West Ham has never needed its fans more, says Mickey Ambrose

When I met West Ham fans Louisa and Mark (pictured) after West Ham’s home defeat against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City they said: “A disappointing result but positive performance overall. We deserved a point.” I thought, wow! That sounds as if West Ham have turned the corner to put in such a performance against the reigning champions, City.

Last season there was much criticism directed at David Moyes about how he ‘stifled’ games to get a result. fans were frustrated by the style of play, but it brought some success, finishing a credible 9th in the Premier League.

Alas, it seems Louisa and Mark’s dream of change are shortlived. Following the shambolic performance against London rivals Chelsea, it seems the Hammers have gone backwards. Even an away win at Crystal Palace; a home win against Bournemouth when Jarrod Bowen scored late on to secure the points; and a home draw against Fulham when, in the first half they played abysmally according to some fans. They were lucky not to lose by a large margin let alone get a point.

When the Hammers welcomed London rivals Chelsea to a sold out London stadium. Nicolas Jackson wasted no time in scoring in the third minute. He netted again to silence the West Ham faithful and Cole Palmer added a third to clinch a 3 – 0 victory for Chelsea. One fan, Matt described it as “a joke”.

The performance against Chelsea was shambolic from the start to finish. There is no hiding the fact that West Ham’s new manager Julen Lopetegui has a lot to get right starting with basic defending, after conceding a woeful gift of a goal after three minutes and then, in a similar move conceding again.

To rub salt in the wound, West Ham then shipped another goal two minutes into the second half. Every football fan knows that is the worst time to concede a goal, particularly with rampant Chelsea.

It is the first time in West Ham’s 129 year history that they have lost their first three league games of the season. But now is the time fans need to really get behind the team. It was not a good look that thousands streamed out of the stadium early. Let’s hope they will stay the course for the rest of the season.

Meanwhile, off the field, it was, according to media, a good opening week for the legal team defending Manchester City against 115 Premier League charges. Apparently, the Premier League is already considering changing its rules of operation, removing the caps on budgets for both players’ salaries and transfer fees.

The result of this momentous change of tack will, by all accounts, allow the charges to be dropped against Manchester City for breaking those caps.

However, while this may initially look like a potential victory, the unforeseen consequences have not been considered or debated. Even since the creation of the Premier League over 30 years ago, the laws of football have been allowed to evolve, aside from the wider laws of business in the UK, such as the 2010 Equalities Act. Premier League Clubs have created accountancy and business practices that would not be allowed in any other sphere of society.

In return the tax authorities have always got their pound of flesh. Professional footballers are the only sector of society who are not allowed to set-up their own businesses or consultancy companies to handle their vast wages. They are only allowed to use the PAYE system, ensuring that they always pay the highest tax rate of 45 percent.

However, football cannot have a foot in both camps, it cannot claim to use standard business practices, regarding restriction of trade on one hand, while claiming that they do not need to pay male and female players the same salary for ostensibly doing the same job.

Removing the cap could lead to one or two superclubs dominating and winning everything as in Scotland where Celtic have won 54 League titles and Rangers have won 55. The last time another team won the SPL was Aberdeen over 40 years ago. Do we really want the same in the English League?

Mickey Ambrose is a former Chelsea and Charlton player who lives in Stratford

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