I was roundly and vehemently criticised last week for my column, something I knew was inevitable and I apologise if people feel I was ignoring any responses from fans angry at what I wrote.
I apologise to anyone who sees me as a Tuesday buzz kill, who thinks my name is a pseudonym for “Big Sam” or “Bulls***” or that, even worse than that, I am Mark Lawrenson in disguise. In my defence, I am currently on holiday in America, where even the crazies in the Republican party seem slightly more pleasant than some of last week’s comments.
I usually don’t respond to some comments because, well, what’s the point? Angry outbursts with no substance – which are just outpourings of frustration at me without any constructive criticism – do not provide a great atmosphere for a proper debate.
Of course, many commenters accused me of being just that: of having no substance and of simply spewing crap onto a screen.
Yet let’s recap the point of that article: it was not to call for Big Sam to come back, nor for Slaven Bilic to go, and nor to accuse us of heading for relegation. It was to point out, as the headline suggested, that we lacked a consistent run of form that frustrates me as a fan who wants us to move on from the Allardyce era.
I also pointed out a nervousness over our match against Sunderland. As a West Ham fan since the age of eight, and a season ticket holder since nine, I only ever want to see us win, and it gives me no pleasure to see us draw against the bottom team of the league.
However, to all those who called me a killjoy and an idiot and thought I write only to be trolled, I simply state that my writing comes from the heart and from my genuine concerns, and my desire to see us improve. I apologise if anyone thinks I am too pessimistic, but I’m sorry, I see blogs as places to discuss all the ins and outs of West Ham, and quite frankly, I’m not just going to sit here and write glowing reports about every game and say everything will be alright. That’s not constructive.
I don’t think we will get relegated, I just said our home form was not great, and in particular, our form against non top-four teams was something of a concern. Everyone can go on about how coming back from 2-0 down shows a new West Ham that has a fighting spirit. Well, sorry, we did that when 3-0 down against West Brom a few seasons ago. It doesn’t mean we’re going to get relegated, it just shows us that we lack consistency.
The fact that we can’t beat the bottom side in the Premier League when they’re down to ten men is something of a worry. However, it’s not bad form to note that and it’s not anti-West Ham or anti-Bilic to say that it’s a concern. If I want West Ham to prosper, I want to see us beat not just Man City, but all the lower teams too. I believe we can, but we haven’t hit that stride yet.
I totally get that, as some writers on here have suggested, it is the “West Ham Way” to beat big teams and under-perform against others. Yes, that has always been the case. But is it wrong for me to get frustrated at that and want something different? Yes, Bilic needs time to bed in and I will give him the time to do that, but I’m not going to stop highlighting problems and saying that I thought the Sunderland away game would say a lot. And it did. Loads of people criticised Mark Lawrenson for going for a 2-0 win. He was ultimately wrong, but Borini could have easily put Sunderland 3-0 up and that would have been that.
Many say on Twitter and elsewhere that, oh, West Ham concede goals due to silly mistakes. Well, after a while, several silly mistakes just become careless football that constantly costs us to drop points. It’s not an excuse to blame individual errors. They build up.
No, we will not get relegated, and no, we will not finish in the top six. But I want and expect us to finish in the top ten, and that is why I will always be critical if I do not think we are performing as well as we should. If you beat Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal away, you send out a message that you are a decent team and you are a team to watch.
Why do I get frustrated and write pieces like last week? Because we have to understand the nature of this season. It is, so far, one of the most exciting and unpredictable for a number of years and there are no truly awful teams. Sunderland showed us that they can give us a run for our money. Newcastle have given Chelsea and Man City a scare. Palace, Swansea, Everton, Leicester, Southampton: these are all teams on the up and they are not going to be easy home, or away.
I will to be more positive about aspects of West Ham, but if I am frustrated about two points out of 12 in games against Norwich, Sunderland, Leicester and Bournemouth, I think I have every right to be. It doesn’t mean we’re going down or that we need Big Sam back, but that we still lack a consistency of ruthlessness that is needed to take this club forward.
I’m being impatient, I know, but I just want to support a club that can beat the best and grind out results against other clubs too. That might not be this year as Bilic works his way through the season, but I hope it’s soon.