It was typical West Ham that they gave us some hope until the very death before reverting to type. But now the fact is clear, and this was not about today's game, this has been about the whole season. In terms of belief, I'm a bit of liberal when it comes to the Hammers. I didn't want to rush and sack Grant in January when it looked all over, though I did comes to terms with the idea. The culture of sacking managers continually abhors me and for anyone who talks of the West Ham way, sacking your manager is certainly not it. But in reality, it was a tough decision our owners should have stepped up and made.
That said, Grant is clearly off, if he has a shred of deceny he will do it himself. I'd personally advise for him to not be attending next Sunday, a happy send off he will not receive. The strange thing about football is that he will be offered another million pound a year contract elsewhere – oh to work in such an industry. But he can jog on, with numerous failings following him. It started with the signings in the Summer, with Reid and Barrera not ready for the high bar that the Premier League requires. It continued with not targetting much needed full backs sooner, keeping the mute Upson as captain and then prioritising cup runs ahead of premier league survival. That, attached to tactical failings and inconsistency in team selection add up to a manager who is simply not PL standard.
I'm feeling fairly drained and emotional right now, so won't write much more. But let's be realistic, it's not like we're going to walk away. We've been teetering on the brink for ages and now the clearout can really begin. Upson, Dyer, Boa-Morte and more can walk away, and a manager who can marry the nurturing of our youngsters with some Championship League style players will take us through and the board will support them. In spite of the failings of the board, I still back them, they are not going to walk away and have kept this club from adminstration. Brady could do with stopping her column if she wants to win respect from the fans, but I have faith in Gold and Sullivan to now be more ruthless in their actions and to turn this ship around.
Have a beer, go for a walk, take a deep breath…….Grant will be a bad memory and we will start in a new era for the club we love…….West Ham UNITED…….