MORE than twenty years ago I took my young son to watch a [West Ham](https://www.claretandhugh.info/weak-hammer-must-be-pulled-out-of-starting-xi-west-ham-news/) pre-season friendly, in which only two senior ‘stars’ appeared. Samassi Abu and Stuart Pearce. The rest were, from memory, loanees, trialists or academy players although my son swears he saw Iain Dowie in the second half. Six – one to the Hammers was the score. One indelible memory I have of that game compares starkly with the West Ham of today.
**Stuart Pearce,** playing as a left back, by that stage in his career nearly 40 years old- did not stop screaming at his defence for the whole game. Constantly haranguing the young Hammers wannabes even though Pearce was a seasoned pro who’d been to World Cup finals and surely didn’t need to bother turning out for a pre-season kick-about.
_Yet he took it as deadly serious and schooled ‘his’ defence from the first minute to the last. True leadership._
Compare that with the shambolic display we were served up by West Ham’s defence at the weekend – in just the latest ill drilled, brainless, lacking-in-awareness displays by hugely well paid professionals who can’t even look over their shoulder before a corner kick is taken and work out where the opponents are massing.
_Look behind you! FOUR West Ham players mark themselves on the front post. Spurs players score from amassing ‘un-noticed’ on the back post._
Pearce would have been beside himself with rage. His two – year spell as a West Ham coach ended with the Hammers finishing sixth and seventh under David Moyes.
The 63 year old recently suffered a health scare so I’m sure he has better things to do than berate a pedestrian West Ham defence anymore. But clearly, a latter -day Psycho is urgently needed at West Ham.
Graham Potter’s school teacher style and soft management-speak might look good in the Press room but it isn’t achieving diddly squat on the training pitch.