Why Football Support Is Not A Welsh Nationalist Issue

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

At a club level Welsh football occupies a particularly freakish position. After all there is a local pyramid structure and we've chatted about these games in the past. But we have a small number of clubs who play in the English league structure primarily Cardiff City, Newport County, Swansea City and Wrexham.

But on Twitter recently I've seen a relatively common complaint. That people could slag off England at country level and yet support at club level a team playing in the English leagues. In other words if you support an English team you're not truly Welsh.

To me football support is not a Welsh Nationalist issue and it needs to be addressed.

Now I can see this argument if you were born say in Cardiff or Swansea for example. I've always felt that you should support the closest team from where you were born wherever life takes you otherwise. That's why my first love will always be West Ham United.

But despite being born in the East End I've known members of my family who pick, excuse me whilst I hold my nose, the North London Arsenal as their team. So this "glory seeking" is not necessarily a Welsh issue.

Furthermore you could argue why should you support Cardiff if Aston Villa say is the closest team from where you were born?

There is actually a simple solution. As regular readers of this blog will know whilst West Ham is first amongst equals I've always believed that watching other leagues are more interesting when you support a particular team. Thus I follow in no particular order Barcelona, Celtic, Fiorentina, Paris St Germain, Ton Pentre and Werder Bremen.

There is no reason therefore that the Welsh football fan could not pick the closest team from the Welsh football pyramid from where he/she was born as well as a team from the English league and support them both. By doing that if you don't live near Cardiff, Newport Swansea or Wrexham you will have the chance of actually going to watch a game (which will of course be cheaper). You are not betraying either team as they play in different leagues.

And by supporting a Welsh team Welsh league club football will improve. I'm not saying you'll be watching Barcelona. But different leagues are not unlike food. I like bacon, eggs and chips. But I also like Spaghetti. There is a different taste to different leagues. It's still football though.

Of course at an international level the Welsh football fan should always support Wales.

Whilst I of course (for reasons I've explained last year) will always root for England first.

Until the next time.

The Calmest People On Earth? Buddhist Priests........And Now Swansea City Fans

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The last time I chatted about Swansea City was when they knew they had got relegated from the Premier League. All these months later in their first season in the Championship I find myself chatting to a few people I know from work who are fans. And whilst I'm not saying it's scientific (I'm talking about three people here) they seem to say the same thing.

All three talk about this season being one of rebuilding from the decline that occurred before last one. Of consolidation. That in the previous few seasons Swansea City had lost it's way (which you could I'd suggest put on the moment they sacked Garry Monk as manager).

They are at time of writing seventh in the table. A few places outside of the play-off places. And yet they all say that it wouldn't bother them if Swansea were not promoted as long as the team spirit returns.

They are encouraged that the current manager, Graham Potter is bringing deserving younger players to the first team. The days when it was full of foreign players have now gone, presumably because in this level they're unaffordable.

And there is praise for Potter as well, who'd previously worked in Sweden. Because Swansea have regained the knack of picking talented but unusual managers. They'd lost that in their dog days in the Premiership also. The name "Bob Bradley" was the one time one of the three fans got animated (Let's say the air was bluer than  Cardiff City shirt).

Is this calm a good thing? Well they know their club more than I do. My gut instinct is in the short term yes. Because it would be pointless for Swansea if they went up and were not ready to face what the Premier League would bring.

But in the long term no it isn't. Swansea City fans shouldn't be a metaphor for most of the Welsh people as a whole. Being too nice and accepting bad things being imposed on them. If there's no success next season then they should bang their fists on the metaphorical table and demand better from the American owners.

Until the next time.

Why Ospreys And Swans Should Cold Shoulder A Virgin

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Now what I'm going to say is just a thought but.....

You may recall that I've been advocating a boycott of Virgin Media since they announced the closure of their Swansea call centre for next year. A closure which will cost at least 800 jobs. Well I'm not going to repeat my arguments in this post (although I haven't backed away from that position) but a connected though different way to damage (albeit slightly) the company came into my head.

And the idea came into my head thanks to Virgin Media's Twitter account.

Now I don't follow them on Twitter (I wouldn't digitally soil my hands) but the company does advertise on the platform and I must admit to (I stress politely) trolling them. In the sense that when they advertise a summer of fun and entertainment for example I remind them that the workers in the Swansea call centre would not be feeling that sense of fun thanks to their announcement.

This time though I didn't. The tweet was about their sponsorship of Southampton Football Club (a team doing almost as disastrously in the Premier League as the team I support West Ham. Beaten yesterday by blog villain Arsenal. It's not going well at all). Now regular readers will know that sometimes my brain goes into tangents. And as I was reading this tweet a thought occurred to me.

The two biggest sporting clubs in the region are the Swansea City Football team and the Ospreys Pro 14 rugby side:

What if they issued a statement saying that following the proposed closure of the call centre and the loss of jobs affected they would not ever consider Virgin Media sponsoring them?

Now I'm not saying that either the Swans and/or the Ospreys would have considered them anyway. Or indeed vice versa.  Nor am I saying that as an action it's no more than a gesture. But as a gesture it will hurt Virgin Media in terms of bad publicity. And it would provide the teams with good publicity as it will show that they respond to issues affecting Swansea and the surrounding area by supporting the community.

Just a thought.

Until the next time.

I Support England In The World Cup. I Do Not Expect Welsh People To Do the Same

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well as I'm writing this England are in the quarter finals of the World Cup having beaten Colombia on penalties. Yipppee!!! The weather is still hot. England win in a penalty shoot out and you still don't think anything has changed in the world?

England now face Sweden. Who let's not forget defeated Italy to get to the World Cup in the first place. They look like a team who battles for each other. Not unlike England under Gareth Southgate. It will be a tough game I suspect.

Now I've explained in a previous post that I've no problem with supporting Welsh Independence and supporting England in the World Cup. For the simple reason that football is different. I'm not going to repeat myself here but something has happened this morning which deserves a chat. Following England's victory last night a BBC Radio Wales morning phone-in has asked the question now that England are through to the quarter finals of the World Cup "Are We All English Now"?

There is one response (well polite one anyway) to this question

Why?

Fans of Wales should not be expected to follow England. It doesn't mean that you should be condemned if you do. But what's wrong is the expectation here promulgated by the national Radio broadcaster that if England is in a competition and Wales are not then Welsh fans should like good little serfs move to the side across the bridge (yes that bridge).

Trust me also when I say that English fans will have no respect for Welsh fans who do this. And why should they? It's not their team.

