West Ham’s problem is not the lack of skill and talent. It has plenty of that, after all who can quarrel with a squad that has the likes of Carlos Tevez, Bobby Zamora, Nigel Reo-Coker, and Calum Davenport. When the season got underway there were few who predicted that the Hammers would be fighting for their relegation life, given the fantastic performance less than a year ago. Eggert Magnusson’s buyout has also given some much needed money in the coffers to acquire some pricey players.
But the problems that West Ham have are more abstract. Like Hunk, the scarecrow and Hickory, the tinman in the Wizard of Oz, the Hammers are in search of a brain and heart. Their quest proved unsuccesful against bottom dwellers, Watford. Anton Ferdinand’s boneheaded foul led to Watford’s successful PK, the poor finishing of Zamora, and Marlon Harewood’s harebrained missed PK showed what West Ham have to deal with the rest of the season. Either that or they should never hire a manager whose name begins with Alan.
If a football IQ could be assigned and the overriding criteria is the intelligent harnessing of resources to produce the best results, the best club would be Reading. Steve Coppell’s team gets a 100.