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Behind Enemy Lines: A West Ham United
Fans' View
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Next up in our Behind Enemy Lines installment we grab the views of
Keir - A member of West
Ham Online a Hammers fan site - to get his views on Newcastle
and West Ham among other things ahead of Newcastle's visit to Upton
Park.
Q: West Ham have made the jump from Championship to Premiership
look quite easy. What do you attribute that to? |
I think the things that held prevented us from doing well in the Championship
actually help us when it comes to the Premiership. Pardew had a remit
upon joining West Ham of securing promotion within two years. You
might say that he was a little lucky in acheiving that goal (I doubt
many would disagree), but it appears obvious that he set himself a
secondary goal of building a team that would be capable of holding
their own in the Premiership once they got there. You get very little
time on the ball in Championship, its all about hustle and bustle,
with the physical nature of the game brought to the fore. The premiership
is different, teams give you space, yet severely punish your mistakes.
If you have a team of players that are comfortable on the ball, then
you have a chance.
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Q: Are you surprised by the start West Ham have made and the
number of points you have collected? |
Isn't everyone? If you'd have told me we'd be seventh after a run
of three away games right before Christmas back in August, I'd have
said you were barking. Where we are is beyond all but my wildest dreams
for this stage of the season. We'd always hoped we would start this
well, but I really doubt that many thought it could happen.
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Q: Alan Pardew has had a lot of flack in the time he has managed
West Ham, has he finally won over the Hammers fans and can you
describe just what type of manager is he exactly, his strengths
and weaknesses etc.? |
He has won over the fans, no doubt. I think the things that caused
him the flack, are the same things that have enabled him to do so
well. His strengths are his drive and determination.
He has studied management techniques from all over football, and tries
to apply what he percieves as the best practices wherever they may
come from. He's an obvious supporter of technology in sport, and has
completely overhauled the back room at West Ham to utilise as much
modern theory as possible. We're now awash with sports scientists
and prozone analysts. You've only got to look at the lack of injuries
in our tiny squad to see the importance of these people.
His personal style has been described by others as abrasive, but I
think it more down to him knowing his own mind. He has a very good
idea of what he wants from his players, both in terms of ability,
but perhaps more importantly, attitude. As soon as anyone deviates
from his ideal, they're very quickly delt with. James and Connolly
for example - Both great players, but both left the club very swiftly
after seemingly being outspoken over Pardew's actions. As a player
you appear to have two options, Pardew's way, or the highway.
His other great strength has been his ability to spot a player. Essential
when you're in the position we were. No budget, having to sell your
best players, and symultaneously regain premiership status. Nigel
Reo-Coker, Daniel Gabbidon, Hayden Mullins, Jimmy Walker, Marlon Harewood,
Carl Fletcher, and James Collins are all quality players that Pardew
plucked from outside of the Premiership for peanuts. Four of them
were involved in our performance of the season last night away at
Everton.
His Weaknesses? That's tough so far this season because there's been
little that's gone wrong. Going back over the last couple of seasons
I guess you could highlight his tactics - No West Ham fan is going
to forget him tacking off all of our strikers whilst we were chasing
the game in our first play off final against Crystal Palace. That
said, his tactics so far this season have been just about spot on,
so it might be fair to say that he has learned from his mistakes.
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Q: West Ham have quite a reputation for bringing through good
quality youngsters, what emerging talent should we be keeping
an eye out for in the near-future and what is the secret to
your success in that area? |
The secret? Tony Carr. His team just keep on churning out premiership
quality players as if they were being made in a factory. I'm sure
an awful lot of it is down to an extensive youth scouting network,
and Tony's ability to spot a potential superstar at a very young age.
The whole thing may well be self propagating too. If you're the parent
of a gifted youngster, who's academy would you rather see them at?
Chelsea's with zero chance of breaking into the first team, or West
Ham's with a proven track record in moving academy players into the
senior squad at the highest levels? Who should you be looking out
for?
Well, out of the current academy players, James Tomkins is held in
very high esteem. Another centre back, and potentially world class.
He's a way off of breaking into the first team, but give him a couple
of years, and you'll see. In the nearer future, there is Mark Noble,
an 18 year old attacking midfielder who has already started for us
this season, he's lacking in experience, but grows visibly with every
game he plays. Of course, there's Anton Ferdinand, Rio's brother,
altough he must be sick to death of being reminded of it. He's made
his centre back spot his own, and is real quality. With experience
again, he'll match his brother's acheivements too.
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Q: Who has been your best player this season and why? |
Tough question - at times they've all stood out and staked a claim
to this accolaide. Who's done it the most consistently? One of Anton
Ferdinand, Danny Gabiddon, Hayden Mullins, Paul Konchesky or Yossi
Benayoun. I can't separate them at the moment.
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Q: And your worst? |
Even tougher. I don't like to say it, but Christian Dailly. As a utility
bench player I guess he's ok, especially if used as a holding midfielder.
You certainly can't fault his commitment, but I just don't think he's
good enough any more. He came on at centre back at Blackburn, replacing
the injured Gabiddon, and our defence stopped working. We hadn't conceeded
three goals all season before that game.
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Q: West Ham were recently the talk of a rumoured takeover, what
are your thoughts on this? Good or bad and how did it go down
with Hammers fans? |
I've been very vocal in my criticsism of the current boardroom regime
at West Ham, so I've looked at the possibility with some optimism.
That said, I don't want change for changes sake, and would need to
be convinced that the newcomers would have more to offer than the
old lot. I don't think anything's going to happen anyway, as it appears
Terence Brown values his shares a lot more highly than anyone would
be prepared to pay. Hammers themselves are pretty divided on this
issue. Debates for and against it rage on forever on our forums, seemingly
without any one side ever conceeding ground to the other.