Let's take the question to it's logical conclusion. If Wales are out of the six nations rugby championship and England are not should Wales rugby fans support their nearest neighbour? Or if Cardiff City are out of the FA cup but Swansea City are not should bluebird fans suddenly go all Jack? Of course not. It's a stupid, stupid, question for the BBC to broadcast. You have your own team which defines your nation's identity. It's who you are.

This though leads us into a different question.

Why did BBC Radio Wales broadcast it in the first place?

The national radio broadcaster should be representing the nation. Not discussing how it can be a lapdog of English success. Wales will not be respected as a country if it looks East in how it should think or act. For BBC Radio Wales to do this is a national disgrace from the national broadcaster.

If Welsh fans want to follow a team I'd suggest a nation that has relatively recently achieved independence in Europe. Probably the closest nation I'd suggest to Wales.

Croatia it is then.

Until the next time.

So March 9 Then: The Day I Intend To Be An Undercover West Ham Fan At Cardiff City

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I'm not normally one for looking at football fixtures for the forthcoming season but yesterday was different. I'd decided to prepare and plan as much as I could to watch Cardiff City play the team I follow West Ham.

All the time Swansea City were in the Premiership I'd left it too late. Ready to go only to find work/other issue blocked my way. This time will be different. I now know the date (March 9th) and I will monitor when the tickets will be on sale. I WILL BE THERE.

The Undercover West Ham fan.

Why undercover? Well I don't want to sit in a faraway corner of the Cardiff City Stadium where the away fans normally are. I want a good view thankyou very much. Don't worry I will be polite. I won't suddenly shout out "Come on You Irons!" whilst being surrounded by Bluebirdian fans or cheer when Manuel Pellegrini's men (let's be optimistic here) score a goal. No I'll be polite. I will wear my standard gear now of old man casual. I won't do anything. My parents raised me good.

(And as an aside when Pellegrini was appointed manager for Manchester City he was described as providing a "holistic approach" to management. Presumably then the West Ham backroom staff will include Holland and Barrett)

I have done this before in the City stadium when Sam Allardyce was manager. The person who almost blew my cover was the wife who having dropped me off sang as loudly as possible "I'm forever blowing bubbles" as she was driving past.

(I gave up taking her to football games when many years ago I took her to see Cardiff play then Premiership Aston Villa (how old? Paul Merson was playing that old) in Ninian Park. Cardiff had just been promoted to the old Division One I think (now the Championship) and at end of the match the announcer said something like...

"And we'll see you next season ….in Division One!!"

To which the wife responded "Not for long"

Well I wanted the Earth to swallow me there and then. I vowed never to take her to a game ever. Though of course....full disclosure here....she was proved right as they got relegated the following season!
Also there seems to a certain group of Welsh woman who can say anything and get away with it whereas if I said the exact same thing hands would be warmly shaking me round the neck)

Anyway West Ham won but I was quiet. Indeed I was able to hold a mournful look that suggested disappointment whereas in fact I wanted to shout "YEEESS".

And of course I can't say anything...thus revealing myself to be English....even if it may not be an Eastend accent suspicions will be raised. Hence the silence.

So if you see a silent fan watching Cardiff play West Ham next year that will be me. Sorry Cardiff City...no I'm not sorry really. Tell you what though, I'll see if I can come on September 1st and watch you play Arsenal.

I'd definitely shout for you then.

Until the next time.

I May Be An Englishman Who Supports Welsh Independence. But I'm Still Going To Support England in The World Cup

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Last Saturday there was a Yes For Independence march held in Dumfries. And amongst the groups marching was one called English For Yes. What Twitter noticed and commented upon was a guy in that particular demonstration who wore an England football shirt. Basically the comments that were mocking him were in essence that here was a guy with split loyalties.

So let me be clear here. I'm with that guy. And the reason I'm with that guy is quite simple.

Football is different.

As anybody who supports a football team will tell you that supporting a team is not the same as supporting your local supermarket. When you ally yourself to a team you do so for life, not just for Christmas. So should you move away from that team you don't say, "well I might as well support the nearest club now". No you stick with the team that you have invested blood, sweat, tears and some money following.

After all I currently live near Cardiff City who will be playing in the Premier League next season and whilst (like Swansea and Newport) I genuinely wish them well I'm not going to suddenly start wearing a blue shirt, doing the Ayatollah and shouting "Bluebirds! Bluebirds!" all over the place. No the one time I intend to go to the City Stadium is to watch (quietly, I live nearby!) West ham beating them.

And that is equally the same nationally. I've supported England all my life and nothing changes now. I believe that Wales should be an independent nation and have no problem proclaiming my support for that. But as any fan will tell you the first rule of sports fandom is that once you have committed to a team that's it. You change your allegiance then you've broken the law.....it's a fact.

In fact my problem for this World Cup is going to be quite different. Normally due to my family background I would support England until they get knocked out after which I'd follow Italy. But this time Italy failed to qualify for the tournament in the first place.

Now that is a problem.

Until the next time.

From A Jack To Still A King..Just A Sadder One. Swansea City Today

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

About two and a half months ago Swansea City fans I knew were not exactly gloating but were smiling to me, probably the only West Ham fan they knew at the fact that their team had won 4-1. At that time, the way the football mood was melding it appeared that the Swans were going, like last season, to escape relegation by the skin of their teeth whilst the hammers looked as if they were on the way down to the Championship.

Fast forward to today the thirteenth of May. West Ham play Everton knowing that they secured another Premiership season a week ago. Swansea City however were relegated. Their extremely slim chances were cut to non existence by losing 2-1 to already relegated Stoke City.

And with that relegation there's the example of how fairy stories don't always have a happy ending. Or if they do unexpected bumps occur. Their rise from Division Two and the brink of bankruptcy to the Premiership and their first ever cup competition win is the stuff of legend. They were the team people admired and yet now they are relegated. Of course to add insult to injury their bitter local rivals Cardiff City are taking their place amougst the elite.

(A quick aside here. I've not met that many Cardiff fans gloating about Swansea's fate. If only because they would have wanted to have seen the return of the South Wales derby)

So how has it come to this? Well their American owners have to take a vast amount of blame for their fate. But probably with hindsight their decline truly began in November 2015 when the Chief executive Huw Jenkins sacked club stalwart and then manager Garry Monk (I chatted about his autobiography (written whilst still with the club) in this blog. Read with hindsight it's probably the most bittersweet football book you will ever read. Just as the film about their rise to the Premiership, From A Jack To A King, will be probably the most bittersweet football film you'll see for a while.

Whether the firing of Garry Monk was justified or not is not the point here. The point is that by sacking him in an attempt to stay in the Premiership Swansea City lost their innocence. That certain somethng that made them different from other clubs was gone. They were like all the rest.

