Towards the end of last season, when it had emerged David Moyes would be leaving West Ham, pundits far and wide showed their complete and utter dismay at the decision.
It was the kind of reaction you would expect from those who evidently don’t hold much interest or respect in clubs who are not considered to be operating within the Premier League’s so-called ‘big six.’
Whenever a side outside of that mini cohort of self-confessed ‘big clubs’ even remotely attempts to improve, it’s often met with the over used mantra that they should “be careful what they wish for.” It’s the kind of rhetoric that amplifies the kind of arrogance and lack of understanding football fans generally despise.
West Ham were victims of the “be careful what you wish for” brigade when Sam Allardyce left the club in 2015, and they had the Hammers in their crosshairs again earlier in 2024 when a cocktail of disappointing results, tepid performances and a an ultra-defensive style of play led to some corners of the fanbase asking for more from a squad the boasted the likes of Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen.
Wishing for better than 5-0 defeats to Fulham or being thrashed 5-2 by Crystal Palace was, according to some pundits, utter fantasy. West Ham fans should stay in their lane, get back in their box.
Can you imagine the rage on some of these pundits’ faces when West Ham lifted the UEFA Conference League trophy in 2023 – a club outside their beloved super clubs winning major silverware must’ve made their blood boil.
Two pundits who showed their lack of understanding of what West Ham fans were actually calling for last season, along with their clear unwillingness to understand, were Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton.
Now, you wouldn’t expect anything less from Sutton, to be honest. Since retiring, he’s made a living from being one of the most shouty, provocative and disrespectful pundits around. Indeed, he knows what he’s doing, but it completely erases his credibility as someone who gets paid to give his views on footballing matters.
Nonetheless, he and Shearer led the “be careful what you wish for” brigade into battle with the kind of face value opinions you would expect from a bloke down the pub who uses the likes of Match of the Day, Facebook and X to form their ‘expert’ views on the beautiful game.
Ironically, it was on Match of the Day that Shearer said this last season: “I think sometimes it’s case of be careful what you wish for.
“Other than Aston Villa when I look at the top of the table, I think West Ham are actually top of their league, if you like, in terms of how high they can actually go.”
West Ham were eighth at the time, two places lower than where we finished two seasons earlier, and one place below where we finished the season after that.
Sutton’s words were stronger, as he took direct aim at the fanbase when speaking to BBC Sport, by saying: “The owners have got sucked in to the fact that there is a section of the fanbase who are entitled and they want fantasy football. That’s the long and short of it.
“There will be West Ham fans expecting the world next season, expecting them to push on, expecting them to be more expansive and I would be surprised if it’s any better than it has been under David Moyes.”
Well, it appears Sutton has been surprised by what he’s seen from West Ham under Julen Lopetegui so far, albeit after just three games in the Premier League, two of which were against Champions League sides.
Giving his prediction of West Ham’s trip to Fulham on Saturday, Sutton told BBC Sport: “Fulham are bright and try to play good football, and West Ham are the same.
“The Hammers actually ran Manchester City pretty close before the international break, but still ended up losing.”
He goes on to predict a 1-1 draw but already we’re seeing a very different vibe about West Ham from Sutton. It was only months ago he was lambasting the fans and the club for wanting something a little more than boring, ultra-defensive football.
Now, he’s acknowledging that a slightly more positive style of play under the new boss gave the best team in world football a thoroughly difficult time of it.
Meanwhile, Shearer’s predictions for the Metro followed a similar vibe, although he stopped short of directly praising the club, instead acknowledging the start to the season has been a difficult one for Lopetegui’s side.
“West Ham have had a tougher start to the season [than Fulham] so it remains to be seen what they can do just yet,” he said while also predicting a draw.
Give Fulham’s opening three fixtures were against Man United, Leicester City and Ipswich, while ours were against Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City, I’m taking what Shearer said as a nod to the fact that actually, what West Ham fans wished for might just be in the works towards becoming something of a reality.
It’s still early days, of course, but it’s refreshing to see two pundits, who have been overly critical towards the club and the fanbase over the last year, begin to show a little more respect.
Obviously it won’t last, these things never do where a lot of pundits are concerned.
