West Ham
The future is not clear
WEST Ham assistant manager Mervyn Day has admitted he does not know if he and boss Alan Curbishley will still be at Upton Park next season.
Speaking immediately after the Hammers' 4-1 thrashing at Manchester United on Saturday, Day conceded that the pair's future at the Boleyn Ground was not 100 per cent secure.
Despite leading the Irons to Premier League safety last season and, having had to contend with a crippling season-long injury crisis, a likely top-10 finish this time around, the management team has come in for criticism from some sections of supporters.
Some fans have been disappointed by the team's perceived dull style of play, with Curbishley often being forced to choose practicality over flair due to his limited resources.
With the Irons' Icelandic owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson having already disposed of former chairman Eggert Magnusson - a close ally of Curbishley - speculation has arisen over the manager's own future, and that of his second-in-command.
And Day did little to douse the flames of suspicion at the weekend, despite claiming he and Curbishley had the backing of their Premier League contemporaries.
"Who knows. Who knows. You can't help speculation," said the former West Ham goalkeeper.
"Everybody in football, you speak to any manager or coach and they acknowledge what a decent job we've done so far in the circumstances.
"Whether people in our position think that speculation has got some foundation or whether it's justified is another matter."
Day attended the post-match press conference at Old Trafford at the request of Curbishley, who had become involved in a row over his newspaper column - in which he wrote that it would be an "injustice" if the Red Devils did not win the title - in the lead up to Saturday's game.
Chelmsford-born Day is the youngest ever goalkeeper to appear in an FA Cup final, having played in West Ham's 2-0 win over Fulham in 1975 at the age of just 20. He joined the Irons again with Curbishley in December 2006.
9:44am Wednesday 7th May 2008
Print 
Email this 
CommentPosted by: Tophammer, London on 10:13am Wed 7 May 08
Endless speculation in the press based on what? The usual 'sources close to...'. Would it be too simple to expect Mr Gudmundsson to say that Curbishley and Day have done a good job under the circumstances and will be at WHU next season? Or am I indulging in endless speculation too?
Endless speculation in the press based on what? The usual 'sources close to...'. Would it be too simple to expect Mr Gudmundsson to say that Curbishley and Day have done a good job under the circumstances and will be at WHU next season? Or am I indulging in endless speculation too?
Posted by: tony, London on 11:32am Wed 7 May 08
]bold[/bold] sack him now [bold]bold[/bold][italic]italic[/italic] [italic]italic[/italic]
Posted by: Bernie Brown on 12:04pm Wed 7 May 08
The man's a joke, what on earth did he say those things for, especially on the eve of his team meeting them in a potential title decider? He brings most of these problems on himself! I mean how many years experience has he got and he drops himself and the club in it with these comments. As a West Ham fan I'm angry because what message does this send to the players! No wonder he couldn't motivate them to push on after the 40 point safety mark, the man is negative and undynamic, and now we can add stupid to the list. Also, this was the worst possible publicity for WHU after last years Tevez affair! The last thing we needed was the suggestion of a lack of integrity for the baying tabloid wolves to feed on (not to mention Sheffield United).If I was Gudmundsson my patience would have just run out, and I'd sack him (along with his dodgy physio team).
The man's a joke, what on earth did he say those things for, especially on the eve of his team meeting them in a potential title decider? He brings most of these problems on himself! I mean how many years experience has he got and he drops himself and the club in it with these comments. As a West Ham fan I'm angry because what message does this send to the players! No wonder he couldn't motivate them to push on after the 40 point safety mark, the man is negative and undynamic, and now we can add stupid to the list. Also, this was the worst possible publicity for WHU after last years Tevez affair! The last thing we needed was the suggestion of a lack of integrity for the baying tabloid wolves to feed on (not to mention Sheffield United).If I was Gudmundsson my patience would have just run out, and I'd sack him (along with his dodgy physio team).
Posted by: Scott on 1:13pm Wed 7 May 08
He didn't say these things on the eve of the game, it's just the press decide to print them because it's relevant at that time. Not only that, I would presume, just like anyone should with half a brain, that his comments were perhaps slightly taken out of context by the press? No, actually, the media would never do such a thing.
Another thing, the 'lack of integrity' shown by West Ham is no worse than Liverpool fielding a reserve side against relegation strugglers, or any other team.
No footballer wants to lose a football match, so to suggest that West Ham would even consider handing the title to Man Utd is pathetic.[bold]bold[/bold]
He didn't say these things on the eve of the game, it's just the press decide to print them because it's relevant at that time. Not only that, I would presume, just like anyone should with half a brain, that his comments were perhaps slightly taken out of context by the press? No, actually, the media would never do such a thing.
Another thing, the 'lack of integrity' shown by West Ham is no worse than Liverpool fielding a reserve side against relegation strugglers, or any other team.
No footballer wants to lose a football match, so to suggest that West Ham would even consider handing the title to Man Utd is pathetic.
Posted by: APR, Benfleet on 6:26pm Wed 7 May 08
A manager can only work with the players at his disposal.
If a player under performs, why blame the manager ?
A manager can only work with the players at his disposal.
If a player under performs, why blame the manager ?
Posted by: APR, Benfleet on 6:28pm Wed 7 May 08
A manager can only work with the players at his disposal.
If a player under performs, why blame the manager ?
A manager can only work with the players at his disposal.
If a player under performs, why blame the manager ?
Posted by: Dave on 6:52pm Wed 7 May 08
Because the manager is the core of the team and is there to motivate and guide,if this was not the case then whats the point of a manager.Fed up with injury excuses and there is no more room for any other excuse.
Because the manager is the core of the team and is there to motivate and guide,if this was not the case then whats the point of a manager.Fed up with injury excuses and there is no more room for any other excuse.
Posted by: Shrimper Nation, Here There & EveryWhere on 5:36pm Fri 9 May 08
Wet Spam are pants!
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