And then we come to the American owners. I suspect that they felt that the Swans were going to be a sort of Premiership cash cow. Because when Huw Jenkins and the previous group of businessmen took over the club from the brink of bankruptcy they seemed to have the knack for the most part of picking the right manager. People like Roberto Martinez or Brendon Rodgers seemed to be left of centre managers capable of finding inexpensive but talented players from across Europe (I chatted about the book Spanish Swans by Pablo Gomez which went into this).

However when the American owners took over that knack was already eluding the Swans. They had just survived staying up last season. There was I remember a tweet by a Conservative Welsh councillor that mentioned that Swansea City like Theresa May was "strong and stable" (this was during the election) forgetting as I reminded him that last season they had three managers so not so strong and stable (he blocked me since).

So if the club were unable to find cheap bargains like Michu anymore they needed the owners to put up much more money to provide players that would keep them up. This they didn't do and despite the false dawn of  manager Carlos Carvalhal's early results (including the West Ham one) gradually the growing problems came to damn them to relegation.

The future? Who knows. But as club legend Leon Britton said. It would be better that they were out of the top flight for years if it meant that when they did return they were ready for life again in the Premiership.

As a West Ham fan I hope they do.

Until the next time.

On Cardiff City, American Football In Wales, and The South Wales Valleys....As You Do.

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As I'm writing this the biggest sporting news is that Cardiff City have won promotion to the Premier League after four years. This time they'll be managed by Neil Warnock (author of The Gaffer which I've discussed in this blog and is a good read)..

More than Swansea City it'll be very easy for me to go and watch them play West Ham. I've done it before. All I need to do is to pretend to be a Bluebird and look dejected when West ham win whilst keeping a monk-like silence so no one will suspect that inside I'll be happy as Larry...whoever he was.

Aside from that though I genuinely wish them well (along with Swansea City, Newport and Leyton Orient). I suspect for Cardiff City next season. A dull but stable season will suit most people fine.

But whilst they were getting promotion I was watching a different sport. American Football in fact from the British National Football League. The Welsh team, the South Wales Warriors were playing and I kid you not The Jurassic Coast Raptors from Dorset. Arguably the most stupid name in American Football history.

I like American football, with it's combination of violence and chess and as it was free to watch and wife/daughter didn't have anything better to counter it with I decided to go to Llanharan Rugby Club where the game was being held by myself (they don't like the sport).

As I took my spot the Welsh team were doing their pre match training. There was eventually a fair crowd for this game, given that the players were mainly doing this for the love of the sport and not for multi-million pound contracts. Still rules are rules. A bearded man with a clipboard asked a player whether he had a Warrior strip. Given that the player was wearing the strip he was not impressed.

Next the coach introduced the team to the team to wops and cheers from the team.

The Green Army

After that he told the players he expected a high score from them. He needn't have worried as it soon became clear that this game was going to get one sided as once the Warriors scored a touchdown they soon scored another one."They're not pushing" was a comment I heard one of the Warrior players make on their opponents. And it was true. I'd put more effort in opening a Jam jar than the Raptors did on the pitch.

After touchdown two

In all honesty the Raptors were an awful team. I could only recall one significant drive they had. And they didn't score from that.

After the third touchdown you knew it was going to be the sort of victory where the opposition had neither the energy, talent or resolve to beat the Warriors.

Half time. Time for food. A Hot Dog and a Pepsi. Wouldn't have been more American at that moment unless singing a Country and Western tune.

After I had the hot dog I was reading one of the two books I'd borrowed from the library. It was this:

Matthew Quick - The Good Luck Of Right Now

Regular readers will know I didn't like the last book of his I read. I won't chat about this properly until I've finished but so far so good.

The Warriors Half Time Warm-Up

Soon after the second half started the Welsh side scored again. I'd lost count by this time.

And then they scored again. and again. Come the last quarter I knew I was going to leave early. Why? Because you could tell that the Warriors Jurassic performance had like their Dinosaur namesake rolled over and died. There was a sort of surrender in their performance which meant it was pointless to stay on. And I left with about five minutes remaining.

"The game's not over" said the offensive coach to his men as I was walking passed them. Trust me it was over a long while before that.

I decided to drive around the South Wales Valleys before I went home. It was a spur of the moment thing. So I didn't stop until I reached somewhere near Treherbert. Still the views were stunning. Here they are.











And let me repeat. If my wife dies before me I'm moving to Treorchy. No matter what my wife or her Cardiff friends and family think. And this is the reason why. Let's face it. If I didn't tell you where I was you'd think France or Tuscany.

Until the next time.

How Kenneth Williams Spoilt A Susan Sontag Essay, Why Broadway Can Prove West Ham Fans Don't Have High Expectations And Other Ramblings Of Another Too Early On A Sunday Morning Insomnia Post

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well as I'm writing this it's 5:56am on Easter Sunday morning. I'm not working today, I have no real plans and yet here I am awake. Insomnia rules again.

Have finished Susan Sontag's Penguin pocket book of essays I bought last week. All very interesting and intellectual. Her essay on "Camp" clearly showed her knowledge and intellectual breath. Trouble is, when I think of "Camp" in relation to a manner of behaviour I think of someone like Kenneth Williams or  Larry Grayson which she probably never heard of being American. So it was difficult to look at it in a more reflective, calmer mode.

That of course is my problem. My other problem is that she is far more cleverer than I am. When (and not if) I approach a Susan Sontag book again, I have to get my brain into fifth gear from page one. That as a reader is my responsibility. Whatever a Susan Sontag book is, I've learnt that she demands attention from page one.

West Ham won yesterday (hooray) but a lot of focus has been put on the club recently due to it's poor performance in previous games (including against Swansea City, which living in South Wales I was reminded of constantly) and the protests against the board.

When the mainstream media looked at the situation they got people, including ex manager Harry Redknapp (a manager who I did respect when he was at West Ham. After all under him you didn't have to look at the bottom of the table to find out where your team was) who agreed with the idea that the club's supporters had high expectations.

Rubbish.

West Ham fans are not glory seekers. They are fans because they believe passionately in their team. All they expect is for the team to put in a shift. To make an effort. To do the best they can.

And if you don't believe me then I would refer you to Broadway and the origin of the West Ham familiar chant "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles". What other chant anywhere in sports would have something like these lines referring to blowing bubbles.

"...just like my dreams they fade and die. Fortune's always hiding. I've looked everywhere"

Is this the song of a team supported by people with high expectations? No. We are West Ham supporters. We are realists. But we also care. And it's the fact that we care which is what confuses the media and ex players to think we have ideas above reality.

