Thomas Rooney – Freelance Sports Journalist
West Ham United are in a strange situation right now. Their manager Alan Curbishley quit yesterday after a disagreement with the clubs owners over the transfer policy at Upton Park and now it seems no-one wants to take over the reigns. Both Harry Redknapp and Slavin Bilic – who were the early favourites for the job – appear to have ruled themselves out. The latter is still the favourite according to some online football betting websites, but recent reports say he is put off by the apparent over involvement of the club’s board in transfer proceedings.
It is worth noting that West Ham have made a decent enough start to the season – they sit 5th in the league after two wins from three games. Therefore, it is important that the players keep their minds on playing matters. The man to make sure they do just that is their captain Lucas Neill. The Australian defender must use his senior role to unite the West Ham players in this difficult and uncertain time. With the transfer window slammed shut, Neill knows that the players in the dressing room right now won’t be following the likes of Anton Ferdinand, George McCartney and Freddie Ljungberg out of the door. Therefore – until January at least – the current crop of players must focus on getting points for West Ham in the coming weeks.
It appears that the final straw for Curbishley was being restricted in the transfer market during deadline day. This is a stark contrast to when Lucas Neill signed for the club. The 30-year-old joined the Hammers from Blackburn Rovers in January 2007 at a time when the clubs owners were very much backing Curbishley as boss. Eggert Magnusson funded the moves for Neill as well as Craig Bellamy and Kieron Dyer amongst others.
The board were backing Curbishley so much, it was argued by some that the reasons Neill joined the club were motivated entirely by money. It was rumoured that he was being offered £60,000 a week which was a lot more than Liverpool – who were also interested in his signature – were prepared to offer him.
Despite these claims, there is no doubt that Neil has let his football do the talking. He is an aggressive character and isn’t the most popular with opposition fans, but he is a fantastic defender. He has mainly operated at right-back for West Ham, where he has done an excellent job for his team. He was made captain at the beginning of last season and played almost every game as West Ham finished 10th in the Premier League.
The former Millwall defender is by far one of the most consistent performers for West Ham and whoever takes over as their new manager I would place all my football betting money on the fact that Lucas Neill will still be operating at right-back. I think he makes an instant impression on everyone he works with.
For now though, his focus must be to keep up the morale of his team-mates at Upton Park. Many of them will be upset that Curbishley has left the club, but Neill must help ensure that when he leads his side out against West Brom on the 13th September, he gives the West Ham fans something to cheer about – three points.
1 Comment
September 7, 2008 at 9:55 am
what did you make of reports that the final straw for curbishley was an argument with neill? or that neill is not pleased with west ham attempts to sell him?
amazing, this club is sitting 5th, and it looks like it could go all wrong.
i get the sense that west ham fans aren`t really sure what they want. was last year`s result mid-table safety or mid-table mediocrity?