This is going to be short as Mrs Raddy has plans :-(
West Ham. The Boleyn ground. Unhappy memories of this place. Bananas thrown at Kevin Campbell. The Chicken Run and the Inner City Firm (look them up). Returning to the car and finding it keyed. Liam Brady playing against us. Can you believe that in the late ’90’s the men’s toilets had nowhere to wash hands? Hateful place.
Of course it wasn’t always thus; there were the days post-’66 with Peters, Moore and Hurst. The Football Academy developing the skills of Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire etc etc.
Sadly, new ownership and poor management ruined the club. Until now….
I hate to say this but Allardyce is doing a great job. He may be a gum-chewing walrus but his team are punching way above their weight and this is due to his management. Teamwork, pace, strong defence and midfield, and hard work have pushed WHU to the top 4. Add to this the attacking power of Carroll, Sakho and Valencia and we can see West Ham have the potential to surprise
Yet, we have a fine record against the happy Hammers and should not be cowed by their physicality. Admittedly we are down to the bare bones in certain areas of the pitch (defence and midfield) but we have enough to compete.
Then there is Alex Song. A majority of Gooners seem to think we should have taken him back – especially as it is a loan deal. Why didn’t we? My guess is that AW feels we have enough midfielders and that Song was simply not improvement upon what we have. I think he was wrong – just as I think he was wrong not to re-sign Fabregas. Rumour has it that Song became Jimmy Big Bollocks in the dressing room and the players were happy to see him leave. Could be true.
Given the 3 game ban for OG there is a possibility of playing an extraordinarily fast forward line of Welbz, Theo and Alexis. Could be very exciting.
My concerns are the set pieces. We have a nasty habit of giving away free-kicks around our area and WHU have the personnel to take advantage. Allardyce knows this, so does every Tom, D & H, and if we all know it why can’t it be fixed?? Buy. Buy. Buy.
A tough fixture against a team bang in form. A win at the Boleyn would be an unexpected Xmas Sale gift.
COYRRG
written by Big Raddy