It's now 7:35am. The sun is actually shining. Wife/daughter are asleep. Perhaps we should go out. But wife has bought beef and is actually looking forward to cooking for lunch and, well, how can I argue with that?

Must admit I do enjoy riling right wing Americans with regard to gun control. After all the rest of the world thinks that their gun laws are mad and yet somehow they're right. Tell you what? They don't like me.

One of them pointed to a particular graph of homicide rates. Just four countries in the graph HE TWEETED were worse than America's. The rest were better than the USA.I wonder why. These people really are thick. Thick and with guns in their possession.

Well wife and daughter awake. So time to close off for now.

Until the next time.

Listening To Football With My Mother : Newport County Edition

Hello there. hope you're feeling well today.

So for the moment I'm looking after my mother now thankfully discharged from hospital in this Essex exile for I hope two more weeks before being able to take her back to Wales to complete her recovery and for my wife and daughter to know what husband/dad looks like (my daughter, thankfully in jest - I think - calls me "The Abandoner".

The days seem to be exactly like my mother's days whilst in hospital. Periods of boredom broken in with the hectic. Looking after an unwell relative, even for a hopefully short period makes you appreciate and understand what true carers have to face day in day out.

Yesterday when my mother was settled back in her house I was able to watch Swansea City on free to air TV thrash Notts County 8-1. My mother was discharged from hospital, Swansea City was the giant that killed in the FA cup and I ate a rather good microwave meal from the Co-op. It was a good evening.

This evening however the FA cup replay was not on free to air.Instead the only way I could follow it was on the wireless. Tottenham Hotspur (boo hiss. Even if they are the team of Harlow) and Newport County who, like their West Walian equivalent of yesterday, are for me in that group of teams I wish well unless they face West Ham.

And they are also the underdogs. And when I say underdogs Newport County the lowest positioned side left in the competition.

So the programme on BBC Radio 5 Live begins. I miss the preview. Partly because we were waiting for my mother's carer to the evening. She didn't come. She was running late. NHS might have looked after my mother but the aftercare has been transferred to the private sector. And they are late.

Once that has been sorted out then I need to get to the local chippy for dinner. Pie and chips for me. Sausage and chips for my mother. Her taste buds seem to have radically changed since she's left the hospital. She has eaten today Porridge,bacon sandwiches,grapes,cherries,whole nut chocolate and crunchie chocolate bar. Also tea, coffee and lemonade

The most amazing thing though was the one I'd refused to get. A chicken Mcnuggett meal. Before she would have turned her nose at it. Now she wants it. The only reason why I refused was that it was just that too far away to get given it was the first full day since she was discharged from the hospital.

And so we eat. And we listen to Newport County battling against their Premier league rivals.

"Tottenham" asks my mother "Are they the rough team?"

I think she's confusing Spurs with Millwall.

Was about to answer when Spurs score. An own goal by Butler. Very unfortunate. About ten minutes later Lamela scores a second. The possibility of this going all Notts County begins to be a worrying thought in the head.

The way it's described Newport seem to have been deflated in the end of the first half. Personally my view was they might as well throw everything including the South Walian kitchen sink at Tottenham.

"Who are Spurs playing?" My mother is awake again.

"Newport"

"Newport in Wales?"

I was tempted to say "No Newport in the Isle of Wight".

During the half time break. Where the BBC Winter Olympics people were moaning about the cold weather (yes I know!) she asks more questions.

"Is the game over?"

"No it's half time"

My mother was asleep for most of the second half. And from the sounds so was the game. Tottenham had many chances. Newport had just the one.However The scoreline stayed at 2-0.

But let's just say this. Newport County were beaten but not humiliated.

Until the next time.

Listening To Swansea City And West Ham United With My Mother

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

"Nothing to watch on the television?" says my mother.

I'm as regular readers will know in Essex in the moment as my mother is recovering from a viral infection. Good news is that she's much better and all she needs to get a bit more energy back. I'll be leaving for Wales on Saturday.

But to answer my mother's question no there's nothing on the television. So I'm listening to football instead. The match on BBC Radio Five Live was blog friend Swansea City vs minor blog villain  Tottenham whilst there would be reports on blog hero (alright flawed hero) West Ham vs blog I don't know how to describe them West Bromwich Albion.

Swansea City had the new managerial appointment of Carlos Carvalhal. Which you could only look and wonder "why him?" West Ham had David Moyes, a manager where my opinion has moved from "Why him? He's rubbish, He's the messiah and currently "Why him?"

After about twelve minutes Spurs score. Llorente.Ex Swansea player. Apparently it was offside but no one seemed to really care as it appeared that Tottenham were so good /Swansea so bad. Listening to ex Swansea and in terms of his performance as a Hammer the best ex Arsenal player to play for us John Hartson being depressed. Swansea seem to be outplayed and outmanoeuvred in the apparently teeming South Wales rain.

Half an hour comes news from London. West Bromwich score. Leading West Ham 1-0. So let's get this straight, the teams I'd want to win are losing....perhaps it's me.

My mother has nodded off. Wish I could.

As the first half ends Swansea gives its fans more hope than at it's beginning but as any West Ham fan will tell you there is a misery in hope.

Second half.  Do I know what happened in the beginning? No. Wife rings. Tell her that I'm going to come home on Saturday. Moment I pass her to my mother there's good news from the TV. West Ham has equalised...meanwhile I hear discussions of the colour of paint on rooms. Another sign that she's better is that long female conversations on the phone have returned.

My mother chats further with my wife. Apart from the odd bit of excitement there appears to be no action with the matches. More action with the conversation between mother and wife.....worries me when they are close. Somehow I feel it's going to end badly for me somehow.

"I agree with you" says my mother to the wife. Suggesting that she disagrees with me.

Thirty five minutes that call was. Mainly between two of the three women in my life (the other being my daughter I should stress).

Two minutes left in the game. Spurs score. That would be it for the Swans.

Then last minute...WEST HAM SCORE!!! Andy Carroll the player who can be irritating yet inspiring in equal measure is in his inspirational moment . Now you might argue that West Brom were tired having spent two matches in three days...and you would be right...but I'm afraid I don't care...BECAUSE WEST HAM WON!!!

"Spare a thought for Alan Pardew" says the BBC radio reporter....well.....no.

I know childish of me. But as I've said once before (when I wasn't this old) that although I'm a fifty four year old man football, and only football, has the power to turn me into a ten year old boy.

Match Of The Day is on tonight. My mother has gone to bed. Will be watching it now.

Until the next time.

How The Fortunes Of Swansea City And Carlo Ancelotti's Career As Business Guru Are Linked

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It's been a while since I've posted. Largely because I've had a few days of doing the jet lag without the flying that is the early shift at work and as for yesterday, well I seemed to have caught that "one day cold thing" where you feel lousy but not at death's door for a day but feel OK the next.

