BANTER IS FUN, BIGOTRY IS NOT
By Iain Dale 1 Feb 2015 at 19:15
West Ham Till I Die
Guest Post by Neale Williams
Yesterday's performance at Liverpool was dismal, but the performance of some
of our fans was even worse. I was shocked at the levels of racist chanting
before the match in the bar beneath away supporters stand and was equally
appalled at the baiting of Liverpool fans over the Hillsborough and Heysel
disasters. To top it all off I witnessed one of our fans calling Joey
O'Brien a square head and urging him to xxxx off back to potato land.
Now I like football banter as much as any fan, but the anti Tottenham song
about foreskins ending with xxxxing Jew is not banter – it's racist. This
song was sung by around a 100 fans in the bar before the match and came in
the same week as the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Aushwitz and
Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Whilst I don't think that every fan who sings this song is a Nazi, I do
think every fan should consider the hatred expressed in this song is in
danger of legitimising the anti semitic Nazi ideology that led to the
systematic murder of over 6 million innocent men, women and children simply
for being Jewish.
Moreover, the baiting of Liverpool fans about the Hillsborough and Heysel
disasters is equally disgusting. The song "always the victim" disdains the
memory of the 96 innocent Liverpool fans who died at Hillsborough and the 39
Juventus fans who died at Heysel. These disasters could have happened to any
football fans as the deaths at Ibrox and Bradford amply show. Blaming fans
for negligent policing decisions and crumbling dangerous stadia lets the
authorities off the hook and protects the people who are really responsible.
I was proud as a West Ham fan to visit the Justice for the 96 campaign shop
opposite Anfield with my son before the game yesterday. There we paid our
respects to the dead and the bereaved. We also talked to Steve who is an
Evertonian who lost his brother at Hillsborough. Nothing can bring his
brother back, but the relentless campaign for the truth supported by fans in
Liverpool and beyond has established the innocence of the fans on that day
and also nailed the attempted cover up of the establishment and the police.
Justice is coming but only as a result of the efforts of the JFT96 campaign
and the solidarity shown by many others.
It is in this tradition of solidarity that we should all seek to stand.
Banter is fun, bigotry is not.
Neale Williams
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A TEAM WITH NO CENTRAL DEFENDERS...
By Iain Dale 1 Feb 2015 at 10:33
West Ham Till I Die
By the end of tomorrow, it's possible we won't have a single fit central
defender at the club. Tomkins was out yesterday. Collins went off injured,
and if the Sunday Mirror is to be believed (and it usually isn't) Liverpool
are about to table a £6.5 million bid for Winston Reid. No wonder 16 year
old Reece Oxford was on the bench yesterday. He and Reece Burke would be the
only central defenders left! In theory Demel, O'Brien and Kouyate can all
play there, but it's not exactly an ideal situation when we are about to
play Manchester United!
The Mirror allege that former Spurs defender Vedran Corluka may be brought
in from Spartak Moscow. Not a bad player, it has to be said.
I don't want to lose Reid, but he's clearly determined to leave the club
that gave him his opportunity, so if we can get £6 million for him, I
suspect the club will see it as a reasonable bit of business, but only if
they can bring someone else in to replace him first.
The story about Enner Valencia going to Chelsea also won't go away, although
I find it difficult to believe that it will actually happen.
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West Ham defender Winston Reid set to move to London rivals Tottenham in the
summer
18:16, 1 February 2015 By John Cross
The defender is poised to head to White Hart Lane on a lucrative Bosman free
transfer after snubbing various offers of a new deal
The Mirror
Winston Reid is set to enrage West Ham by joining Tottenham for NOTHING in
the summer. Hammers defender Reid, 26, has agreed a £60,000-a-week deal to
move to West Ham's bitter rivals when he becomes a free agent at the end of
the season. That will enrage West Ham fans as they will see it as a betrayal
to join Spurs after Reid has snubbed various offers of a new contract to
stay at Upton Park. Arsenal and Liverpool have been keen to sign Reid and
were ready to do a cut price deal in January as West Ham stand to lose him
for nothing when his contract expires. But, despite fearing he has been
tapped up, they slapped a £7m price tag on his head and that has put off
both clubs - leaving the way open for Spurs. Mirror Sport revealed last
month that Spurs had made an offer to get Reid in the summer - and they
believe they have got their man. Reid is not able to sign a formal
pre-contract with Spurs but sources close to the deal say it is done for the
summer and West Ham are well aware of the situation. West Ham privately fear
Reid has agreed to join Spurs but it would appear they will carry on playing
him.
