Book Review

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The fanz worst moments - caught in print 'NIGHTMARE on Green Street' is not yet another West Ham book. \\esthamonline contributor Billy Blagg. aka Peter Thome, has taken the best from the website and filtered out the spam. When West Ham were last in this position in the league, fanzines were a sign of the times. Every Hammers fan was running one, to vent their anger, express their views and tell the world what was wrong with the club. By the late 1990s, fanzines were dying. From the many that used to occupy the stalls down Upton Park's Green Street, there is how a mere sole survivor - Over Land And Sea. The rest moved with the technical revolution and every self-respecting Hammers fan joined an online forum to post their application for the manager's job. Now it's not just publishers that can express their views, it's everyone. But there are things that are said in the heat of the moment - after another home defeat or that rare trip to Cardiff - which could be lost forever in the realms of cyber space. These words tell the story of a

26 YEARS AGO: It was one for the real belting boys when West Ham went to Old Trafford on November 27,197S. They had not won an away game for a year. Their hosts had won one of seven home matches. Hammers gave a debut to diminutive midfielder Anton Otulakowski, a recent signing who had impressed in Barnsley's League Cup defeat at Upton Park earlier in the season. The former British international gymnast - and a son of a Polish soldier who stayed on after the war - Otulakowski enjoyed an excellent first game for the visitors. But a nervy home side were therefor the taking. Trevor Brooking's second goal of the four gets the campaign for the Hammers on the way. Billy Jennings supplied the pass and it was 'JillyJ who wrapped it up four minutes from time. West Ham's jubilation was tempered by the subsequent realisation that they were still propping up the table, even if it was only on goal difference. As things worked out, they faced Manchester United at Upton Park in the very last game of the season which they had to win to stay up. West Ham

Hammers' fan in his deepest, darkest moments - caught in a horror film 'Nightmare on Green Street'. Sitting alone, he types these words - better put down on paper, than in the head, as inevitably they would only turn you insane. Billy Blagg has been a prime contributor to westhamonline and here, his superb collection of dark memories are available for even the computer illiterate. Dark they certainly are, as we haven't had much to celebrate for the last few seasons. They are memories that were thoughts of the day, thoughts that most of us have tried to block out. A prime example is the opening up of the old case, Manny-gate. Most West Ham fans can recall the debacle, but can you remember your actual true feelings from the episode? Thorne must have relived the nightmares as he collected his ramblings, and those of others, who have made the book a humorous must read. I can't wait for volume two, for as long as the team continues to perform abysmally, we'll be switching on the PC at 4am to rip apart Blagg's comments on the net. • Nightmare on Green Street is published by Football World, Wall priced £6.99. NICOLA LAGZDINS

did so 4-2 to record a rare double over Manchester United... but only after conceding a first minute goal before missing a penalty! EIGHT YEARS AGO: Harry Redknapp probably still has nightmares when he thinks about Romanian Florin Raducioiu, the striker he persuaded West Ham to fork out a club record £2.6 million for. In a pre-season friendly, at Torquay's Plainmoor ground, the player came off complaining the opposition were kicking him. Things didn 'tget any better, either. In the very few appearances he made, Raducioiu gleaned just three goals. His first came in a 1-1 home Coca-Cola Cup draw with humble Stockport County on November 27,1986. He was possibly surprised at the raspberry Hammers got from their fans. Which may be why he opted to go shopping in Knightsbridge while Stockport were taking the replay 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals. That was also the game in which Iain Dowie scored - in his own net! Raducioiu or barmy Boogers? A real toss-up as to which of the two was Harry's biggest howler ~-

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BOOK REVIEWS

KMAS CRACKERS Three perfect stocking fillers for West Ham fans this Christmas...

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NIGHTMARE ON GREEN STREET

OUR DAYS ARE FEW

CLARET AND BLUE BLOOD

By PeteT Thome (aka Billy Blagg) Football WoTld, £6.99

By Martin Godleman Boleyn Books, £6.99

By Kirk Blows and Ben Sharratt Mainstream Publishing, £9.99

Books written by fans are nothing new - Hammers News columnist Rob Banks has penned three himself but Nightmare represents breaking new ground in that it combines the written word with the immediacy of the internet messageboards. For in this thoroughly entertaining observation of life as a West Ham fan over the past five years, author Thorne allies his own very honest and highly creditable views with those of the supporters who contribute to the popular unofficial fan site, westhamonline.net Thorne, in the guise of his cyberspace alter-ego Billy Blagg, takes us on a painful journey - from Mannygate (Manny Omoyinmi's farcical appearance that led to Hammers losing a Worthington Cup quarterfinal they had already won), via the sale of Rio Ferdinand, and the sackings of Redknapp and Roeder, to last May's play-off debacle and an attempt at what the future holds. He consistently hits the mark and you'll find yourself nodding at regular intervals as you turn most of the 240 totally absorbing pages.

After spending more than a decade on the 'other side of the camera' as West Ham's official commentator for video and DVD recordings, the author should be well placed to provide an insight into behind the scenes life at Upton Park. Godleman can certainly write as well as he commentates, although he clearly has little time for some of the more celebrated TV mike-men of his profession. Relegation affects more than just the obvious people and Godleman was another who found his services on the gantry curtailed by cutbacks. He cannot disguise his dismay at how money is now such a ruling influence on the game, on and off the field. He continues to report from the press room and even during breaks to Australia and USA, he found he could not get by without the latest news of his beloved Hammers. This diary of the 2003-04 season shows that you don't have to attend games at Upton Park to experience the agony (and occasional ecstacy) of following the fortunes of West Ham.

This softback edition follows swiftly on from the hardback original, but not only the committed collectors will still be keen to add this impressive volume to their shelf. Apart from adding three new chapters on the latest first team players to have emerged from the youth ranks - Stephen Bywater, Anton Ferdinand and Kevin Horlock the authors have updated and fully revised other chunks of the original, including the chapters on Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole, three of the most celebrated products of the famous 'Academy', and Jermain Defoe whose move to Spurs is also covered. With eight glossy pages of pics to accompany 256 pages of quotes and candid conversations, this represents great value and is certainly a very worthy addition to any Hammers fan's book collection. The interesting question is, how many other home-grown discoveries will be produced at West Ham in future seasons to make even the contemplation of a similar book a possibility? •

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