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Q: Glenn Roader is now Academy Director at Newcastle, his job
is to nurture youngsters and get as many through into the first-team
as possible. As a former ex-Magpie, we are all aware of his
skills as a former player, but in his Academy role, we are unsure.
As an ex-Hammer too, can you give us any insight into Roeder's
capabilities in this department? |
By all accounts he's a great coach. I don't think he has the presence
or charisma to handle the more difficult players in a senior squad,
which ultimately led to his downfall as our manager. He was involved
in the coaching team that saw Stephen Bywater, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard,
Jermain Defoe, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick all emerge from our
youth set up. Tony Carr was the Academy Director, but undoubtedly
Glenn had an influence and I guess this bodes well for him in his
current role. I think he'll do well there for you. Just be extremely
afraid when Souness finally gets the bullet and Freddy unveils Roeder
as his replacement.
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Q: Anton Ferdinand, many are saying he is better now than his
brother was at that age while with the Hammers, your thoughts?
|
Possibly. I don't think Rio got to play at centre back quite as early
as Anton has, so that might back up this notion. Redknapp was quite
cautious with Rio to begin with, and preferred to use him as a substitute
player much more frequently, often putting him into the midfield.
It wasn't until later that Rio secured the centre back berth as his
own. You can't really call it because they've both had to respond
to different experiences and situations. The potential for Anton to
do as well as, if not better than his older brother is there for all
to see, of that there is no doubt.
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Q: What system do you play and what are West Ham's strengths
and weaknesses? |
Pretty much 4-4-2. Our strengths are our lack of fear of the opposition.
Our team will take the game to anybody, home or away, as many of your
fans will have witnessed at St James' earlier in the season. If it
wasn't for Konchesky being sent off unfairly, we would have won the
match. Your reputation counted for nothing amoungst our players, and
they took the game to you, as they have done to every other team they've
come up against. The players are all in the team because Pardew perceives
certain qualities in them, and these are all strengths - Team work,
Leadership, Work Ethic, Commitment, Lack of Ego, Ability to play under
pressure.
Weaknesses. - There are two ways to beat us, luck aside.
1.You can simply outplay us through sheer quality as Manchester United
did to us at the Boleyn recently. This is extremely hard, and I don't
see many teams getting sucess through this route.
2. Press the game. Play like a Championship side and deny us space,
time on the ball and watch us conceed posession. Hope to hit us on
the break when we do. Bolton beat us in this manner. Unless your team
is used to playing this way, you'll struggle to pull it off.
|
Q: Upton Park, like St. James's, is a traditional hotbed of
passion. However our own stadium over the years has saw a decline
in the atmosphere, like many grounds up and down the Country.
As a result there is a supporters group aimed at bringing back
the noise to SJP. I understand Hammers fans also have a similar
fans group, have they had any success and what are your thoughts
on the whole, standing/seating debate? |
I'm pro choice in this matter. I like standing, accept other don't,
so would love to see an area of the ground allocated to those that
do. I've registered my support with the stand up sit down campaign
that was started by a West Ham fan, and his thoughts on this matter
mirror my own. I think he's had some sucess at raising the profile
of the issue, and I've done what I can to help out - writing to my
MP, stuff like that.
|
Q: What are your honest thoughts, if you have any, on NUFC as
a club, NUFC fans, our City and our stadium? |
As a club, you're under performing. Your city, A great night out -
How the girls don't die from hypothermia through walking about the
town virtually naked in the middle of winter I'll never know, but
long may they continue. Your Stadium, Modern, massive, imposing. Needed
oxygen to get to my seat in the away corner. Your fans, Not as passionate
as the media portray. You were very quiet when we came to SJP in August.
Perhaps your away fans will redress that balance on Saturday.
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Q: What concerns you most about the game and your club, your
thoughts please? |
I'm worried that we're doing a little too good right now. We've got
some absolute quality players, but a very little squad. I'm worried
that our sucess will cause the big clubs to poach our players before
we've had the chance to properly establish ourselves and build some
strength in depth.
The game as a whole? Chelsea's financial muscle isn't good for the
game at all. They've got at least 22 players that could command a
starting berth in at least 80% of premiership teams, yet only 11 actually
do. Through the size and quality of their squad, they weaken the strength
of the rest of the premiership by denying them these players, and
as a result, them spectacle and competitive nature of the league is
diminished.
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Q: Tell us a little bit about your website, how long has it
been running etc.? |
West Ham Online has been running in one form or another since around
1997 I think. I'm a relative newcomer to the site, only discovering
it around 5 years ago. Previously it was called the ironworks - a
name that reflected the origins of our club itself. Alex V was the
site's founder and did sterling work in building the site from the
ground up at a time when web itself was very much in its infancy,
and football fan sites were few and far between. He's very recently
hung up his keyboard and passed the site on to a new team who are
very keen to see the site move forward whilst retaining all that has
made WHO so sucessfull over the years.
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Q: Finally, a prediction for the match? |
Well, you're stronger that you were when we last played you, but,
because of our relative inexperience in the premiership, so are we,
as our players gain in experience they get better and better. We're
also at home, and the game's a sell out. Our crowd have been great
this season, and have really backed the team, in marked contrast to
last season, when they quickly got on the player's backs the moment
things stopped going to plan. For me, its all about Owen. He's the
difference between now and the result in August. But will he be enough?
No. I don't think so. 3-2 West Ham. A draw at worst.
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