West Ham Fans Born to be Claret and Blue

West Ham United's seventh win out of nine matches was enough to not only secure Premiership safety and thus ensure one of the most incredible escapes ever, but also to shut the mouths of those who said Hammers should have been deducted three points. Winning at Manchester Utd merely confirmed that a team like West Ham, no disrespect meant to Neil Warnock, should be there to grace the league and who knows what might happen next season? 'Old sad eye' Alan Curbishley deserves this moment, one minute he was a potential England manager, the next he was being cursed by all and sundry for Hammers lamentable performances, he said "even though I had played for West Ham I didn't really appreciate how massive the support is" he emerged from the cauldron with dignity and courage, the latter quality being embodied by Carlitos Tevez who almost single handedly dragged the team out of the mire. How much more is the Apache worth after today's result? His value may have soared so much that West Ham could be priced out of the market, but maybe a deal could be struck to take him on a protracted loan for a big fee to be paid to Kia Joorabchian, after all Carlitos is young, another season or two as a big fish at West Ham would hardly harm his value, if he is banging goals in on a regular basis for West Ham his residual value would only increase, and who knows by that time Hammers could be in a position to buy him outright, much would also depend on whether he gets to feature in the Argentine set up for internationals. All the boys were heroes today, doubtless they would have been aware of the unveiling of the Bobby Moore statue, and you get the feeling that this game was for him as well as the fans. Full match report to follow, followed by possibly the most massive hangover in history. Commiserations to Neil Warnock and Sheffield Utd, great supporters and a manager who had a bark much less worse than his bite. - Ed Man Utd: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Brown, Heinze, Evra (Giggs 57), Solskjaer, Carrick (Scholes 58), Fletcher, Richardson, Smith (Ronaldo 58), Rooney. Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Vidic. West Ham: Green, Neill, Collins, Ferdinand, McCartney (Spector 28), Benayoun, Reo-Coker, Noble, Boa Morte, Zamora (Harewood 63), Tevez (Mullins 82). Subs Not Used: Walker, Davenport. Booked: Collins, Tevez. Goals: Tevez 45. Att: 75,927. Ref: M Atkinson (W Yorkshire).