Sullivan declares the West Ham way is Back

In the London standard Friday Dave Sullivan declared that the West Ham way is back but if you you've ever wondered what that is, here is an old Olas article from around 2011

Since the arrival of Sam Allardyce much has been made of his so called style of football and whether it fits in with the fans demands over the clubs need to return to the premier league. Sam himself acknowledged this when hired back in the summer, alluding to the so called West Ham way, he said "That history that West Ham have I am very well aware of and we will play the West Ham way with the players we have got to achieve the ultimate, and that's winning football matches,he then followed that up with " “What is the West Ham way? Being relegated? No fan wants that.”
But what is the West Ham way, and what are its origins,
Its birth can be traced back to a quote by former manager Ron Greenwood "The crowds at West Ham have never been rewarded by results but they keep turning up because of the good football they see. Other clubs will suffer from the old bugbear that results count more than anything. This has been the ruination of English soccer."
Greenwood took over at West Ham in 1961 and during his time came perhaps West Hams golden period, Bobby Moore,backed up by fellow youth products Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters lifted 3 trophies in succession culminating with the world cup win in 1966. Yet during Greenwood and Moore's time together and with three world cup winners in the team the highest league finish achieved was 6th, scant reward for the tens of thousands of East Londoners that game after game turned up at the Boleyn Ground. What made those fans keep coming back, well the answer is in Greenwoods quote, The good football they saw, which was born out of England's 6-3 defeat to the Puskas inspired Hungarians at Wembley. That single game influenced so many of this countries top coaches, exposing England's staid outdated tactics. One watching was Malcolm Allison, West Ham's captain at the time. He was allowed to organise coaching sessions at the time and set about changing the tactics at the club, he and other players at the time used to sit in a local cafe using salt and pepper pots to plan their new way of playing. Ron Greenwood was able to build on this when he took over and he was fortunate that West Ham youth set up was churning out the stars of the future, educated on the plans first laid out by Allison.
Style over substance, football to be played in a positive attacking way, and here lies part of reason of west Ham's failure to get any where near the top prize of a league title. So busy in playing positive attacking football that it seems the defensive side of the game was neglected, even with the great Bobby Moore at its heart. The season after West Ham's, sorry, England's world cup win, the hammers finished in a lowly 16th spot out of 22, boasting amazingly the 2nd best ranked attack that season averaging 1.9 goals per game, but they were let down by the 20th best ranked defence conceding 2 goals on average per game. If ever a season best exampled "The West Ham way" it could be that one.
All of the above occurred before i was born in West Ham in 1969, being born and brought up in the area there was only one club i could support, i cant even remember my 1st time at the Boleyn as i was a babe in my mothers arms as she stood on the terraces.My Football education increased in 1977 when my uncle secured 2 season tickets for us, and there in that 1st season of regular attendance that i began to discover my own take on the West Ham way, for that year for only the 2nd time in our history we were relegated from the top flight,just 2 years after appearing in an European final.
West Ham stuck by the then manager John Lyall, allowed him to rebuild the team and just 2 years later West Ham were celebrating winning the F.A cup. Celebrating for the 2nd time in 5 years a cup victory the 10 year old me could be forgiven for thinking that this was how it would always be, and in a way it has been, the highs of relative success quickly followed by a low. Lyall built a team that in 1986 came the closest any had done in winning the title, finishing 3rd behind the merseyside duo, Liverpool and Everton. Fast forward 3 years and relegation back to the 2nd tier of English football, paying the price of failing to build on that 86 team and selling off star home grown player Tony Cottee.
This pattern is repeated time and time again, 5th under Redknapp in the Premier league in 2000, 7th under Roeder in 2002, Relegated in 2003. If Carlsburg did relegations that that would be the one. No team has ever gone down from the Premiership with that amount of points,42. Not only that but it is possible thee team that should have been too good to go down. David James, Glen Johnson, Joe Cole, Jermaine Defoe, Trevor Sinclair, Michael Carrick, all current or future England stars, Throw in Di Canio and Freddie Kanoute and i still cant believe that team went down, but then that could be part of the West Ham way as well. Through all this though the fans have never left, still coming back game after game.
Fast forward to 2011 and after another relegation the clubs owners, in chasing a swift return to the top flight, appoint Sam Allardyce. A man whose football style is perhaps alien to what West Hams is supposed to be, he preferring the more direct brand of statistical football reliant on pro zone and not the type pioneered at our club by Allison and Greenwood and carried on by the legend that is Johnny Lyall, of football played for the entertainment of the paying crowd, on the floor passing laced with individual skill. Maybe not delivering the results they should, but give me the unpredictable quality of Paolo Di Canio every day over the goal scoring but often anonymous during the game Kevin Nolan.
I for one cant wait for a return of the West Ham Way.