But let's talk about the early shift. For when I'm on it I regularly chat with a nice guy about football. He is a Swansea City supporter. So at this time it's a West Ham / Swansea City commiseration moment as we chat about our teams' bad position in the league.

Now I won't (for this post) bore you with West Ham. But the guy is at this moment is equally despondent regarding Swansea. Remember last season they only survived the drop through the skin of their teeth and he credited their manager Paul Clement for this.

During the post season they've also lost key players. Particularly Gylifi Sigurdsson to Everton. A situation which the guy acknowledged that didn't help Mr Clement. However the men he brought in to replace those that left have not apparently performed. Swansea City's performances have been unimpressive and it's this the supporter blames Clement for and it's why his managerial tenure is under threat.

Now this conversation reminded me that Paul Clement used to be the assistant manager for Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris St Germain. And so it consequently reminded me of this.

Carlo Ancelotti - Quiet Leadership

The point about this book (which I chatted about in September last year) was whilst it had biographical elements basically it was those sort of business management tomes where you take the person management skills needed in one profession and try to jam it into those of commerce. Previous examples being Star Trek Captains and Oriental military leaders.

So you would assume that Paul Clement has utilised Ancelotti's style of management at Swansea City (and if not why not?)

Let me say that I genuinely wish Swansea City the best. They are, as I've explained before, the sort of team for me that you want to do well unless they're playing your team. It's as if you're very friendly with a woman but there's no affair as you're faithful to your wife.

If Paul Clement is able to get Swansea to pull through this dark patch then Ancelotti's management style is vindicated. Should Paul Clement be sacked though then really this sort of book becomes worthless. Because unlike business football is different. No matter who you manage there will always be factors in the game which go against. You might be the dominant team in a match but if your opponent scores a winning goal it means nothing.

So football is different, and it's why two careers are dependent on Swansea City's fortunes at  the moment.

Until the next time.

Why Being A West Ham Fan Living In Wales And Working An Afternoon Evening Shift May Be The Best Thing Right Now

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So yesterday I was working the afternoon evening shift at work. Didn't to be honest have much thoughts about anything except just making sure I did my job and looking at the weather outside. I'd thought from the forecast I saw that Friday was going to be the calm before the storm....literally. That storm's name was Brian and apparently he was coming in the next day.

(What a name for Storm eh? Brian. Suggests that it will come in and reek havoc whilst discussing train timetables and wearing slippers)

As it happened Friday night weather wise wasn't that great either. Rain and wind with skies that darkened early. It was the gale before the storm.

And work was well, work. Left at around ten. The journey back to the apartment, which would normally take me thirty minutes took longer because the roads were treacherous due to the rain. Eventually though I made it. Wife/daughter were asleep (Daughter asleep? On a Friday? Is she unwell? Thankfully not).

I get out my Kindle tablet open the Alexa app and ask for a "flash briefing" which is Amazon's flash term for news headlines. Essentially then Theresa May is quite close to begging the EU to move quicker whilst at the same time slowly backing away from the hard line she originally gave. The Prime Minister really is incompetent wrapped in a professional wrapping.

Then I ask for a "Sports Update". I'd been speaking to a Swansea City fan that evening and had realised was unaware who West Ham were playing that weekend.

Well West Ham were not playing anyone during the weekend.
They had already played that evening.
They played Brighton...at home.....
,,,,and had lost three nil!!!

To lose at home is bad enough, to lose against a team that you should have at beaten is worse but to lose at home against a team that you should have beaten by three goals is just beyond. Is this the same Slaven Bilic who just two seasons ago had led us into Europe? Have West Ham just decided to go for a similar Brexit from the Premiership? For it does appear from a distance that way.

What is happening?

I am saved the smug comments from Arsenal fans had I still been living in London. Though for those who know me here in South Wales I'm probably the only West Ham fan they know. Have to prepare for that.

Still even from this distance I still feel the embarrassment and yes the shame. For just like Brexit the cliff edge of relegation is appearing and no one seems to know how to stop it.

Something has got to be done, quickly as well.

Until the next time.

Why Going To Pay TV Would Be A Disaster For Welsh Top Club Rugby But A Shrug For Most Welsh Viewers Without Scarlet Fever

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I am, I will admit, not the best person to chat about Welsh club rugby being a) English and b) whose first sport will always be football c) there are far better and more well informed bloggers on rugby than I'll ever be (I would recommend for example https://thevietgwent.wordpress.com) . However regular readers will know that for me the fact that football is first doesn't mean a dislike of what comes second.

However I was moved to go on Twitter when a Wales Online article suggested that in the forthcoming TV negotiations all matches in the Pro 14 competition might go to Pay TV. This might be just the PRO 14 people using this tactic as a threat to get more money from the non Pay TV broadcasters. But the possibility has to be taken seriously and therefore so have the consequences.

On Twitter there were two camps to this. One (which I'm in) is that it will be a disaster for Welsh Top Club rugby. The other was that those people who watch the two matches a week on non Pay TV should get off their backsides and go to the games instead. These people forget that free to air television is not free. The viewer pays for Welsh rugby games through the licence fee (BBC) or the cost of ads (S4C). It shows a contempt for the non Pay TV customer to forget that.

Everything I'm going to say next will in terms of support mainly exclude the Scarlets franchise. In terms of core support the seeming exception to this mistake that was the creation of the top 4 Welsh teams (though even they are apparently supposed to cover North Wales, from which I say....what?)

The trouble as I see it lays in the four club you cannot be relegated structure of the top tier of Welsh teams. I've discussed before how the regional spread in its creation in 2001 meant that the catchment regions included areas that were not emotionally linked to them unlike football. Consequently support is relatively low (I'm told it's growing but all I see generally are gaps in the grounds) and definitely insecure. Compare it to Cardiff and Swansea City football clubs and the difference is not only clear but also embarrassing.

Pay TV supporters partly attribute this to Free to Air channels. This is rubbish. Other Free To Air sport gets large crowds (BBC FA Cup football for example) but there needs to be that certain something that motivates people from their armchairs to actually going to a televised event, and taken as a whole top tier Welsh rugby has not been able to do that.

I know people in the South Wales Valleys who regularly go to Cardiff City home games. I have never met anybody from there who has regularly gone to Cardiff Blues games. In terms of Welsh rugby local teams get local support. Welsh rugby is not the NFL.

Also the fact that these clubs cannot be relegated meant that, taking it's total performance since 2001 (there will always be exceptions) there are moments of stagnation.

