F365 mailbox
Something is rotten at West Ham
In light of the events of
yesterday and the reaction within the game and in the media, I felt compelled to write in and offer what is a common view among rational West Ham fans regarding Payet’s moves to leave our club.
First off, Dimitri Payet is top class. The best player we’ve seen at West Ham for quite some time. A player worth the admission money alone. Capable of magic and provided us fans with countless moments we’ll never forget. He was one of the catalysts for our memorable final season at the Boylen. We adopted a chant which wrecked every other clubs fans heads. We loved him. We thought he loved us.
In the midst of all the noise surrounding him leaving, it would be remiss of us to forget all of the above. Alas, as is normal at this club of ours, it was not to last. I think every supporter knew deep down this day would come. Nothing good ever last too long at West Ham, it was ever thus.
Payet could undoubtedly have conducted himself better and there is a way to go about these things and throwing your toys out of the pram is not it. However (and this isn’t an excuse per se for his behaviour) the fault, for most of us rational fans, doesn’t lie with Payet entirely. The fault for this situation lies with three individuals.
Messers Sullivan, Gold and Brady are the architect of this current state of affairs. Without going into too much detail, these three sold Payet the same bunch of lies they sold the supporters of the club. The empty promises of ‘world-class strikers’, ‘world class players to go along with the new world class stadium’ and so on. Payet was promised all this when he signed his new contract, and we end up with Simone Zaza and Jonathan Calleri. I’m not excusing his behaviour as such but as one of the best players in Europe with limited time left in his career and only one big move left, I don’t blame him for feeling aggrieved.
The real issue at our club is the three aforementioned individuals. They sold our clubs soul to the devil. The worst stadium migration in history, possibly the worst football stadium in the country, appalling summer recruitment, generally embarrassing transfer conduct, constant undermining of the manager, making out they ‘saved’ the club while charging commercial rates of interest on all the money they’ve put into the club, attempting to renege on promises made to season ticket holders, hiring bouncers to act as security at the stadium, the list goes on and on.
The only purchased West Ham as the possibility of the Olympic Stadium and huge profit was on the horizon. Let’s have it right however, there is a gentrification attempt happening at West Ham, the club are trying to get rid of our core support by every way they can.
They are constantly looking to shift the blame and I fear that Slavan Bilic, one of the few remaining shining lights at the club, is next in line. If that happens, I for one will never set foot in that monstrosity of a stadium until those three leave our beloved club, they can keep my season ticket, and I believe a countless other season ticket holders are in the same boat (many have already chucked it in as a result of the above).
Something is rotten in the state of East London.
Fionn