On Saturday afternoon I was walking in Sheringham Country Park with The Controller and our two dogs. It was a fine day - probably the last of the year in North Norfolk - and very enjoyable, except for the endemic Norfolk lack of mobile phone signal. Walking in a country park you don't need a mobile phone, unless it's your way of following the progress of West Ham's latest attempt to win away from home. And this was at the ground where the last away win was achieved on the first day of last season. What an omen that proved to be.
Since I gave up on both Orange and West Ham's text updates on scores as they arrived after the match was more than two hours finished, I rely on the Sky Sports app. This adds the drama of not being able to connect to the internet, the fascination of the spinning symbol as the phone updates if it's connected, and the regular closing down of the phone to save the iPhone's pathetic battery life so you have to start all over again. All the while carrying on a conversation about the scenery and other matters. It's almost as tense as watching the game.
Cresting a hill I was greeted with the news that we were losing 1-0 and had been since the 10th minute. This was news although it was almost half-time. It's the modern equivalent of expats in the colonies reading nine month old newspapers after the ships from home reached them. By the next time I could connect it was well over 80 minutes of the game and I learned we had equalised and found a new spring in my walking steps. We completed the walk in time to get back to the car for Jack to phone with a report on the game that he'd been watching via an internet stream, and then there was 5Live's Sports Report. In the evening I recorded the game on Football First and Match of the Day (last again, quelle surprise) and watched it on Sunday morning, having read the newspaper reports and the websites online. Who needs to be there?
Well, it would be good if the team were there, for a start - and from the start. As son, papers, internet and TV agreed, we should have been finished by half-time and were woeful. But we bossed the second half and could/should have won. Son, papers,TV and internet couldn't agree whether Piquionne handled the ball in the 92nd minute before putting the ball in the net, but all agreed Cole should have scored (consistency, there), so there you go. And we're unbeaten for 4 games for the first time in forever and still bottom of the league.
What a way to mark what would have been my dad's 90th birthday. I have him to blame for the obsession. He took me when I was seven years old and I passed on the virus to my children at about the same age. His ashes were scattered at Upton Park after his death in1997. They don't seen to have brought much luck in the meantime.
So Walking, Wolves, West Ham and When Will We Win aWay again?
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