This article was written by Katie S (@flump9)
Well today has been a bit of a depressing day for West Ham and its supporters. We had our suspicions, but seeing Bilic speak so frankly and emotionally about Dimitri Payet has really hit us West Ham fans hard.
I am feeling an array of emotions, but the overwhelming feeling is that of betrayal. Don’t get me wrong, I know Payet hasn’t been with us that long and obviously had no affinity to the club beforehand, but he was welcomed by the fans from day one and even had fans supporting him in the Euros, playing for France. I remember being at the Palace game in October 2015 and it was the first time the ‘Payet song’ (@Bennyraves created it) was sang. I loved it and from that moment I believe it has been sang at nearly every match! Sadly, we will no longer sing Dimi’s song and if you follow me on twitter, you will know about my dad’s new version of the song, hopefully we can sing this instead (too offensive to put into this article). In my opinion he is not welcome at our club!
I honestly believe that West Ham gave Payet the platform to be the player he is regarded as today. He finally got his chance to properly play for France and surely had one of the best summers of his life, which I am convinced came from the opportunity West Ham gave him.
Every club has had players hand transfer requests in, it’s life and it happens. However, I don’t think many players have behaved the way in which Dimitri Payet has behaved. He has acted like a spoilt child, with no respect for the manager, the fans, his teammates and the club as a whole. You only have to watch Slav’s press conference to see the emotion and disappointment he was feeling, watching him speak hit home what Payet has done to the club and actually made me realise that his behaviour must have played a big part in the recent issues on and off of the field.
The one positive that I hope may come from all of this, is the support of Bilic. I don’t know if all fans will feel the same as me, but as I said previously, watching Slav today has reminded me of the man I loved last season. I hope the players get behind him and prove that we do not want or need players like Dimitri Payet.
I for one, want players that ‘want’ to play for our club, even through the tough times. I do know that loyalty in football seems to be a rare thing these days, but the way he has gone about things is unforgivable, shameful and as bitter as this sounds, I wish him nothing but an unsuccessful end to his career.
Do you feel the same as me, or do you think Payet is right to behave in this way? Let me know your thoughts on Twitter – @flump9.
Fantastic article. Completely agree with every point you raised. My feelings entirely.
Just when you think the season couldn’t get any worse ,great piece yet again
Ok feeling for Bilic , but he took his eye off the ball during pre season to which he later admitted when he sensed a lack of intensity during training.
His signings have been atrocious this season and as a result, we’ve been appalling since the first European games back in July.
If we were flying in the cups and league , there is no way Payet would be seeking a transfer.
He is from an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean and doesn’t have WHUFC In his heart like us, it’s just a job to him.
As usual, bad management from top to bottom makes us a laughing stock and has led to this embarrassing situation.
Thank you Paul!
Totally agree! He is an absolute disgrace! He was a complete nobody who couldn’t t get near the French team until we propelled him into the limelight! I believe we should get rid of as quickly as possible for as much as possible and then I hope he disappears back up his own arsehole where he clearly belongs!
Superbly written and bang on the money. His body language been wrong all season and he gave up playing for the shirt in the summer. Get as much as we can for him and go all khf for Gylfi Sigurdsson who I think is more consistent.
Maybe this will lift morale and the team will raise their game for Slaven. We move on and keep the faith. COYI
Appreciate all the comments guys.
There have been a couple of articles written on this embarrassing debacle and I’m sure most fully agree with the comments expressed. We, the Club and its fans, have been badly let down – no ifs, buts or maybes.
But I don’t understand why the club won’t sell him quickly. They may well want to make a point about who’s in charge and all that but there seems to be a strong element of ‘cutting your nose off to spite your face’ in this strategy! Pick yourselves up, sell him quickly and buy someone like Martial or Lacazette or my preference, a quality right back with the cash, now. Don’t we need a couple of quality players? Of course we do, so please West Ham, stop feeling sorry for yourselves and turn this into an opportunity!
so sounding like the lampard situation but i say this time put him in the reserves to rot till his contract runs out at which time he will be forgotten and too old to interest anybody lets prove that no player is too big for the club instead of just saying it.