Responsibility (and the club that takes none)

Len's West Ham Number 5.

'Please drink responsibly' says every advert for alcohol. Without it though, the matchday experience becomes that more difficult to suffer. I did think long and hard about the last word in the previous sentence, but I think I will stick with suffer.

I promised myself that this time, the blame is all on the players that are now underachieving under their third manager. I still feel that way, but something has changed. Graham Potter, the man who David Sullivan declared through his usual mouthpieces that he didn't fancy, is compiling no further evidence of his capabilities as West Ham manager.

Again, I blame the players, but I wonder if football managers are a breed that just look after themselves. I didn't expect Graham Potter not to accept the West Ham job when offered to him, so I decided to spread the responsibility this weekend...

Sullivan didn't fancy Potter. He was always Brady's choice,

I admit, I always enjoy digging at the Baroness. She takes praise from the sicophants quick enough, so it's worth reminding people how her quest to get Potter as an interim manager failed.

The Baroness, was negotiating 6 months versus Graham Potters 2.5 years.

She finally settled on 2.5 years. Absolutely zero movement in the negotiations.

Things like this get forgotten quickly, if you decided to take any notice in the first place. What it actually means is, unless a club employs Lopetegui, both him and Potter will be paid to manage West Ham next year. One was Sullivan's choice, the other Brady's.

Is this the ownership the fans deserve? In a stadium the fans deserve?

The 2.5 year contract demands from Potter and his people negotiated responsibility onto his shoulders. Seeing out the season on an interim basis would have taken the pressure off, and encouraged the 'care-free' scenario that we are all craving at Stratford. There is no call for change from me, but unfortunately, he has assumed more responsibility than was necessary under the circumstances, which was zero threat of relegation.

We STILL have a pool of talent to choose from, possibly more than we could have next year.

You screwed up Graham. You turned down a 'free hit' and could have engineered better results with talented players, in front of a fanbase that are really past caring about this season.

Many are saying 'Let him get his own players in' - but we all know who is choosing the players this summer...

Just two weeks ago, Sullivan declared himself the 'De Facto Director of Football', taking the prerogative rather than the responsibility. He will likely leak every failed transfer that sounded tasty - especially when the season ticket sales window remains open. A thinly veiled attempt to attract people to the stadium they won't take responsibility for.

The attendances are clearly in decline, it was visible yesterday, and what was served up will only continue that trend. I did also see a increase of people chooing to laugh about the situation though. Myself included.

A REAL Director of Football in situ is the only responsible course of action to take. Someone that can take the responsibility choosing managers and staff, which is something the board fail on. The club needs MORE responsibility from staff AND players.

----

Members are entered into a Matchday Giveaway draw automatically each week.

I'll finish on frivolity, it's still worth trying for. If you are a canningtownlen.com member, which is free, you are entered into a giveaway each week. Of course West Ham need to win for someone to win the canvas! But please sign up, because it really does happen once in a while.

I was asked at the match yesterday, "Does it work out well for you if we lose and you keep the canvas with free publicity?"

Let me tell you simply; winning football matches is never a bad thing, and works well with EVERYONE that runs a football related business. We ALL want it Graham/Karren/David - take responsibility and encourage winning behaviour please.

Thanks for reading. Len.

visit my shop