Guest Post by D McCailey
Every supporter at every football club will have their own set of heroes from their club based on experiences, skill, attitudes or particular events in that player’s career at a club. There are many, many West Ham heroes, ranging from players that transcend generations like Bobby Moore or Paolo di Canio, to players that achieved hero status over a very short period of time – Carlos Tevez or Dean Ashton in more recent memory. Hero status can sometimes be blighted in the short term (Scott Parker) or over time perhaps develop (Frank O’Farrell).
But what is very special about the West Ham fans, I believe, is the passion with which they esteem their heroes. Tony Hanna’s recent post about the ‘Johnny Lyall’s Claret and Blue Army’ event could only have come from a club such as ours – the ‘boos’ that followed it from the opposition fans showed their lack of understanding of that moment. The passion with which other players have been welcomed, or indeed lambasted, upon their return to the Boleyn with other clubs shows we truly care – either through love or hate – about players who have worn the Claret and Blue. Players such as Defoe and Bellamy ‘hurt’ us, which is why they have received the treatment they have, and perhaps, given recent developments in books and interviews, why some of us are very ready to forgive. There are many others who, frankly, we couldn’t care less about!
Which brings me on to the real reason for writing this piece. In recent times – through ’Arry’s book, or Bonzo and Devo talking to the KUMB podcast – it has become apparent that the board through the 70s, 80s and 90s, did not treat our heroes with the respect they deserved. It is testament to the players themselves that they have not gone into great depth about the details, but certainly we know that Bobby Moore WAS hung out to dry by the club and evicted without a ticket; Bonzo has only just returned to the club for the first time since he left in the early 90s, and I was amazed to hear that Devonshire didn’t set foot in the club for 15 years after he left ‘because of things that happened at the time’. I wonder how many other of our ‘heroes’ were treated by the club in that way at the time? I was very critical of the board at the time in an earlier post regarding their lack of ambition and these things do not help that view!
Credit where credit is due, however, I am pleased that Gold and Sullivan are looking to rectify that, giving Bonzo his award and acknowledging our ‘heroes’. I see Dicksy has been asked to do some corporate work for the club. Cynics will say that these are all about building the ‘image’ and ‘brand’ of West Ham, and of course they are right, but at least our heroes are being treated with the respect they deserve.