On Saturday I had the privilege of being in the away end as Reading came from behind to win 4-2 at West Ham. It was an epic game and a fantastic showing from the Royals fans as the visitors stretched their advantage over the Hammers in the race for promotion to four points. With six games to go, and the form book taken in to consideration, Reading are entitled to consider themselves favourites to clinch automatic promotion alongside current leaders Southampton, although nothing is decided yet. Promotion is not the be all and end all for Brian McDermott's side, and would be a massive bonus that was unexpected and unlikely just a few short months ago when the Royals sat well off the pace after a poor opening to the season left them loitering near the bottom of the table. However, after a superb run of form, including a recent eight wins on the bounce, it would be a shame now if Reading can not edge themselves over the line and earn just a third ever season in the top flight. The six remaining games look very tough on paper: away trips to the Saints, sixth-placed Brighton and fourth-placed Birmingham, and home games against a Leeds side with a point to prove, a rejuvenated Nottingham Forest and the ever-unpredictable Crystal Palace. Yet, Reading seem to be at their best when faced with tough opponents, and facing some of the top sides in the league may just suit them more than Peterborough, Barnsley and Portsmouth who are among the few teams to topple the Royals this season.
For West Ham, the story is very different. As one of the biggest names in the division, expectations placed on the Hammers are very different. Promotion has been seen as a must since the moment they were relegated by a Wigan fightback on the last day of the season almost a year ago. The Hammers looked set to meet those expectations for long spells this season but have seen themselves stumble of late with a succession of draws. Victory over Peterborough last Tuesday looked to have turned the tide but that was quickly stemmed by Saturday's defeat. It has now been six successive home matches that the fans have gone home without seeing their side win, and frustration is increasingly mounting around the Boleyn Ground. Having witnessed the massive queues outside Upton Park train station, it is easy to imagine how the ire multiplies among the supporters as they face the regular prospect of an arduous trip home after yet another victory-less trip to the ground. To make matters worse, each winless affair is accompanied by what is best described as "Allardyce-ball", or simply "hoofball", a most unWest Ham-like way of playing that is really not sitting well with fans brought up on a more attractive brand of football. This is a club that gave us the elegance of Bobby Moore, a club that in recent years has nurtured the likes of Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick. In their place is now a series of long balls aimed at Carlton Cole, a style more befitting of Wimbledon than West Ham.
For the first thirty minutes on Saturday, this style was proving fairly productive, with the Premier League experience of midfield quartet Gary O'Neill, Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan and Matt Taylor at least adding a bit of class to the overly direct tactics. Aided by some highly lenient refereeing by top flight official Chris Foy, who seemed to think he was in a WWE ring every time he let Abdoulaye Faye wrestle Jason Roberts off the ball, the Hammers looked decent value for their one-goal lead. Reading for their part were struggling to find their regular game, awkward in possession and unable to use Roberts as an outlet due to the submission moves offered by Faye. However, the Royals appeared to have a Plan B, something that appeared lacking from the hosts, at least until Allardyce found himself forced to bring on his pocket-sized substitute strikers who are simply not suited to aerial challenges. West Ham's play became too predictable and the plucky Royals hauled themselves back in to the game before half time, leading at the break through two quickfire goals. The second half belonged to Reading, and although Ricardo Vaz Te headed the hosts back to within a goal of parity after the Royals had extended their advantage from the penalty spot, their main threat was over when Cole was substituted. Without Cole's physical presence the regular style of the Hammers became defunct, and it was Reading who grabbed their fourth goal, and were a tight refereeing call away from putting a fifth on the board.
For West Ham fans, winning ugly is not an ideal situation. For West Ham fans, losing ugly is unforgivable. Allardyce's appointment has never quite made sense, his renowned favouring of physical football at odds with the ingrained culture of the club. Perhaps the board felt that a Premier League name was needed to lead a squad of Premier League players back up, but he has sacrificed style for not-quite-enough substance and his time is surely running out. Following their only recent victory, the 2-0 win over Posh, Allardyce hit out at fans who had continuously sang “West Ham United – we play on the floor”. He said he was "sick of all that rubbish", a sign of a less than harmonious relationship between the manager and the supporters. This is dangerous ground for Big Sam to be walking, as the happiness of the fans will surely play a big part in whether he keeps his job or not. Allardyce needs to be aiming for a conciliatory approach rather than taking a belligerent attitude towards the West Ham crowd, or else he might face the axe should the next six games not result in automatic promotion.
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