Supporters of Pay TV will say that sport is a business and there should no room for sentiment. But even judged on that basis I've always understood that the first rule of business is know your market. Taken as a whole the clubs have failed in this, and they cannot blame free to air TV.

The Newport/Gwent Dragons it should also be noted have been taken over by the Welsh Rugby Union because of financial issues.

With this insecure support the armchair viewer might be irritated initially if the games went to Pay TV but will ultimately go on with his/her life. Crucially I don't believe (unlike football or say English rugby club supporters) it will motivate the armchair fans to get a SKY/BT subscription. S4C will just show more matches from the lower tiers of Welsh rugby (which are exciting, even if their supporters were described to me as " a few men and his dog").

Consequentially out of sight out of mind with the consequent danger of death through neglect.

No change (and probable decline) in people attending. Low audience numbers.Less children will watch, and as a consequence in years to come the national team will suffer as the young will move towards other interests (indeed like England cricket the stage will be reached where most people will not be able to name most of the team).

Top four Welsh live rugby on Pay TV only will be a digital suicide note.

Until the next time.

The Welsh Rugby Union......Sport's Welsh Labour?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling today.

When I was young growing up in London my knowledge of Wales was limited and now I realise full of cliches. When Wales either in fact or fiction appeared on British TV it would generally include a coal mine, a choir,a pub, socialism and poverty (the last of which I'd argue still exists and has got worse in the last decade).

(A quick aside here. I was told when in London by a Welsh woman who moved there that the cliché she hated the most was that when the miners left the coal mine for the day they were singing. Her grandfather told her that they were too weary and just wanted to get home)

The other cliché that would always appear was rugby. That it was "the people's game". It was the sport that most people watched and played and followed their local team every Saturday afternoon after which they would go to the pub. And you know what? If my experience in the late nineties was anything to go by that cliché was basically true.

But in 2003 the structure of Welsh rugby at club level changed. Instead of a league structure like football with promotion/relegation there would just be five teams that would join teams in Scotland and Ireland to form the Celtic League. All the other teams, some with a great history like Pontypool would just become feeder clubs to the big five.

And yes I said five. The Celtic Warriors. The team that was the merger between Bridgend and Pontypridd. The team that I must admit was looking forward to taking my then baby daughter to on a Saturday to support her (and our) local team. But in 2004, for financial reasons that are too complex to explain here the Welsh Rugby Union closed the team down.

Thirteen years later however we have now got the news that the Welsh Rugby Union have taken over the Newport Gwent Dragons and possibly (at least for a temporary period) the Cardiff Blues because of various financial issues.

And the question needs to be asked how has it come to this? The answer I would argue is that taken as a whole (because I think Scarlets are an exception) these (now four) teams failed to convince enough people to follow them. In other words people from Pontypridd would rather watch their local team play in a lower tier rugby game than travel to Cardiff to see a club that they had no emotional attachment to whatsoever. Or why would I take a forty minute drive to Swansea to watch a team hoisted on me by default when the Warriors folded? Welsh rugby is not the NFL but the Welsh Rugby Union thought it would be a successful model for Wales. For the moment at least this isn't

Also the point about supporting a club is that you will have that dream that your team would reach the top of their sport. The Welsh Rugby Union took that dream away from a lot of fans in clubs across the country. Consequently a lot of these fans became disillusioned and didn't feel the impetus to attend every game whereas once was a reflex reaction to being a Welsh rugby supporter.

You could also argue that it has been unlucky with the relative rise in that period of Cardiff and Swansea City football clubs.  Swansea shares their ground with the Ospreys and the difference in attendances is embarrassing. Equally when for a short period the Blues shared with Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium. When the Blues eventually moved back to the Arms Park it was I remember hailed by the BBC as a victory for the fans. But in reality it was an admission of failure. They could never even give an impression of filling the stadium which Cardiff City could do with ease. There is a good case for saying that at a club level football is now the national sport.

What could be done? Well I have no knowledge of the financial issues but I'm inclined to go back to the future and create the situation that existed before regional rugby was created. That way there would be local clubs that could be guaranteed real local support that could be built upon. It's no coincidence that when I see a second tier Welsh rugby game the attendances are impressive.

The Welsh Rugby Union find themselves in this situation because they alienated their base. Consequently whilst they are still the biggest sporting organisation in Wales they, and indeed Welsh club rugby, are not (talking generally) as part of the local fabric that they once were. The analogy with Welsh Labour is striking.

And they have only themselves to blame.

Until the next time.

Leyton Orient From A Distance

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I know that I haven't mentioned sports a lot in this blog recently, as most of my spare time has been spent on the agonies and ecstasies of moving house (scrub that, just the agonies).

But there was a piece of news I heard yesterday that cannot go uncommented. After one hundred and twelve years Leyton Orient have been relegated from the Football League.

As explained previously though I'm a West Ham fan there are a group of clubs such as Cardiff, Swansea and Newport County that I consider friends. The best way to describe my attitude to these teams is like being very friendly with a woman but not having an affair as you're faithful to your wife.

But by far the oldest team in this group is Leyton Orient.

When I was much, much younger and the Hammers were playing far away I would travel down the central line from Redbridge to Leyton tube station, walk to Brisbane Road and watch a game. And you know, even if it's from the misty fog of nostalgia can't ever recall a game that was dull.

O's fans had a different sense of humour as well. I can remember a game in the eighties (can't give precise details, the programme having been boxed/crated) against Brighton. It's the first half and the Brighton player Steve Foster was sent off for a dangerous tackle. The away fans at the far end of the ground from me were furious. Screaming blue murder at the decision. The Home fans seemed content enough to do nothing but cheer until half time.

However once the ref blew his whistle the Brighton fans increased their hostile roars against him. The Orient fans? As he was approaching the tunnel they stood up and gave the man a standing ovation.

Brighton now promoted to the Premier League. Orient now relegated from the Football League. There are many twists and turns in football. It can provide joy but also can be cruel to those who don't deserve it.

I mentioned in September that in late nineties took my then girlfriend (and now wife) to watch a match where they faced the Welsh team Merthyr Tydfil in an FA Cup third round match. So it's even been used to help me court her. So thank you for that.

But of course they've never had it easy. Living under the shadow of the bigger London clubs, and particularly West Ham meant that they would always have pressure with regard to support. I support West Ham because it's the closest team to where I was born but am always annoyed by people living by me who supported Arsenal (Man Utd etc) because it was the more successful club so can understand Orient fans' annoyance. And when West Ham won the battle to move into the Olympic Stadium there was a lot of focus on Tottenham's failed attempt to do. But Spurs were just being North London chancers. Leyton Orient was more affected by this move and to me from a distance here in Wales seems to have been ignored by the London authority.

