In the last few days, David Sullivan and Julian Dicks have made what I think are ridiculous criticisms of the players. Denigrating them by accusing them of not trying, or giving their best efforts, is so destructive at a time when they need to be bolstered, not belittled. The reason the Hammers are in dire straits is not because they haven't tried their best; it's because their best hasn't been good enough against most of the premier league teams! The record shows that. Even then, we've beaten teams like Spurs and Liverpool. A few key injuries at the wrong time, and that's cost many valuable points. The whole season revolves around a couple of draws that could have been wins with a bit of luck; a couple of penalty calls we didn't get etc. In any event, the players don't need the owner to blast them, or a former hero to undermine them. They know what they need to do, and I have no doubt they'll try their best. Whether they'll succeed or not, we'll find out soon enough.
Personally I have seen fault at all levels in the club. There have been times when we have lost and the players look like they don't care. But there have also been times when we lost and the players had a good game. The management have quite a bit to answer for also and the board are just what I expected them to be before they took over. Loud mouthed, undignified and unprofessional. I remember commenting on Sullivan's conflict management style at the time. I am not sure about the claims that injuries are to blame for our failures this season. A few seasons ago we had 14, the most injuries in the Premier League, but we survived. Some of our injuries have been key, but I don't believe they have presented a crisis that any good manager couldn't deal with given the squad we have. We need the players to have a surge of confidence and motivation, like what Curbs did in 2007. As we all know it wasn't all down to Tevez, Curbs played a large part in motivating and organising the team. But I agree that it starts at the top and if the board are not behaving properly then there is little hope that the management and players will be motivated with a positive mindset. It doesn't look good for us but we can still get out of it. But as soon as we lose a game I think it is over. If we do go down then I think we should look to a former West Ham man again like we used to. Di Canio, Dicks or even Bilic. Someone with a West Ham pedigree rather than a good CV, like Grant's.
The problem lies with the league itself. 1.) Salaries are way to high. 2.) To much emphasis is put on how much money will pour in through TV rights etc: 3.) Teams should have a regulated cap on what they can spend and how much they can go in debt. This would take the pressure off players and managers and make the division more equatable. The drop from one division to another should not be a case of 'can we survive if we get relegated' . Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool and others should all be fined for increasing their debt levels to the point that if relegated they would be staring bankruptcy in the face.
Interesting.... The owner and boards job is to support and build a team. Help the team. These two idiots have undermined the manager, critisized the players and F'up the season with there own stupidity. The begining of the season should of been started with a stronger team. They should of not waited until Jan to get the players in. seriously, ...What can West Ham do with some fat south african on the pitch. Karen Brady and her stupid comments and involvement with the team. She's worse then the other two. West Ham could of had it different due to a lot of bad calls ruining games for them. That would of saved them from the relegation battle. Much more then other teams. I'm not sure about the injury's cause that's West Ham for the last 10yrs. Other teams have had worse .....well maybe 1 or 2 had it worse with injurys.
Quite stupid comments from the owners - as was also their decision not to show up at City. Also stupidity in January not to kick out Grant first and only after that hire O'Neill. But one thing is sure: they´ve already lost million of pounds from their own pockets and will continue doing so, freewilling. Our right - and plight I guess - to critisize them of course, being actually the Club but still: what is their personal stake here? We're going to support this Club no matter if we play in the fizzy-pop and I suppose the owners will be just as hurt as us with the exception we won´t be losing any money.