A lot can happen in a week can’t it? Get knocked out of the Cup by lower league opposition. Masuaku gets a 6 game ban for spitting at an opponent. The Board fail miserably again in the transfer window. The director of player recruitment loses his job on the back of racist allegations. One point from six in two six pointer games against relegation candidates. Protest marches against the owners are back on the agenda. And only twenty days earlier we were marvelling at the Arnie/Lanzini show that tore Huddersfield apart 4-1 away from home. It’s a funny old game.
Football for many is an outlet to get away from life’s stresses and problems. A day out at the football to watch your favourite team go give their all could transport you to a different World if only for a few hours. Bobby Moore was earning a few hundred quid a week when we won the World Cup in ’66 and it cost 2/6d for a lad to get into the North Bank. I think I can safely say that not many players played for the money back in that era, it is was all about the playing. In fact football probably lost a lot of good young prospects whose parents directed them elsewhere, towards more stable and better paid career opportunities long term. Our own Trevor Brooking’s decision to sign professional forms for West Ham was made easier as one of the criteria was the clubs decision to allow Trevor to continue on with his studies. Spurs and Chelsea were courting the player but wanted his signature immediately with no clauses for him to further his education. When I interviewed Eddie Bovington a couple of years ago he told me that when he lost his place in the team he saw the writing on the wall and chose to go back into his family business rather than spend the last few years of his professional football career playing elsewhere. Back to 1966 and when England won the World Cup, Sir Alf gathered all the players together and said, “Gentlemen, we have something to discuss. You have been awarded a bonus of £22,000 to be shared between you. One way of doing it would be everyone to have a basic £500, with extra money for appearances”. Without a moment’s hesitation Bobby Moore stood up and said: “No, boss, it will be £1,000 each. We were in all this together and that’s how it will stay”. Put in perspective, a thousand pounds in 1966 would be the equivalent of 18 thousand today.
Money was not what drove players until too much of it filtered into the game. Prior to the big dosh the players were often local players and there was a symmetry between fans and players alike. Playing on muddy pitches they knew what local derbies meant to fans and there was an emphasis on hard but fair play – well, except Leeds! So fast forward to now and I don’t need to go into detail of how things have changed but sometimes I wonder if money is all that drives some players. We all know about the greed of agents and players and how loyalty to a football club has been chucked out of the window. The likes of Mark Noble are a rare and dying breed. I doubt Mark will play for another club in his lifetime and he knows what a game against Spurs means to the fans unlike some who have to have it explained to them.
So whilst a players perspective has changed almost beyond recognition, have we the fans also changed? When I was younger and going to matches I used to get the right hump if we lost. An Uncle of mine who used to come over to our place every Tuesday evening used to say to me that he could tell whether West Ham had won or not just by the look on my face. A win or a loss would also mean bragging rights or a bagging on Monday morning at school or work. But it was more than that. It affected your heart, the love for your club. In those terms I doubt anything has changed. Certainly the match day experience has changed tremendously. Bovver boots and hooligans, the ninety minutes of singing before games and the smells and aroma of a proper East End football match have been replaced by shiny seats, replica shirts, popcorn and orderly queues. Some good and some bad then. Social media and blog platforms like this very one mean you can vent and discuss all things West Ham for most of the day and night all week. It is called passion for our club and that is what we fans have in abundance. So when I see Joe Hart laughing and joking coming off the pitch against Burnley when just minutes earlier we had conceded a late equaliser it irks me. When I see Antonio ready to come on as a substitute against Palace away and he has a look of “I couldn’t be bothered” it irks me. When I am told Sakho is injured for months and can’t play when we are short on numbers, then he passes a medical at Rennes, signs for them and scores on his debut a day later it irks me no end. This love affair with West Ham has fast become a marriage where one party has had its head turned.
Embed from Getty ImagesTwo points from the past three games has done nothing for Hammers fans with nervous dispositions. Reading the blog each day there are some that would see relegation as no bad thing. Others see it as an Armageddon. So how many points will be needed to avoid the drop this season? You have to go back to the 2010/11 season since the magical target of 40 points was actually required to stay up. Since then the highest has been 38 and the lowest 34 with a total average of 36 points being enough to avoid the drop. This season is presently providing quite a uniquely different relegation battle with just three points separating the eight teams above an only partially adrift West Brom. To try and get a better understanding of what may be required this season I hopped onto the PL predictor and entered my predictions on all the Premier league games remaining this season. With so many close calls I probably opted for too many draws as my initial inputs claimed that 32 points would be safe come seasons end! I went back in and made a few bolder predictions and 36 points was the recalculated total. Realistically, another three wins (and throw in a draw or two) should keep us safe but that is not as easy as some would think. We currently have a 23% win record this season and we would need a 25% win record in our remaining games to reach that target. If you want to try the predictor yourself;
click here