With the exact science that is hindsight the match I saw in September was a shape of things to come. At that time the O's were in top half of the table and their opponents Yeovil Town were at the bottom. But despite what the table standings would have suggested beforehand and that the home team were basically the better side, Yeovil had but one clear opportunity to score and they took it.

But it's what happened after the defeat that I'll always remember. When the Orient fans shouted their protests at the emperor Nero of an owner and he seemed to have waved their concerns away with cold disdain from an executive box. His look at that moment is one I'll never forget, seeming to have viewed the fans as if they were peasants.

It since then it's got much worse. A succession of defeats and indeed managers have led them to the relegation they have to deal with today. But you could argue that off the field the situation is even more worrying. A winding up order due to unpaid debts is hanging over the club and staff haven't been paid since March which they issued a statement about saying that they've had no communication about this from club directors. A situation that goes beyond sad. Tragic is the closest word I can think of.

The attitude of the owner is beyond comprehension. At best it seems to be Nero fiddling whilst Rome burns. At worst the thoughts turn much darker but I don't feel expert enough to discuss it here. I would suggest downloading the Orient Outlook (the best one club podcast I know) when it next comes out to hear the opinions of its more knowledgeable presenters. It'll be a sad listen but an important one for all fans of football.

Leyton Orient. In a hospital bed fighting to stay alive. For what it's worth I hope you'll pull through.

Until the next time.

I Said I Wanted Swansea City Beaten.......Not Slaughtered

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Boxing Day was a typical Boxing Day. I wasn't working so it's starts as an anti-climax from the day before and progresses into just giving your ever widening stomach a rest.

But there was one exception to that general top walrus inaction. In that day's football fixtures Swansea City were playing West Ham. I had hoped to go, but my daughter has had a recurrence of an old knee injury and finds it difficult to walk on her right leg at the moment. In truth I didn't have the heart to say "Well you're in pain at the moment but I'm off to have some fun." That would just be breaking the Dad code.

So late in the afternoon I discovered the result. It's a West Ham win (hurrah) . We've moved into mid table respectability (double hurrah). We won by scoring four goals (West Ham scored four goals in a match this season? It's a Christmas miracle).

But when watching the highlights of the match later my feelings slightly changed. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy West Ham won. It's just that as I've explained before Swansea City are one of those teams that for me are like being very friendly with a woman but not having an affair as you're faithful to your wife. So watching them not so much being beaten as being beaten up in an alleyway and being left for dead was so sad.

The first Hammers goal was scored by Andre Ayew. His first West Ham goal since moving from.......Swansea City. It's that sort of fact that slaps you in the face when you're in a relegation battle. It was though the next two West Ham goals that illustrated how Swansea has declined. Winston Reid was clearly a ghost to the two Swans defenders that should seen him and only noticed his presence after he scored a header. Antonio looked offside when he kicked the third until you noticed further along the pitch the presence of Nathan Dyer that put him onside (and a quick word on Dyer - when you were there at Swansea's peak just imagine the pain he must be feeling now. Almost as bad as the fans). Swansea did score a goal only for Andy Carroll to quickly put back the three goal difference.

The freeflowing Swansea style was gone. Instead they had a look of a team on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

If only this result was exceptional. Under the reign of manager Bob Bradley defeats by four/five goals were the norm . I cannot remember any big name manager whose team were regularly defeated by this margin. It was not surprising they sacked him the day after.

Bridgend is inbetween Cardiff and Swansea. At what that means is that you can get supporters of both teams there. I was working the day after and from those people who know I'm a West Ham came different reactions. The Cardiff City fans congratulated me as if I'd scored those four goals. The Swans supporters were more depressed than anything else. To them, I was almost apologetic.

The story of Swansea City seems to be like a fairy tale where there are new chapters revealing that the wicked witch did not die and was now wreaking revenge. There is still time for a happy ending...but that time is running out.

Until the next time.

Julian Barnes, Novelist, Distinguished Man of Letters.......No Idea About Football

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Picture the scene then. I'm in the bath. For those who don't know me I'm a young Adonis. For those who do know me look away now.

It's three forty five am on Sunday morning. I'm on the early shift at work and have gotten up early so that I can have time to have a bath. I will never change my mind with regards to baths over showers. You will understand that last remark as we go on.

Now what I tend to do in the bath is to listen to a radio programme I've downloaded from the BBC iplayer radio app as a sort of countdown clock, when it finishes I'm out. If I have time it could be a half hour programme, but yesterday was not that day. So instead listened a a thirteen minute programme in the series "The Essay"  from Radio 3, the BBC classical/cultural station.

For the past week Julian Barnes, the distinguished novelist was discussing how you change your mind through your life. I'd not listened in chronological order so the one I'd listened to before was on books. He explained how he changed his mind on E M Forster from dislike to like and mentioned in passing that he might be going the same way on D H Lawrence. That bit made me chuckle as I had changed my mind on Lawrence too. Based on the books I'd read my view as a young adult was that he was a writer of saucy stuff with a literary sheen but now as a fifty two year old man he was just a conveyor of pretentious twaddle. How you change your mind indeed.

The episode in the bath was the first of the series, where in the beginning Barnes was setting out the basis for the rest of the week. And in this preamble he said this:

"that we all expect some change through the years........we change our minds about many things.........to adherence to social groups, the football team or political party we support.

It was a throwaway remark but that really woke me up. It was radio as espresso (thanks for that anyway Julian). But whilst it's perfectly true that I've changed my mind about many things through the years. sport and specifically here football is different.

So who would be the freak who likes football, reads books and downloads talks from BBC Radio 3 to listen at an ungodly hour on a Sunday morning? Two thumbs pointed at this guy.

Now regular readers of this blog will know that I support a number of football teams on the grounds that I've always believed that it makes watching a foreign league more exciting (one per country you understand). But these teams will always fall by the wayside if they ever face the first team I followed as a child. So not to muddy the waters lets talk solely about the English leagues, and the first and longest love of my life West Ham United.

I picked the Hammers simply because they were the closest team to where I was born in the East End of London. That was it. Loyalty to your area. My family generally have gone to the dark side and support Arsenal. Of course I don't like the fact that the Daleks are more successful but in terms of who you support though it does not matter. Once you have made your decision that is it. You have committed yourself forever...through victory,defeat or a draw....for that's the nature of sport and supporting your team. You,the fan, care.

I'm sure there are a few people who changed their minds as to which football team they are such a minority that they're not worth talking about unless to shun them in the street.

