West Ham United

A little bit of house keeping before we start for anybody who doesn't know what this blog is all about. Back in August whilst the Premier league were kicking off their first games of the season, I picked a team from low down in the Northern Leagues to go on a glory hunt with.

The idea of a glory hunt is you pick a team and follow them until they get knocked out and then you follow their conquerors and so it continues until finally I am supporting the winners at Wembley Stadium on May 30th.

So far I have supported Morpeth Town ,Dunston UTS, Spennymoor Town, AFC Telford United, Bristol City and now here I am at West Ham United.

The thing is I am not supposed to be biased but I really hope this is where my journey ends this year .  The thing is when the glory hunt started on August 15th of last year I was at the Boleyn ground with my son watching the Hammers taking on Spurs in the first game of the season, a game that West Ham undeservedly lost in injury time despite dominating from the very first whistle.

I was also there for the next home game against Southampton a fortnight later which West Ham lost 3-1.  All West Ham fans will be pleased to know that I haven't been since and funnily enough ever since that defeat the Irons home record has been pretty impressive, more good news I doubt very much if I will be going again this season so the superstitious among you needn't worry.

Of course on the last occasion that West Ham won the cup in 1980 they played West Brom in the third round, the first game at the Hawthorns finished 1-1 Stuart Pearson scored for the visitors but unfortunately I can't find who scored for the Baggies that day so we will say that Cyrille Regis did.  Big Cyrille's goal made sure there was replay at Upton Park and as we know the Irons won the replay by 2 goals to 1.  Geoff Pike and Trevor Brooking scored for the hosts and there was a consolation from Tony Brown, who was probably about 46 at the time.  Incidentally it was Tony Brown's last ever goal for the Baggies.

Tony Brown aged 12

http://youtu.be/Pzxwewj0Kqc   West Ham V WBA 1980 3rd round replay.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Saturday's game ended up as a draw and then win for the Irons back at Upton Park under the floodlights, just like that tie 35 years ago.

It doesn't seem possible that it was that long ago the last time West Ham won the cup.  I remember it was the first cup final I had ever watched.

When I was at school in Essex in the 1980's if you were into football you either supported Arsenal, West Ham, Spurs or Liverpool.  It took me a long time to choose a football team as a kid.  My Dad's side of the family were staunch West Ham fans, my Mum's Dad was an Arsenal fan and for the first time in 1980 I had to make a choice of what team to support as the two of them met in the FA cup final.

 At 7 years old this was a really hard decision to make, it wasn't made any easier by the fact that both my grandparents from both sides of the family lived next to each other so on this particular Saturday just like any other Saturday I was popping between both houses.  Both of my Grandad's asked me who I was going to support come 3 o'clock.  After seeing all the excitement gathering in one household were everyone was a Hammer, I made my mind up I would be supporting the mighty Iron's.  When I went next door to see my other Grandad just before kick off I told him my decision, for some reason as a young kid I felt like I was letting him down, next door were all the West Ham fans and here was my Grandad sitting there as the only Gunners fan around.  We left just before kick off to get home and watch the majority of the game on the telly, as we drove home with the game on the radio I saw all the banners and flags hanging out of the windows most of course were West Ham colours.

On that drive home I made up my mind that because everyone was supporting West Ham I was going to support Arsenal just like my Grandad.  By the time the final whistle had gone and Trevor Brooking had stooped to head home the only goal of the game to give the Iron's the cup I had changed my mind again and become a West Ham fan.  Some may say I was a just a glory hunter and I suppose I was really, but to be fair I thought the FA cup was just played between the same teams every year, a bit like the boat race but in football, I had no idea what it was all about.

You have got to remember this was the start of the 80'sand there weren't much football on television I was just a young kid who loved playing it.

So I suppose once a glory hunter always a glory hunter.

I thought the FA cup was like the boat race

As for the opposition on Saturday, I reckon West Brom will make themselves hard to beat but it is obvious that for Tony Pullis and his Baggies survival in the Premier league is going to be their main priority this season, although a cup run is sometimes beneficial to a team near the bottom of the league, I don't think this will be the year that Albion win their 6th FA Cup.

surely Tony Pullis has bigger fish to fry.

West Ham must think they have a great chance of winning it this season as to a certain extent the draw has been quite kind, although the games have all been away ties, they have all been winnable.

I really hope that it is West Ham's name on the cup this year as some people think it might be, it would be great to see the Hammers lift that famous old trophy for a fourth time, not to mention what a great ending it would be to my first ever glory hunt.

Lets not get carried away though, lets get this game out of the way and move onto the quarter finals.

Come on you Irons!!

Up the Hammers!!