Written by Fareham Hammer @farehamhammer

I hate even thinking about it, and I’m sure it won’t happen, but there is a possibility we will drop into The Championship. It goes without saying, that it will be an absolute disaster, and we could well fall through the leagues, like Sunderland are about to do this season. It has happened to the likes of Leeds, Notts Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry in the past. In our position, planning for both scenario’s is no doubt underway. With four relegations on their C/V, Messrs Gold and Sullivan have a good track record, at getting Clubs promoted at the first or second attempt. Practice makes perfect they say. Still it is a tough ask getting out of the Championship, you must be prepared to scrap for every point. It is a long hard slog, and you must be ready from day one.

A lot of West Ham’s woes have been blamed on The Owners and rightly so, but it is naive in the extreme to cast all the blame at the feet of the Owners. They don’t pick the team, they can’t be held responsible for players not caring or not giving a toss or are ill-disciplined for example; Arthur Masuaku spitting at another player, Sakho just pitching up for a medical at Rennes without The Club’s permission. Fonte refusing to play in a U23 match, these are just a few incidents that tells you something, it tells you that the squad needs a massive kick up the arse! Tony Henry, got sacked for claiming that The Club did not want to sign African players, as they caused ‘mayhem’. The statement was racist, and he deserved to get the sack! But, I get the impression there are a few people in the squad, that are causing mayhem and need to be rooted out and fast! It reminds me of Alan Pardew’s, Bentley boys regime all over again. A, few rotten apples at a Club, causes massive problems for the whole Club, them problems even trickle down to the youth team too.

A few weeks back we were doing well under David Moyes, which tells one that the squad can get good results, if they put their mind to it. But why the sudden decline? Well it’s almost like having a few trouble makers in a classroom, when a new teacher arrives they behave for a while but soon return to form. Such I fear has happened with the squad. Moyes has hinted as much, by saying there needs to be a massive clear out at the end of the season. Should we stay up and Moyes was backed properly, I think that he will get rid of the bad apples and bring his own players in, then it is all up to him. IF the worst happens and we get relegated, you are going to need a man who knows The Championship inside out. Someone who can identify transfer targets, with the sole intent of getting us out in the first or second attempt.

Remember that upon relegation, the likes of Lanzini, Arnautović, Hernandez, Ogbonna will all in probability be history. I’m afraid I don’t think Moyes, is likely to get us out of The Championship, overhauling The Club in The Premier League yes, but a Championship street fighter he is not. I scoured through the names of potential candidates, and one stood out. Colin Wanker! Neil Warnock, is the Championship street fighter who could come in and rid of the bad apples and get us back into the Premier League fairly quickly. At 70 it would solely be a rescue act, a rolling one-year contract. Few know The Championship like Warnock does, he knows it like the back of his hand, he has done well at both Queens Park Rangers, in guiding them to promotion from The Championship, he is doing well for Cardiff City this season in The Championship. Warnock is a bloody good bread and butter manager, that is what you need in The Championship.

I used to HATE Warnock after ‘Tevezgate’. As you remember West Ham, paid a record fine of £5.5 million, an out of court settlement to Sheffield United of £25 million and £2.5 million in legal fees. This after an independent Arbitration commission chaired by the 85-year old Lord Griffiths, found that Carlos Tevez should not have been allowed to play for us, and he was the reason Sheffield United got relegated. That finding still leaves a bitter taste in every Hammer’s mouth. No, one can answer this question. What, was the difference of Carlos Tevez, managed by Kia Joorabchian and owned by MSI while playing for West Ham, and Carlos Tevez managed by Kia Joorabchian and owned by MSI? Nothing! One-rule for the likes of Manchester United and another for little West Ham.

It was a few years after ‘Tevezgate’ that I bumped into Warnock, Tesco Express in White City. I asked him if he could spare a few minutes, he said he could. I brought up ‘Tevezgate’, and in the end, we agreed to disagree. He blamed The Premier League and certain individuals at West Ham, saying that the Premier League knew the deal was dodgy from the off, and it should never have been ratified. He also blamed Kevin McCabe the Sheffield United owner, for not backing him in the January transfer window. He was as passionate as he is on telly, the surprising thing he said was, that “West Ham itself was a great Club, and had a fantastic fanbase”, adding he would love to manage us one day.

I went away thinking: if I had lost my job under similar circumstances, I would no doubt have felt the same way. Recently Warnock said, that when he dies he wants the fans to chant: “Warnock is a wanker” He may well be called a wanker by fans, but I bet you that is not the case in the dressing room. Mayhem on and off the field under Warnock? No chance! The only mayhem would be caused by Warnock himself, busy getting rid of the rotten apples. Warnock in the Premier League next season no, next season in The Championship, that is the one!

We are more than a football club, we’re a way of life!!

COYI!!!

Farehamhammer!!!

(Edited by Danny Twigg)