Wednesday, December 5

Smells like team spirit

Interesting article in Monday's Standard where it says that Sam Allardyce identified West Ham as "having no soul" when he joined, which was one of the reasons he recruited Kevin Nolan. If he's referring to team spirit then Nolan's captaincy certainly seems to have turned the club around even if he can be a frustrating player to watch. We kept going right to the end when a goal down to Sunderland earlier this season which was a great sign and the blocks our defence made just before half time against Chelsea indicated our lads were putting everything in. We beat Chelsea for desire in the second half.

Diame was immense and Alan Hansen on MOTD described him as looking like a combination of Yaya Toure and Patrick Vieira, which sadly might have a few of the top four sniffing round. Another good sign was the performance of Carlton Cole, who rather than sulk stuck at his job. We're going to need him for the next eight weeks. The Guardian said it "felt like a watershed moment for West Ham". Was this the moment Sam Allardyce and the fans finally bonded? His substitutions made a real difference and his dance of joy with the coaches was someting you normally only see at weddings when Come on Eileen comes on, but indicated a man starting to enjoy managing West Ham.

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