They say revenge is a dish best served cold and West Ham were ice in their response to goading from a Premier League rival this week.
Football is a tribal sport, especially in the UK, and that’s what makes it great.
West Ham fans can be as tribal as they come too.
But there’s no hiding the fact there has been a high degree of sanitation of the game in the Premier League era.
Some of it good and needed. But much of it to making elements mind-numblingly dull.
Pre-match pot shots at West Ham just not cricket
Pre-match press conferences have become almost pointless with managers, West Ham’s David Moyes one of the biggest culprits, producing dour answers so as not to give too much away.
They are full of praise and platitudes for the opposition and the opposing manager in a copy and paste fashion that has become unbearably dull and predictable.
So too are pre-match previews put out by clubs – West Ham included.
Not this week, though, when Brentford came to the London Stadium.
Because our Premier League rivals goaded West Ham and it backfired spectacularly.
Bees savaged Hammers in official preview
Pressure was piled on West Ham’s manager and his Hammers side when they welcomed their bogey team to east London.
As I reported on Hammers News ahead of Monday’s crunch game, Brentford took the highly unusual step of ridiculing West Ham in their official pre-match preview.
The Bees website said West Ham ‘lack a clear identity and overarching tactical principle’.
And our London rivals also pointed out a woeful statistic about Moyes’ West Ham side which many fans were not aware of – that the Hammers had only scored just nine goals from open play at home all season.
Some might agree with Brentford’s assessment.
But most would say it’s just not cricket regardless.
I said that Moyes could do a lot worse than pin the preview on West Ham’s dressing room wall before the game.
And it’s likely Moyes and the team were aware. Because Hammers media man Rob Pritchard highlighted the comments on social media as you can see below.
West Ham have the last laugh after goading
Whether it was brought up with the first team squad or not, the very public goading completely backfired.
Because West Ham suddenly found their shooting boots as the 4-2 win left egg and custard pie layered thick on relegation-threatened Brentford’s red faces.
Revenge is a dish best served cold. And West Ham’s attack was ice cold in the victory, which lifted them level on points with Brighton in seventh place.
The performance answered most of the criticisms Brentford’s media team analysts had laid at West Ham’s door.
Now the Bees must turn their attention to the rather pressing issue of a relegation battle for the remainder of the season.
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