by outsiders for wanting more than 12th place, but as this season draws to a close it is fair to say our ungrateful owners and us deluded fans have had the last laugh.

No matter how this season finishes, it is far better than anything we would have achieved under Allardyce. The Club has a feel good factor at the moment and it has been the perfect send off for the Boleyn Ground.

So I would like to say a big thank you to the owners for taking our club to the next level. Sam did a great job in getting us back where we belong, but we knew he had taken us as far as he could.

Hopefully next season in our new home we can build on this brilliant season and establish ourselves a force to be reckoned with in the Premier league.

Laurence Currington

West Ham Way • @WestHamWayCoUk • www.westhamway.co.uk