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Delving back into the WHO archives we go back 7 years to 2009 where Huffers wrote this on WHO. Has the sentiment changed?
http://web.archive.org/web/20100612105710/http://westhamonline.net/article.php?4003734||5||
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Q:
You always know what you are going to get with West Ham United...
Huffers - Sun Nov 1 2009
You are going to get the unexpected.
Being only 22 years old, i obviously can only speak on recent years and what i have experienced so far, but off the top of my head, i can remember being 2-0 down to Man United, then crying when we got one goal back via Radachiou - i just couldn't believe we had scored against a team as good as Man United. I was not at the game, but was watching it downstairs with my dad, when we scored i was so happy that i ran upstairs and just burst into tears, only to be called a couple of minutes later by my dad shouting to me because we had a penalty. Dicks stepped up and scored. Aged 9, i was so happy. The game ended 2-2 but i have faint memories of nearly scoring again or having a goal ruled out from Iain Dowie late on, just when things are going great, you are brought down to earth.
Since then we have had three 1-0 wins at Old Trafford, something i doubt many teams have managed in the last 20 years or so, all three would have been unexpected.
In my short time as a Hammers supporter, off the top of my head, i can remember so many highs (seriously) and obviously alot of lows. A penalty shoot out victory away on a weeknight at Ewood Park, losing on a penalty shoot out at home to Arsenal.
We have had the Omoyinmi & Tevez cases, which were full of controversy and just makes you think why do i bother, but you need to bother because you know deep down you wouldn't have it any other way.
I think we must be the only team in the world that you can genuinely go to watch and not know if you are going to win by 5 or lose by 5.
West Ham is literally defined by life, just remember times such us beating Tottenham at home 4-3 in the rain on a Monday night, and then the despair or losing to them by the same score which looked like it would almost certainly send us down. I was at the game, but always record us when we are on sky, and i kept that game on my sky box until literally the other week. After the game, John Hartson was sitting in the studio, and said "Even if they had won today it would have been pretty much impossible to stay up" Jamie Redknapp in his reflective suit agreed.
Our fans are special (Booing LBM, CC etc aside), i get a great feeling of satisfaction when you are driving along the motorway on a non matchday, nowhere near the ground and you notice a car goes past with a West Ham air freshener hanging from their rear view mirror. West Ham fans will always try to show their support, notice many actors who support our club will always get props into the shows that they are in...(I will get in trouble if the mrs reads this - but even on babestation the other day there was some crossed hammers on the whiteboard behind)
We are modest and honest supporters who can laugh at ourselves when we are being embarrased, and even when the team is appearing to try to ruin the day, we can still have a good day.
Yesterday, i said to my mate after 60 minutes, well that was their 15 minute spell for the 2nd half, then it went to 20 minutes, then 25 and so on. Deep down we all knew we were going to concede again because it is the West Ham way...and although unexpected last week, we got level at home after being 2-0 down to a far better team. The amount of dissatisfaction voiced by our fans on here after throwing away a 2 goal lead should have surely been met with the complete opposite last week...was it? No of course not because we always want better.
One day we might get better, after coming close a few years ago in the cup final. I'm not even talking about the Gerrard last minute goal. I'm talking about Marlon Harwood; prolific all season, having cramp and getting in the way of what would have been the most unlikely goal scorer in Christian Dailly. It wasn't to be.
That year we had come up, and we were probably all expecting to go back down. The opening day when we played Blackburn i noticed something new, that has remained to this day at The Boleyn Ground. We went 1-0 down, and i think all the supporters in the ground thought here we go again. However, even through those thoughts, we drowned out the noise of the traveling 10 Blackburn fans and cheered our team on with a corus of Bubbles despite being a goal down. We came back to win 3-1 and it started from there.
A bit of support can go a long long way, so give it to them.
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http://web.archive.org/web/20111112060342/http://www.westhamonline.net/article.php?5808417
A 0-0 draw with Bristol City in 2011 saw Mr Polite give his postive and negative view:
After back to back home wins and good performances confidence was high as West Ham welcomed bottom of the table Bristol City to the Boleyn. But 90 mins later there is a feeling of stupidity for allowing our hopes to get up only to be dashed again. As with all games there are good and bad points, here is how I saw them:
Positives:
Tomkins back and fit to start the game and looks solid assured and a real talent.
Clean sheet, always nice and City hardly had a sniff. City were thankfully poor but we are good at defending from the front.
Noble didn't have his most effective game but unlike his central midfield partner he never hide, always wanted the ball and always looked to go forward with it.
Young Robert Hall making his first appearance in the match day squad. Got high hopes for the lad and hope to see him on the pitch soon.
The fat bloke in the East Stand upper hetting his tits out.
Negatives:
The biggest negative has to be the hoof ball we played. After comprehensive proof from our last 2 home games that when we play the ball on the floor we look dangerous and win games to play such awful long ball rubbish is unforgivable. We have at last a player in Baldock that thrives on the ball at his feet and yet we don't play to his strengths. Madness!!
The substitutions were shocking, to take Baldock off and leave Piquionne was bad enough but to bring a defensive midfielder on for an attacking one smacked of playing for the draw. Patheic!!
Nolan didn't win a tackle, kept giving the ball away and did nothing of note apart from injure Reid - and yet still has the gall to have a go at others for making mistakes. Sadly it looks like he will play every game when clearly a Diop/Noble partnership would be more effective on current form.
Having said that he wasn't the only poor performer of the night, Sears, Faubert (going forward), Piquionne, Cole, all were well below par, I do feel that the main reason for all of this is that playing the long ball doesn't suit us and our players will always look poor when they are told to play that way. The players were poor but the blame for tonight lies firmly with the manager.
Reid out for 6 weeks with Dislocated Shoulder
Summary: When we play ball on floor we play well, when we don't...we don't. As an opposing manager it would be very easy to organise your team against us knowing that our default setting is that high hopefully ball or the floated cross.
Thanks for reading
Mr Polite
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Other game on this day:
2014: Stoke City 2 West Ham United 2
2008: Middlesbrough 1 West Ham United 1
2003: Coventry City 1 West Ham United 1
1994: Everton 1 West Ham United 0
1993: West Ham United 3 Manchester City 1
1989: AFC Bournemouth 1 West Ham United 1
1988: West Ham United 5 Derby County 0 (LC)
1980: Bristol Rovers 0 West Ham United 1
1975: Birmingham City 1 West Ham United 5
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