OLAS V QPR

This time last season we had accumulated 5 points, the football was dire and Andy Carroll was injured, fast forward 12 months and we only have 2 more points, AC is still injured, but there is a feel good factor emanating around the club. I doubt a defeat under Sam has ever been as well received as last weeks V Man United, the performance was all we could ask for and the defeat seemed harsh. By the letter of the law Nolan was offside, but quite how the lino Saw that beats me, but still the team got glory after the defeat down to the performance, oh how we have waited for this to happen and in a way to me it proves mine and others stand against BFS as it is the performances that are the most important part of the game and as a rule if you perform in the manner we have this season then the results will follow. Sam has wasted his tenure playing his shite brand of steady football that has made him 1 of the most hated managers outside of whatever club he is managing at the time, and for many even while his managing their club. What happened in that meeting at the end of the season, more to the point, what happened after that meeting for Sam to spend the summer preparing for this season? Its as if he went on a journey of Discovery akin to the Blues Brothers walking into James Brown Church where at some point “SAM SAW THE LIGHT’,
Quite where this epiphany took place I doubt we will ever know, but he is on a mission from Gold (and Sullivan) and he is fulfilling that mission to play with style over substance. Don’t think for a minute though I am of the turning and accepting him as a manager, he is only doing this as it was forced on him, by the owners desperate to save the 3 million pound to get rid of him, but as long as we carry on the road we are currently taking then ill enjoy it, though to some I cant seem to do that. Walking down the Barking Road buzzing after the Liverpool game, probably only 15 minutes after the game had finished, an esteemed writer in this very publication texted me (you know who you are DY) to say that result cocked up my agenda, that of ousting BFS. I didn’t even get ½ an hour to savor the best game ive witnessed under Sam’s management, to be fair, he weren’t the only 1 but then ive never been 1 to hide my feelings for Sam.
Last week the club announced their Club London plan for the Olympic stadium but not to their chosen ones, the SAB, for it seems they have been forsaken and by some of the emails ive seen flying around between members many are not too happy, for it seems the actions of a very small minority in the SAB in revealing the clubs plan to the wider fan base to change the badge after signing a non disclosure agreement has meant the club are now thinking its time to end the SAB. Oh dear, what amuses me is that they cant see still they were there as a tick box enterprise, as a way to give the club an out if ever questioned on why there doing what they do. The funny thing about this is during the OS bid when info was given to the SAB it was Karen Brady in her rag column that exposed that vote had taken place and only 2 of the SAB voted against, yet a concerned fan disgusted at the march of the marketers that really run this club day to day breaks cover and then its curtains for the SAB. I myself is a member of the SAB but ive always believed the club were never going to listen and would do as it wanted to anyway and it looks as if I was right and im not the only 1 to believe that. The problem is many don’t realize that the day to day running of the club is not carried out by Gold or Sully and as if too prove it, it was revealed on a well known WHU fans forum that an EX Hammer, not the most well known but a member of cup winning teams no less was sent a bill for his tea & Sandwiches after attending a game in the lounge, now, this is not the 1st time ive heard this happen to an Ex Hammer, working as a meeter and greeter in the lounge getting a bill for his food while he worked, is that what we are reduced to as a club, I thought we were supposed to revere our old pros, the club are quick enough to wheel them out when their required but to charge them 30 quid for sarnies and tea is taking the piss really. But then when we’re in the day to day control of Arsenal Coventry and Newcastle fans theat never had the club in the DNA as youths can we expect them to understand why us fans react the way we do when our old pros are treated behind closed doors in a way that flies in the face of the family friendly club the marketers would love us to believe, I don’t blame DG & DS for this, they have entrusted the running of the day to day monotonous stuff to KB and her cronies and its they that are ruining the club off the park.