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Sam's Fletcher 'disaster' – don't think so mate!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 1, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
There are many things I may dislike about manager Sam Allardyce but for one
thing I'm grateful – he says it as HE believes it to be!
As a result it allows bloggers across the West Ham universe to give their
view on virtually everything he has to say which at the very least keeps us
in words. We could have Steve Clarke or a ton of others with little or
nothing of any real significance to say. Even Sam's throwaway remarks
present a fund of ammunition as was the case yesterday when after the Darren
Fletcher deal had broken down he was moved to declare: "Thank God this
transfer market is closing – it's been a disaster."
Whichever position you take as a blogger you will get almighty 'stick' when
commenting on this particular manager for he truly does create extreme
reactions – you either love his management techniques with a passion or
loathe them to the point of near hatred. And in raising his thoughts on
Fletcher he's managed to raise the temperature again. To suggest that not
signing him is a disaster does a tsunami wave or earthquake that kills
hundreds a disservice. And in footballing terms it's not a tragedy either.
This was a thirty year old with a dodgy recent medical and injury record who
wanted around £11 million over three years to join a club already feeling
the pinch via FFP. Had we missed out on a quality central defender – a
position which has moved from potentially problematical to very difficult
indeed following yesterday – I'd have shared the Allardyce concerns but he
made no moves whatsoever in that direction and is now screaming "defensive
crisis."
Most people have recognised the problems at the back where both James
Collins and the often fragile James Tomkins have had more than their share
of problems for weeks. It wasn't rocket science to work any of that out so
why and how Sam was ready to offer such a massive contract to a midfielder
rather than seek out a decent defender is a total mystery.
Yes, Big Sam creates big reactions…Nolan, Carroll, the refusal to play Sakho
and Valencia together, changing the diamond – the list goes on and on. But
missing out on Fletcher a disaster? Sam you are surely having a laugh!
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Sakho not for sale "at any price"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 1, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
West Ham will not be selling Diafra Sakho "at any price." With the closure
of the transfer window virtually upon us, the club has made it clear there
is no price tag on the player's head and that they won't consider any
offers. The club has regularly denied that a firm offer has been received
for either Sakho or Valencia but they have made it crystal clear this
morning that any club considering a Sakho move can forget it. ClaretandHugh
was told: "There have been no offers or inquiries, only rumours, but it's as
well to get things straight. There is zero chance that we will sell Diafra."
The player is currently caught up in a club v country row but the Irons
remain confident he will be available for next Sunday's clash against
Manchester United. "We understand five days has to elapse from Senegal's
elimination before we can play him – we have done nothing wrong and are
playing it by the book with Fifa."
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Noble set for Hammers stay
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on February 1, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh
West Ham are ready to take up the option on Mark Noble's contract at the end
of the season and could be tempted to offer him a new three year deal on
top. The Hammers loyalist has been linked with Queens Park Rangers in recent
days but has made it clear privately he wants to stay with the Hammers.
Harry Redknapp would love to take the player across London but realises how
tough it will be as in a recent interview he declared: "Mark's a Hammer
through and through. I can't see him leaving them." And the club itself is
ready to take up the option with sources close to the player saying: "He
loves it here and is ready to agree the option."
The club will talk to the player at the end of the season and we were told:
"Mark is a valuable player and we will take up the option with the
possibilty of offering a contract extension on top."
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Monday, February 2
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