West Ham’s legendary snapper Stevie Bacon remains optimistic about his and the Hammers’ future as he continues to recover from having had his lower left limb amputated.
And in a wide-ranging interview in Blowing Bubbles Monthly>, Stevie has said he is determined to visit Upton Park one more time before the move to Stratford.
The results and performances of West Ham this season have also lifted his spirits in what has been a very difficult period in his life. Reminiscing about working as West Ham’s official club photographer for three decades, Stevie says he still feels privileged to have done a job he enjoyed for so long.
‘Being involved with the club was great for me being a local boy and a West Ham fan. To get to travel with the team was incredible. The biggest highlight for me was when I was able to go to Australia with them on tour. It was three weeks with them and it was superb.’
However, it was the big European nights that really stick in his mind.
‘I’ll never forget when Dinamo Tbilisi came to Upton Park and were applauded off the pitch. Then there was the game behind closed doors [in October 1980 after rioting by fans in the first leg against Castilla in Spain in the European Cup Winners’ Cup]. That was eerie. Everyone was desperate to see the game but it was only played in front of such a small number of people. Travelling abroad with West Ham for European games was also something I really enjoyed. I covered the Cup Winners’ Cup final when we got beat by Anderlecht and also the Intertoto Cup in 1999.’
The February issue of Blowing Bubbles also reviews Sam Allardyce’s legacy in East London with Emily Pulham suggesting Big Sam’s ‘deluded’ comments will come back to haunt him later this month
Elsewhere in this month’s issue, George Parris writes in his column that the capture of Sam Byram shows how far West Ham have come.
‘Sam Byram’s signing bodes well for the future, but he is still young and we need to give him chance to develop. We must accept he will make mistakes along the way but he has already shown that the step up from the Championship to the Premier League is possible, and there’s no reason why he can’t make the transition.’
The latest issue of Blowing Bubbles Monthly is now available to read for FREE on your computer, tablet or mobile phone.
Join the new West Ham Till I Die Facebook Group HERE