You follow the team whatever their fortunes and wherever you are. I'm trying to see if I can get a ticket to watch them play Swansea City on Boxing Day. As I've said before Swansea are one of those teams that I consider to be like being very friendly with a woman whilst still being faithful to your wife. On Boxing day Christmas is over. I want them beaten.

Let's give another example. In South Wales the majority support the three teams in the English League, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport County. There will be others though who follow the likes of Manchester United or Liverpool. I knew people in the late nineties who supported Aston Villa because it was the closest Premiership team from South Wales (how times change). But once they made their minds up there was no change in the team they supported.

So Julian Barnes Football is not like literature,or politics,or music. You can be passionate about all these things (as I am) but your lifelong loyalty will always be for your team.

Come On You Irons!

Until the next time

The Most Bittersweet Football Book You Will Ever Read

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday I finished Loud, Proud and Positive an autobiography of Garry Monk. Who was at the time this book was published (2012) the captain of Swansea City.

Now for those of you who have forgotten that timeframe Brendan Rodgers was Swansea City manager and during this eight year period he was mainly captain of the team when he moved from (what is now) Division two to the Premier League. He played (and was mainly captain) for city during this period and then subsequently became manager, after Michael Laudrup,in 2014. So you see he had a long footballing career with this club and was iconic.

Unfortunately, and I'll be coming to this later, he was sacked almost a year ago when results were not going well and is now manager of Leeds United and must be doing a good job given that he's still there when the owner gives the impression sacking managers is a hobby.

So let's get back to the book. Although Garry Monk wasn't there when Swansea City was at it's lowest ebb as it was a match away from extinction he (with ghost writer Peter Read) is able to convey that remarkable rise up the divisions. Whilst calling it magic is probably overdoing the hyperbole there was something in the air in that period. Incidentally if you can catch the documentary of Swansea City at this time, Jack To A King, I can heartily recommend it.

It wasn't plain sailing either. The chapter when Paulo Sousa became manager is fascinating in itself.

And the point is that Garry Monk, born in Bedford England became for want of a better word, Swansea. You can tell by reading his accounts of their footballing confrontations with the hated enemy Cardiff City that his colours are tied to the Jack army mast.

As a book it's readable and races along at a good pace. For those who are interested in this sort of thing there is more information about his personal life in his photos than in the text, which personally I don't mind,

It's an good read and I think conveys the person Garry Monk seems to be on the TV. A committed but essentially decent man

But...

As I've said this library book was published in 2012. It does not show Swansea's Carling cup victory or his initially successful career as manager. However neither does it mention his sacking on 9th December last year due to a poor series of results. So when you read this book and it's optimistic tone it's with a feeling of sadness as you, the reader, know what's going to happen next.

Whether you think that the sacking was justified or not (and personally I think he was entitled to at least the remainder of the year to see whether he could have turned things around) I do think that Swansea changed as a club from that moment on. They were no longer different. They now seemed to be just like any other club. A feeling that has been consolidated by their takeover by an American consortium.

Because I'm a West Ham fan (and I know that analogies can be stretched) the person he reminds me of is John Lyall. Who spent many years in the club before being sacked as manager after the Hammers were relegated from what was then Division One. His autobiography Just Like My Dreams is a sad read for a West Ham fan. For again, the club seemed to change irrevocably. Should Garry Monk eventually write another autobiography It'll remind me of Lyall's book, but I would read it.

That all said I was pleased Swansea City won yesterday in their remarkable game vs Crystal Palace, for as I've said in the past my attitude to all the South Walian teams is akin to being very friendly with a woman but not having an affair as you're faithful to your wife, Though that said my wife, West Ham, is now in a worse position in the league than it was in the beginning of the day.

They will need these victories, remarkable or not, to continue. When I spoke to a couple of Swansea City fans at work yesterday before the match they seemed to have a mindset of preparing for relegation. Such was their poor start to the season. One said to me that if the Swans had lost he was going to sell his season ticket in Ebay.

Until the next time

On West Ham From A Distance And England Football Team Stuff Still Flogged In Wales By Tesco

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well I must admit from far,far away I'm getting nervous and depressed about West Ham at the moment. From a position last season of sixth and into European competition we now lose in the second pre-qualifying round of the Europa League to a team where Google Maps needed to be consulted.

But what's worse is the performance in the Premier League so far. In the first game of the season they lost to Chelsea. You shrug your shoulders and think "well OK Chelsea could not have as worse a season as the last one". So you live with that.

They beat Bournemouth, great. But then they lose 3-1 to Manchester City. And again the ten year old boy in me makes excuses. "They're managed by Pep Guardiola....they're playing great football  against other teams...West Ham have enough injuries to fill any medical TV drama episode...".

However.

In the last three games they have lost to Watford,West Bromwich Albion and Southampton. The fact that they lost is not the issue. If they had lost by a goal you would have grudgingly accepted it. They in fact let in four,four and three goals respectively. Consolation goals do not help. Of course rubbing salt into the wound is the fact that the teams I dislike the most Tottenham and of course the Arsenal are second and third in the league at the moment.

And what I don't understand,from far far away is not the decline but it's speed from where we were at the end of last season. Let me stress I will always support West Ham and will always try to get to as many games as possible. But it doesn't mean that I'm not worried.

Mind you, if there is one place you can hide from a lot of flak if you're a Hammer supporter is South Wales at the moment. West Ham are in the relegation zone at 18th but Swansea City are (at time of writing) just two positions and one point above them. Consequently any conversations with a Jack fan is just mutual moaning at our respective teams at the moment. As for Cardiff City they won on Saturday but still are just outside the relegation zone in The Championship. Their manager's name is Trollope, you would hope that their performance will start becoming more novel.

West Ham then. In Europe and now out of it. Unless things improve (fingers and everything else crossed) they are fast becoming a metaphor for Brexit. And one final thing on this, there is nothing more worse footballing wise than a smug Arsenal fan. If you trust me on anything trust me on that.

You might remember during Euro 2016 I remarked that Official England football figures were being sold in the local Bridgend Tesco. Well in this washout of a day and so many months later I was back in this Tesco branch and......

it's still there

I have mentioned before that Wales must be the only country this happens to. I think that I've mentioned before that you cannot imagine this happening in Scotland and yet the Welsh are supposed to bare this.Also that this was not the only example of this happening through the years and not just around Euro 2016.

Well of course this is much worse now than it was even then given of course that Wales came third in the competition and England embarrassingly crashed out to Iceland. So why are Tesco flogging official merchandise from another country? With behaviour like this do you wonder why people rather go to Aldi/Lidl (and for the record I went to Tesco for a few items I couldn't get at LIDL)?

Perhaps these companies should note that Wales exists and is not a region of England.

Until the next time.