I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy dog! Published 03/04/18 on Irons United

Can you hear the moans and groans, the dissenting voices, the vitriolic mutterings? Well, not today and certainly not until the next match away to Chelsea. A win will always lift the spirits of any bitter crowd, however a terrific performance simply fills a supporter’s soul with joy and imparts a smile that will last all week…I should know because I’m still beaming…even as I write.

The team performance on Saturday was a revelation not because of unknown potential but rather because it had remained untapped in most games all this season. The Burnley game was a terrible loss, both the on and off the field antics lowered the tone and the spirits of everyone around the club and within the support…and attracted unwanted attention from anyone who would gleefully attack with words fashioned from pointed sticks and chiseled rocks. 

Everything hurt, everyone was in pain…each and every fan was teetering on a knife edge, hoping for a win with any kind of performance, but dreading a loss and any form of capitulation. The manager and squad were much ridiculed and maligned for travelling over to Miami, however their performance showed a group of players that were more in tune with each other and more together as a unit. They worked, supported and fought for each other, as a team…as a band of brothers that gave Southampton no hope, no chances and not a sniff of any victory.

The fans needed that result, but the performance from the first whistle gave the fans something to continue cheering about. The players were titans, warriors and fabulous…the supporters in the stadium, in homes, in bars or around the world…pleaded and urged them onto victory…the fans were absolutely fabulous themselves.

Many had called for unity, the owners had prayed for it, the club captain had asked for it…but all fans acknowledged this was the correct course of action. Leave protests and demonstrative sounds outside of the ground and let the only voice heard be that of, “IRONS! IRONS! IRONS!”

The players had underperformed in so many of the recent matches and had conceded a basket full of goals. Confidence was at an all-time low and troubles in the camp manifested themselves onto the pitch…there was no escaping the bitter truth. However the sweetest verity was a unifying sound that carried players upon shoulders to raise their games, never give up and bring home the bacon. This was something all fans and players needed to get used to and continually work towards.

Although the team and manager had been criticised for many deficiencies over recent weeks, the season as a whole has been an amnesiac’s nightmare. It had been rife with error and missed opportunities, apathetic endeavour and fragile fortifications…nothing was certain, marginally hopeful and realistically cautious. The wayward lawman had been put out of his misery but a few players still adorned the peacemaker’s badge of honour…the fans merely waited for them to stand up and be counted…well they all did on Saturday afternoon and everyone would urge them on to repeat such heroics again and again until the saving is done and the season’s trial is won.

Whilst the fans are now in high spirits, there is cautious tone amongst rhetorical tongues…for Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United lie in wait to peel claret and blue flesh from newly awakened vessels. Many would take the licks in favour of going for glory against Stoke City, Leicester or Everton…however any points gained would be welcome sight for desperate eyes.

The team does not play for European places, cup finals or mid table security…it now fights for the very survival of the club in the Premier League. Standout performances will raise everyone’s spirits and expectations, however hard fought battles and victorious blood baths will arouse innate emotions that would fly high above sainted heads and be passed on for future generations to house.

David Moyes would seek to save his career and end the season anywhere above relegation, however he must do so much more that simply scraping by…he must inspire his soldiers to dig deep in torrid games, attack with flamboyant verse and form a cohesive unit that has never quite gelled all season long. The fans expect better, the club and owners aim for higher riches and to solidify their powerhouses..whilst the players know all too well about their misgivings about every trial ahead but the recent display proves their potential may be yet realised if they all pull together and work as one solid unit…unified…united!

Although the team face some of their toughest challenges this season in the next few games and nerves would be heard jangling from miles away, Moyes should be able to demonstrate other dimensions to his tactical arsenal and which has been called for all season long.

He needs to be defensive when called upon to be so, but adventurous when opposition frailties are evident. Perhaps individual performances had not filled the manager with confidence to be more expressive and injuries have curtailed the fluidity of this work in progress, however the squad has been too thin and too many errors in the transfer market have been made to make any run-in more comfortable.

So now the team will be glowing from their Miami tans and the pride of their performances in the last outing, however all focus will be turned to counteract the Conte machine who would fire at will if their snipers were not prone to missing targets. The Hammers must find a way to nullify their star players as they did earlier in the season at the London Stadium. West Ham can expect a hostile welcome at Stamford Bridge but must pay it no mind and remember the task at hand…points mean prizes…with the greatest prize remaining in the Premier League.

Now is the time to build momentum, now is the opportunity to put past deficiencies and transgressions behind them. They shot the sheriff and took their hammering but they did not shoot the deputy dog…all hope is not lost and salvation may yet be the light on the horizon that transfixes as it draws nearer.